The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday that it revised its statistics on the U.S. recession. Its revisions were nearly all made downward, meaning that the recession was worse than first reported.

Here are some examples:

• From the fourth quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2009 our economy shrank 4.1%, compared with the 3.7% previously reported.
• Household spending fell 1.2% in 2009, twice as much as previously projected.

Continue reading Recession Was Deeper Than Previously Reported

Recession Was Deeper Than Previously Reported originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

October seems to have been a good month for consumer spending. Unemployment is holding consumers back, but it isn't keeping wallets clamped shut.

A Bloomberg survey reveals that purchases grew 0.5% last month, based on the thoughts of 61 economists. The U.S. Department of Commerce is releasing its report on Wednesday. In advance of this news, Bloomberg's survey suggests that there are signs of slight improvement.

Continue reading The economy turns the corner? Consumer spending likely up slightly

The economy turns the corner? Consumer spending likely up slightly originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Retail sales gained a seasonally-adjusted 2.7% in August, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This follows a 0.2% decline in July. The August results beat analyst expectations soundly, lending support to talk of a recovery. The Cash for Clunkers program is cited as contributing to August sales.

Without autos, sales increased 1.1%, still ahead of the anticipated 0.4% gain. Take gas out of the measure, as well, and retail sales grew 0.6%.

Inventories fell in July, for the twelfth month in a row, with the 1% decline a tad higher than the 0.9% anticipated by many economists.

Continue reading Retail sales hint at jobless recovery

Retail sales hint at jobless recovery originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite a net increase of 1.6% in U.S. exports in May 2009, services exports fell 0.4% with travel and tourism exports off a whopping 3% month-over-month. According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, spending related to travel from other countries to the United States fell to $9.5 billion for the month - down 22% year-over-year.

The global travel market continues to feel the squeeze from an ongoing recession, as travel discounts and cheaper fares have been insufficient to counteract sluggish consumer spending. Recreational travel just isn't a priority these days, and businesses are curtailing travel budgets as they try to shore up their resources and spend prudently.

Continue reading Foreigners not spending on U.S. travel, down 22%

Foreigners not spending on U.S. travel, down 22% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There are two competing positions on consumer sentiment right now. One is that it turned south last week, as people worried about their jobs - always a bad sign for spending. The other is that consumer sentiment didn't crap out in July: it fizzled in May. So, it's not a question of whether consumers aren't confident in the U.S. economic machine, it's just a matter of when the collective mood changed.

The July camp is set up around the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, which makes now the weakest point for consumer sentiment since March. Those who favor May look to domestic demand for foreign goods, which went soft two months ago, bringing the monthly trade deficit to its narrowest since 1999. The U.S. trade gap unexpectedly tightened to $26 billion in May, with exports up 1.6% and imports down 0.6%, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Continue reading Consumer sentiment down, according to everyone

Consumer sentiment down, according to everyone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The new home sale numbers came out today, and to no one's surprise, they were uglier than ever. Sales of new single family homes fell by 8.3% last month, according to Commerce Dept. data, the lowest level in seven years.

Year-to-year, new home sales were 21.2% lower than the level in August of 2006, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Oh dear. So much for bottom calling. The housing sector has dragged on the U.S. economy for six straight quarters now, and shows no signs of getting any lighter.

The WSJ's Economics Blog got the reaction of a handful of economists. The language is grim.

"Hideous" Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics said. "Housing is nowhere near the bottom; neither is its wider impact."

Continue reading Housing: If you can't call a bottom, at least use creative language

Housing: If you can't call a bottom, at least use creative language originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.