[copious.abundance]

U.S. existing home sales rise to 10-year high

U.S. home resales surged to a 10-year high in January as buyers shrugged off higher prices and mortgage rates, a sign of growing confidence in the economy.

The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday existing home sales jumped 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.69 million units last month. That was the highest level since February 2007.

December's sales pace was revised up to 5.51 million units from the previously reported 5.49 million units. Economists had forecast sales rising 1.1 percent to a pace of 5.54 million units in January. The NAR also revised sales data going back to 2014. The revisions were minor and had no impact on the characterization of the housing market.

[...]

[onlooker]

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... march-15th
Retail Apocalypse Gains Momentum As David Stockman Warns ‘Everything Will Grind To A Halt’ After March 15th

[copious.abundance]

"The Economic Collapse." Now there's an unbiased news source! It seems to have escaped some people that that site has been promoting imminent economic collapse for who knows how many years now, and has been wrong time after time after time. And yet the people who read it (not to mention those who write it) seem to have learned absolutely nothing from that fact.

[onlooker]

"The Economic Collapse." Now there's an unbiased news source! It seems to have escaped some people that that site has been promoting imminent economic collapse for who knows how many years now, and has been wrong time after time after time. And yet the people who read it (not to mention those who write it) seem to have learned absolutely nothing from that fact.

ha, and your mainstream media sources are suppose to be believable when telling the truth would crumble the confidence and investment that are the only pillars holding up this zombie economy

[Outcast_Searcher]

"The Economic Collapse." Now there's an unbiased news source! It seems to have escaped some people that that site has been promoting imminent economic collapse for who knows how many years now, and has been wrong time after time after time. And yet the people who read it (not to mention those who write it) seem to have learned absolutely nothing from that fact.

ha, and your mainstream media sources are suppose to be believable when telling the truth would crumble the confidence and investment that are the only pillars holding up this zombie economy

Such nonsense.

FIrst, JC Penney and Sears are a couple of has-been, very badly run, retail chains. They're going out of business because the likes of Amazon and Walmart (and many others) are putting them out of business. Kind of like Walmart destroyed K-mart. K-mart destroyed Grants and Mr. Wiggs and on and on. It's called capitalism and competition and yes, there are winners and losers.

When a business goes under and it equates to a broad "economic collapse" -- in the real world, not in the minds of constant false proclaimers of imminent global economic doom -- be SURE and let us know.

Again, how many times do folks like you get to post stuff like this, proclaim imminent disaster, collapse, doom, etc., have nothing happen as usual, and expect to be taken seriously? And again, the long term concerns about unsustainable BAU growth, pollution, AGW, etc. are different matters than calling nonsense like this economic "collapse".

And re the MSM can't be trusted because it is a well coordinated pack of liars and they're all in on it, so we must trust such doomer sites instead. Really? That's even more loopy than the idea that at this stage, Sears and/or JC Penney going away would even create a noticable economic ripple.

But if you have no rational story (as far as short term collapse), be sure and make something up. The echo-chamber of oft-proclaimed insta-doom will surely believe you, at any rate.

[copious.abundance]

ISM manufacturing index climbs to best level in more than two years

Manufacturers are getting giddy, if the latest survey of purchasing managers is to be believed.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 57.5% from 56% in January, topping the MarketWatch-compiled economist consensus of 56.5%.

Any reading above 50% indicates improving conditions. It is the highest reading since August 2014.

[...]

The components were very strong: the new-orders index rose 4.7 points to 65.1% and the production index added 1.5 points to 62.9%, though the employment index slipped 1.9 points to 54.2%.

Prices cooled off a bit but were still strong, down 1 point to 68%.

Separately, the Markit final U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index posted 54.2 in February, down only slightly from January’s 22-month peak of 55.0.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest in Almost 44 Years

The fewest Americans in almost 44 years filed applications to collect unemployment benefits last week, indicating the job market continues to power forward.

Jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 223,000 in the week ended Feb. 25, the fewest since March 1973 and below the lowest projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. The median forecast called for 245,000 applications.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

A bit late - from Friday.



US Services Firms Expand at Fastest Pace Since Mid-2014

The service sector expanded in February at the fastest pace since October 2015, a sign of strong growth as the nation heads into spring.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group for purchasing managers, said Friday that its services index rose to 57.6 percent last month from 56.5 percent in January.

Any reading over 50 percent signals that more businesses are expanding instead of contracting.

The services sector has now expanded for 86 straight months. Sixteen of the 18 service sectors tracked by the ISM expanded in February, the highest number since mid-2014, according to the survey. Only real estate and information services reported a contraction in business.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

GE to build $100 mln jet engine plant in Indiana
BMW plans $1 billion expansion in South Carolina
GM to add 1,400 Michigan jobs with new Chevrolet Volt on the way
Boeing plans fast start to 777X buildings in Everett
New carpet plant in Carbondale, Ga., could be world's biggest
Giti, a Singapore tire company, to bring 1,700 jobs to Chester County, S.C., invest $560 million
SolarCity plans world's largest solar panel plant in upstate N.Y.
Chinese company to invest $2 billion, create 2,000 jobs in Chesterfield, VA
Volkswagen to spend $900 million at Tennessee plant to build new SUV, add 2,000 jobs
3,850 jobs may eventually come to South Jersey waterfront
East Tennessee auto supplier creates 1,000 jobs
Tesla's Reno 'Gigafactory' would create jobs bonanza
Wentzville GM plant adding third shift, 750 jobs
Ford to add 850 jobs at Dearborn factories for new F-150 truck
Ford will add 1,200 jobs at Claycomo plant for its new Transit van
Vertex Rail to bring 1,300 jobs to Wilmington, invest $50 million in production facility
21st Century Economy: Google could hire 30,000 in Bay Area based on tech titan's development spree
Fuyao set to double hiring at Moraine plant to 1,500 jobs
21st Century Economy: Cerner Corp Breaks Ground on $4.45B Campus With 16,000 Jobs in Kansas City, Missouri
Ford will add 900 workers at Claycomo plant to build the F-150 truck
Daimler to build South Carolina plant, creating 1,300 jobs
Nissan to add 1,000 jobs in Smyrna
GM mulls expansion of SUV plant in Texas
GM to add 2,500 jobs, invest $1B at Warren Tech Center
Volvo factory to bring 4,000 jobs to South Carolina
Continental Tire confirms it will create 2,500 jobs in Hinds County, Mississippi
FCA investing $1B, adding 1,000 jobs at Jeep plants
Sentury Tire confirms plans for $530 million, 1,000-job plant in Georgia
Intel will finally finish Fab 42 in Arizona, bring new 7nm capacity online

