Consumer spending grew just 0.3 percent in March, down from the 0.9 percent growth in February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Monday. Economists had expected spending to be up 0.4 percent. At the same time, personal income grew 0.4 percent in March, BEA said, slightly faster than February’s 0.
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The U.S. economy grew at a disappointing 2.2 percent rate in the first quarter, the Labor Department reported Friday, down from the 3.0 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter and below expectations. Economists had expected GDP to grow at 2.5 percent in the first quarter. A drop in government spending was the biggest factor in the slowdown in growth. In dollar terms, GDP increased $73.4 billion, most of which was an increase in personal consumption - $68.1 billion.
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The FDIC projects that it will replenish the hard-hit Deposit Insurance Fund on schedule, as fewer community banks fail and the economic recovery turns a corner. The agency made the projections in a semi-annual update Tuesday that also found so-called Problem Institutions falling from 844 in September last year to 813 by the fourth quarter. Requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act require that the FDIC shore up the fund by 1.35 percent by 2020. The FDIC said that the fund ended last year at $11.8 billion – the equivalent of a shift to 0.17 percent for the reserve ratio.
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Consumer spending grew 0.8 percent in February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday, fueling expectations for a stronger first quarter economic surge than economists have forecast. Personal spending grew faster than the 0.6 percent market consensus. Personal income, BEA reported, grew just 0.2 percent in February, half the rate of growth expected by economists. In dollars, spending increased $86.0 billion in February while income – from all sources – grew $28.2 billion. Spending for the first two months of the quarter averaged $10.9 billion.
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Real gross domestic product - the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States - increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, unchanged from the estimate issued a month ago, consistent with market expectations. In its initial report on fourth quarter GDP, the BEA had said the nation's economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace. The economic growth rate is the fastest in the past 18 months but only slightly above the fourth quarter of 2007 when the Great Recession began.
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Housing lingered in the doldrums of a recovery last year but may pick up by 2014 as the U.S. economy generally improves, analysts and economists said Wednesday. The Urban Land Institute polled 38 real estate analysts and economists to signal their expectations for "broad improvements" in the nation’s economy and real estate markets in 2012. The survey revealed that transaction volume in commercial real estate markets could reach as much as $312 billion in 2014, up from a projected $250 billion in 2012. The news is welcome for an industry that has stayed under a cloud since the crisis.
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A hearing held by House lawmakers Wednesday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recast housing and the Dodd-Frank Act as issues critical to the economic recovery. The central banker said that 30 percent of home sales recently consisted of foreclosures and properties in distress, reflecting ongoing trouble for a market underpinned by high home vacancy rates and downward pressure for home prices. The underwriting process, down payments, and pending regulations also took center-stage during the discussion, with House members spotlighting recent servicer consent orders.
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Real GDP – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States – increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Labor Department said Wednesday. In its initial report on fourth quarter GDP, the agency had said the nation’s economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace. Economists had forecast no change in the advance GDP estimate issued last month. Housing grew at an 11.5 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter, its fastest growth rate since the second quarter of 2010 when it grew at a 22.8 percent rate.
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Ahead of the primary in South Carolina Saturday, Republican presidential hopefuls will compete for the chance for a face off with President Barack Obama – a contest remarkably lacking in housing proposals for one that will take place in 15 battleground states with slipshod home values. The Progressive Policy Institute issued a policy brief Friday that said home values have fallen by 16 percent since October 2008, and that – despite a correspondingly steep drop in household wealth – few voters should expect candidates from either party to address housing finance reform in the election.
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The economy and housing market enter the New Year with mixed results, and will likely remain that way for at least the first part of 2012, Freddie Mac forecasted in a report Thursday. Citing numerous indices in his outlook, Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist with Freddie Mac, predicted that economic growth will likely hit 2.1 percent in the first quarter, up from the doldrums during the financial crisis. He said that U.S. unemployment will likely remain around 8.5 percent following a reversal for seasonal job growth.
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