Finance Matters

Posts Tagged ‘US’

Official figures have revealed consumer spending in the US improved last month.

According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending rose 0.6% to $68.7 billion (£42.7 billion) in September and follows a 0.2% rise in August.

The figures will be a welcome boost for the economy which looked set to be heading towards a double dip recession just a few weeks ago.

Consumer spending is closely monitored as it accounts for more than two-thirds of economic output.

However, personal incomes rose just 0.1% in the month after a 0.1% gain in August, the Commerce Department said.

Income growth is being limited by stubbornly high unemployment, with a jobless rate that has been above the 9% mark for five consecutive months.

The figures come just a few days after the Commerce Department revealed the world’s largest economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year in the three months to the end of September.

The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.5% in the third quarter of this year, which was in line with forecasts but was a considerable improvement on the 1.3% growth reported for the second quarter.

However, despite both sets of encouraging figures, it appears that consumers are still wary about the future direction of the economy.

Last week, the Conference Board revealed US consumer confidence slumped in October.

The closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board dived to 39.8 this month from September’s reading of 46.4.

Not only was the reading less than forecasts of a level of 46.0, it was the lowest since March 2009, when the US was in recession.

The economic recovery in the US has so far been sluggish in the face of rising unemployment and a depressed housing market.

US consumer confidence slumped in October, the Conference Board has reported.

The closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board dived to 39.8 this month from September’s reading of 46.4.

Not only was the reading less than forecasts of a level of 46.0, it was the lowest since March 2009, when the US was in recession.

Furthermore, the index remains far away from the 90 points required to show that the world’s largest economy is on solid footing.

Since the index commenced in 1967, the average reading has been 95.6.

The index hit a record high of 144.7 in 2000, while its all-time low was 25.3 in February 2009, when the country was in the midst of recession.

Commenting on the figures, Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Centre said: “Consumer confidence is now back to levels last seen during the 2008-2009 recession.

“Consumer expectations, which had improved in September, gave back all of the gain and then some, as concerns about business conditions, the labor market and income prospects increased,” she added.

Meanwhile, the present situation index, a measure of consumers’ assessment of current economic conditions, fell for the sixth month in a row to 26.3 from a revised 33.3 in September.

The report also showed that households are concerned about future incomes – raising doubt over spending – something which is closely monitored as it accounts for more than two-thirds of economic output.

The economic recovery in the US remains sluggish in the face of higher unemployment and a depressed housing market.

In other news this week, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index showed that single-family house prices rose by just 0.2% in August on a monthly basis, while prices were 3.8% lower when compared with August 2010.

The Commerce Department has revealed the world’s largest economy grew by 1.3% on an annual basis in the April to June period – higher than an initial estimate of 1%.

The figure was also slightly higher than analysts’ expectations of 1.2% and follows a 0.4% growth rate in the first quarter of the year.

The upward revision was attributed to higher exports and strong spending and is the final figure for the second quarter.

For the first six months of the year, the economy expanded by 0.9% – this represented the lowest rate of growth in over two years.

Third quarter growth figures will be available next month and analysts are predicting an annualised growth rate of around 2%.

The US economy is struggling on the back of high unemployment and a depressed housing market.

Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, warned that the US economy is facing a national crisis due to its high unemployment rate, which currently stands at 9.1%.

Earlier this month, the US Labor Department revealed the economy added no new jobs last month, which was a surprise after markets had expected 70,000 new jobs.

This represented the first time since 1945 that there has been a zero payrolls figure after 17,000 jobs were added in the private sector last month but these were cancelled out by 17,000 jobs lost in the public sector.

Mr Bernanke is urging the Government to assist the long-term unemployment and suggested that Congress should take more action to address the issue.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama addressed the nation about a plan for job creation. He unveiled a $450 billion (£282 billion) package aimed at boosting the economy and reducing the federal deficit.

The bill includes tax cuts to workers and small businesses to boost job creation.

Mr Obama has previously said job creation is a top priority; continued high unemployment could threaten his prospects for re-election next year.

In the meantime, Mr Bernanke urged policymakers to introduce “housing policies” to boost the property market, which is currently struggling and many have suggested it is holding back the recovery.

Demand for housing in the US remains weak, despite mortgage rates hovering at record lows and falling house prices – the latter due to millions of home repossessions.

Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, has warned that the world’s largest economy is facing a national crisis due to its high unemployment rate, which currently stands at 9.1%.

Earlier this month, the US Labor Department revealed the economy added no new jobs last month, which was a surprise after markets had expected 70,000 new jobs.

This represented the first time since 1945 that there has been a zero payrolls figure after 17,000 jobs were added in the private sector last month but these were cancelled out by 17,000 jobs lost in the public sector.

The economic recovery in the US remains sluggish in the face of higher unemployment and a depressed housing market.

In a speech in Cleveland, Mr Bernanke said: “This unemployment situation we have, the jobs situation, is really a national crisis.

We’ve had close to 10 percent unemployment now for a number of years and, of the people who are unemployed, about 45 percent have been unemployed for six months or more. This is unheard of.”

He is urging the Government to assist the long-term unemployment and suggested that Congress should take more action to address the issue.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama addressed the nation about a plan for job creation. He unveiled a $450 billion (£282 billion) package aimed at boosting the economy and reducing the federal deficit.

The bill includes tax cuts to workers and small businesses to boost job creation.

Mr Obama has previously said job creation is a top priority; continued high unemployment could threaten his prospects for re-election next year.

In the meantime, Mr Bernanke urged policymakers to introduce “housing policies” to boost the property market, which is currently struggling and many have suggested it is holding back the recovery.

Demand for housing in the US remains weak, despite mortgage rates hovering at record lows and falling house prices – the latter due to millions of home repossessions.

According to Bernanke, long-term unemployment, budgetary discipline and housing issues are the three crucial areas where Congress could contribute to an economic recovery.

He concluded that the Fed can only do so much by keeping interest rates at their historic low and said: “Monetary policy can do a lot, but monetary policy is not a panacea.”

The Commerce Department has revealed sales of new homes in the US fell to a six-month low in August, suggesting the housing market remains depressed.

According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell 2.3% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000 units – the lowest level since February.

The figure is now less than half the 700,000 units which experts believe demonstrates a healthy market.

Demand for housing in the US remains weak, despite mortgage rates hovering at record lows and falling house prices – the latter due to millions of home repossessions.

According to one analyst, builders are discouraged from constructing new homes due to the oversupply of existing homes on the market. As a result, sales of new homes are weak, while house prices continue to dip.

Meanwhile, the figures come shortly after the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed sales of previously owned homes in the US rose 7.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million in August from an upwardly revised 4.67 million in July.

This is more than 18% higher than the 4.24 million unit level seen a year ago, the NAR said.

According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist: “Some of the improvement in August may result from sales that were delayed in preceding months, but favorable affordability conditions and rising rents are underlying motivations.”

In related news, the closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board is due to be published today.

Confidence is only expected to show a slight improvement, with the index expected to rise to 46 this month – albeit, far away from the 90 points required to show that the world’s largest economy is on solid footing.

Since the index commenced in 1967, the average reading has been 95.6.