Exxon to invest $20 billion on US Gulf Coast refining projects

Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer, said on Monday it would invest $20 billion through 2022 to expand its chemical and oil refining plants on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The investments at 11 sites should create 35,000 temporary construction jobs and 12,000 permanent jobs, Chief Executive Darren Woods said in a speech at CERAWeek, the world's largest gathering of energy executives.

Some of the expansions began in 2013, but the scope of the project is now growing and the timeline extended, Exxon said.

[...]

"Exxon Mobil is building a manufacturing powerhouse along the U.S. Gulf Coast," Woods said. "These businesses are leveraging the shale revolution to manufacture cleaner fuels and more energy-efficient plastics."

The investments across Texas and Louisiana will take advantage of cheap shale gas to make plastics and other chemicals for export. The strategy builds on prior steps Exxon and peers, including Dow Chemical, have taken in the wake of the American shale expansion, which sharply cut production costs.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

Job creation posts blowout month in February, ADP says

Companies added jobs at a blistering pace in February, with a notable shift away from the service-sector positions that have dominated hiring for years, according to a report Wednesday.

Employment in the private sector surged by 298,000 for the month, with goods producers adding 106,000, ADP and Moody's Analytics said. Construction jobs swelled by 66,000 and manufacturing added 32,000.

The total shattered market expectations of 190,000, according to economists surveyed by ADP. The blockbuster report also solidified market expectations for the Fed to hike interest rates next week. Probability for an increase jumped to 91 percent after the release, according to the CME.

[...]

[onlooker]

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... er-america
A Third Of All U.S. Shopping Malls Are Projected To Close As ‘Space Available’ Signs Go Up All Over America

[onlooker]

This little stock market bump is testimony to the irrationality of the market. President Trump has been in office a few months, has acted on little, other than spouting his unfulfilled promise to 'bring jobs home'.

And the deniers over at ETP what us to believe that economics trumps thermodynamics. CRaxy!!

Dead cat bounce

[vtsnowedin]

This little stock market bump is testimony to the irrationality of the market. President Trump has been in office a few months, has acted on little, other than spouting his unfulfilled promise to 'bring jobs home'.

And the deniers over at ETP what us to believe that economics trumps thermodynamics. CRaxy!!

Dead cat bounce

Ten percent in four months is a pretty good bounce for a dead cat. Congress needs to start delivering or it will fade away but it is a long way from what many predicted would happen with a Trump win.

[Cog]

If it had been a ten percent drop, the doomers would have heralded it as sure signs of the end. Not surprisingly, they do the same on a ten percent rise. Everything is doom to a doomer.

[Cog]

You tea party types hold a maximum of two ideas at a time: 'doomer' and 'obama'

[vtsnowedin]

You tea party types hold a maximum of two ideas at a time: 'doomer' and 'obama'

I'll take just one idea at a time that is factually correct over a dozen half baked ideas that will never work.

[copious.abundance]

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/a-third-of-all-u-s-shopping-malls-are-projected-to-close-as-space-available-signs-go-up-all-over-america
A Third Of All U.S. Shopping Malls Are Projected To Close As ‘Space Available’ Signs Go Up All Over America

Ah yes, the completely unbiased and objective "economic collapse blog." Of course they aren't going to mention that the only thing happening is online sales are replacing brick-and-mortar sales, which is why some malls are dying. IOW, retail sales aren't dying, they're just shifting to another medium. But you see, the gloom-and-doom crowd doesn't like to be reminded of things like that, because it would ruin the doomer narrative.

For example ...

Amazon's U.S. Online Sales Growth Last Year Was More Than Everyone Else's Combined

It's no secret that Amazon.com is a dominant force in online retail. But it's still astounding just how dominant it's been in recent years. New data from Slice Intelligence shows that Amazon took 53% of all of the sales growth of online retailers in the U.S. last year.

Amazon's North American sales increased 25.2% in 2016. Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau has been tracking e-commerce sales growth at around 15.5% through the first three quarters of the year.

Put another way, despite its size, Amazon continues to take share of the growing e-commerce market, and competitors such as Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) are struggling to keep up.

[...]

[copious.abundance]

U.S. added 235,000 jobs in February; unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent

The U.S. economy added a healthy 235,000 jobs in February, according to government data released Friday morning, surpassing economists' expectations and likely clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.7 percent, compared with 4.8 percent in January, and wages rose by 6 cents to $26.09 in February, after a 5-cent increase the month before.

“It’s definitely a solid report,” said Tara Sinclair, an economist at George Washington University. “This is the kind of number that the Federal Reserve was looking to receive before their meetings next week.”

[...]