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

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (26244)	3/24/2005 10:34:55 AM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

BoE´s King says it is likely UK retail sales slowdown will prove temporary Thursday, March 24, 2005 10:26:58 AM afxpress.com BoE's King says it is likely UK retail sales slowdown will prove temporary LONDON (AFX) - The slowdown in high street spending is likely to prove "temporary", according to the Bank of England's governor Mervyn King In evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, King said the medium-term underlying determinants, such as income growth, remain supportive of a bounce-back in consumer spending However, he conceded there are risks that consumer spending is dramatically on the wane and that has influenced the Bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75 pct since last August Earlier this month, the office of National Statistics revealed that UK retail sales in the three months to February fell by 0.6 pct from the previous three months King also said there is growing evidence that the housing market is showing signs of stabilising following some price falls over the winter The risks on the housing market are slightly less than they were before, he said

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (26244)	3/24/2005 10:40:53 AM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

BOE´S King says no reason to doubt that Brown´s ´golden rule´ will be met Thursday, March 24, 2005 10:44:41 AM afxpress.com BOE'S King says no reason to doubt that Brown's 'golden rule' will be met LONDON (AFX) - Bank of England governor Mervyn King said there is no reason to doubt that Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's "golden rule" will be met The golden rule dictates that the government should balance its current budget over the economic cycle. In evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, King said it is important to look forwards and ensure that the government's fiscal rules are met in the next five years, but if the figures given by the Chancellor prove correct, there is "no reason to doubt that they will be met" He said a breach of the government's self-imposed rules "would have repercussions" but he added the BoE is not in a position to judge how likely a breach is In economic terms, King said he viewed the budget as "neutral"

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (26244)	3/24/2005 10:53:37 AM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

U.S. Feb. new home sales rise to 2nd highest ever - Thursday, March 24, 2005 3:41:31 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) - Sales of new homes jumped about 9.4 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.226 million, the Commerce Department estimated Thursday The sales rate is the second highest rate ever, matching December's pace and just below October's record 1.304 million. It was the largest percentage increase in four years Economists were expecting a small increase to about 1.14 million, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch. The supply of new homes on the market rose to a record 444,000, representing a 4.4-month supply at the February sales pace. In January, the inventory had spiked to a 4.6-month supply. In separate releases on Thursday, the Commerce Department said new orders for durable goods increased 0.3 percent in February, while shipments of durables fell at the fastest rate in 18 months. [OK sports fans are these houses just going to sit there empty or is there pent up demand for appliances? What is going on here - Mish] Also, the Labor Department said first-time jobless claims rose by 3,000 to 324,000 in the latest week. Home sales and new construction have remained very robust despite increases in mortgage rates. Sales of existing homes dipped slightly in February to a still-strong 6.79 million annual pace, a realtors group reported on Wednesday. Mortgage rates have risen sharply since February to around 6 percent. Economists for housing and real estate groups say they believe rising incomes and continued appreciation in home values will keep demand strong even as interest rates rise Others worry that low interest rates and lack of other investment opportunities have fueled a bubble in housing, bringing in speculators to push demand - and prices - higher than justified by fundamentals The government cautions that its housing data are particularly prone to sampling and other statistical errors. It can take six months to establish a new trend in home sales. In February, the six-month average sales rate was a record 1.210 million, up from 1.199 million in January In February, sales rose in all four regions of the country. Sales in the South climbed 9 percent to a record 619,000 annual rate. Sales increased about 20 percent in the Northeast, 10 percent in the Midwest and about 7 percent in the West