Thursday 17 January 2008

Chart Of The Day: Housing Starts In The U.S.


"Builders in the U.S. broke ground in December on fewer houses than forecast, making 2007's decline in homebuilding the worst in almost three decades. "
"The 14 percent decrease to an annual rate of 1.006 million, the lowest since 1991, followed a 1.173 million pace the prior month, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. "

"For all of 2007, housing starts were down 25 percent, the biggest decline since 1980, to 1.354 million. "

"Building permits, a sign of future construction, declined by the most in 12 years, suggesting the housing slump will deepen as it enters a third year."

"Rising foreclosures will throw even more houses onto the market, hurting property values and threatening to push the economy into recession, economists said. "


So it will take a miracle or a little bit of luck for the U.S. to avoid a recession with such bad data ... Employment seem still strong but it's a lagging indicator. This year will be an inflection point...

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