Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (24421)	2/25/2005 1:40:10 PM
From: Jim McMannis	Respond to of 116555

Their stock market is doing VERY well. WHy would they "reign it in"? finance.yahoo.com

To: mishedlo who wrote (24421)	2/25/2005 1:44:57 PM
From: Jim McMannis	Respond to of 116555

January 2 hours, 10 minutes ago Business - AP By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes edged down a slight 0.1 percent in January as attractive mortgage rates continued to support strong demand in the housing market, a real estate trade group reported Friday. The National Association of Realtors said existing single-family homes and condominiums were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.80 million units in January, down from a revised 6.81 million units in December. For the first time, the Realtors included sales of condominiums in their monthly report of single-family homes. The median price for a home sold was $189,000 in January, an increase of 10.5 percent from January 2004. The strength in January came from sales of condominiums which rose by 2.3 percent to an annual rate of 858,000 units. This offset a 0.5 percent decline in sales of single-family homes which dropped to 5.94 million units. Around the country, the strength came from the South, where sales rose by 3.5 percent and the West where sales were up 0.6 percent. Sales dipped 3.5 percent in the Northeast and 5.2 percent in the Midwest. Realtors chief economist David Lereah said even with the small overall decline in sales, demand for homes remained strong. In fact, the supply of homes fell to a record low of 3.7 months, the amount of time it would take to sell all of the homes on the market at the January sales pace. With release of the January report, the Realtors revied the housing data going back to 1999. Those revisions resulted in reductions in overall sales for those years. However, the levels still represented record sales for the last four years. The Realtors said they had decided to include data on condominiums in the monthly sales report because of improvements in the reliability of the information on condominium sales, which account for 12 percent of sales in the existing home market.

To: mishedlo who wrote (24421)	2/25/2005 1:59:26 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Brazil is a very rich country IMHO and at the beginning of their ascendance, similar to Russia but without the military aspiration and draining military budgets Russia has ... not to mention a more open society…. But it is still up to the Brazilians to prove they can make it .... and recent economic history is not on their side

To: mishedlo who wrote (24421)	2/25/2005 2:17:27 PM
From: THE ANT	Respond to of 116555

Thanks Mish.This is a great board.I just post on Brazil as it can play in to many of the trends you discuss.For the time being the liqidity is breaking through the dike in that direction.It will go down hard with any deflation but with its high real interest rates can be one of the first countries to rise from the ashes.We will be waiting with money made in shorts and the PM's at that time I hope.Brazil has a lot of challenges but will likely be politically stable for the next 5 years,has commodities,and a high real interest rate which may give us some opportunities now and in the near future.