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Monthly Archives: August 2009

Good News on the Housing Front

Published: Aug. 31, 2009

According to an August 26th Bloomberg report by Shobhana Chandra, new home sales increased by 9.6% in July - the most since February of 2005. The gain, due in large part to historically low interest rates, incentives for first-time buyers and lending support from the Fed, translates to an annualized pace of 433,000 units. It also represents the 4th straight increase in new home sales, following an equally impressive 9.1% gain for June. Perhaps even more importantly, the number of houses for sale dropped to the lowest level in 16 years.Read more

The Importance of the U.S. Consumer

Published: Aug. 11, 2009

To borrow from an often used slogan, with slight improvisation, "It's the spending stupid." The surest way to get our economy back on track again is to have businesses and, even more importantly, consumers start spending again. In an economy where 70% of growth comes from spending, reports that show Americans saving more and spending less are generally not received positively by economists. The question then becomes how best to achieve this seemingly simple objective of encouraging individuals and companies to start spending again.Read more

Is there a Bond Bubble that is about to Burst?

Published: Aug. 06, 2009

We have been repeatedly asked over the course of the last several weeks if there is in fact a bond (or more specifically a U.S. Treasury bond) bubble that is about to burst. A valid argument can be made for the likelihood of a drop in U.S. Treasury bond prices in the near future due to the following factors:Read more