No doubt these numbers will be taken by the market as a clear sign of a softening housing market and, by implication, an indication that higher interest rates are biting. We are much more skeptical housing starts lag home sales, which have been depressed in recent months more by lack of inventory than by higher interest rates.
More Quotes from Ian Shepherdson:
The gains were uneven, however, with small declines in clothing and electronics, a decent 0.7 percent rise for general merchandise and a huge leap for non-store retailers. Provided January holds up -- surveys suggest so far, so good -- the overall holiday season will have been pretty good.Ian Shepherdson
The bottom line here is that industry is doing well.
Ian Shepherdson
Mr. Greenspan said next to nothing about the current economic situation in his testimony, ... does not sound to us like a signal he has changed his mind on the appropriateness of the current level of interest rates. The rest of the testimony was a clear and unambiguous plea to Congress not to abandon fiscal discipline.
Ian Shepherdson
Overall, the labor market is improving, but progress is still slow,
Ian Shepherdson
Clearly, there is no near-term inflation threat coming from the labor market. In short, great numbers, which will prompt yet more talk of miracles.
Ian Shepherdson
We are not forecasting a recession, but there is some truth to the notion that negative news can be a self-fulfilling prophesy. If companies expect demand to slacken, they scale back production. And if consumers expect doom and gloom, they scale back spending. That's just the way it works.
Ian Shepherdson
Readers Who Like This Quotation Also Like:
Based on Topics: Sales QuotesNoting that Huckleberry Finn was originally both valued and reviled because it shows the reader that the accepted moral code and social hierarchy is not always correct.
Robert Vaughan
I expect nothing. I fear no one. I am free.
Nikos Kazantzakis
No one's raising children any more. To love a child, you've got to work for it. You have to change its diapers and feed it at night!
Lauren Hutton