December 17, 2017 | Mixed Economic Picture Seems Unthreatening

This week’s economic news will include reports each day on some aspect of the housing industry: sales, starts, buyer confidence and prices. I’d made much of the downturn in the housing sector earlier this year, when I’d assumed recession was just around the bend. Car sales were starting to falter badly as well. Now, with just two more weeks left in 2017, housing sales have revived, even if prices have receded somewhat from their peaks. The car industry is another matter, however, as the table (click on inset) makes clear. A mixed picture, for sure, but not one that would seem to threaten recession. A recession will happen eventually, triggered not because of a weakening housing market or falling auto sales, but because stocks have fallen sharply for reasons that will not be apparent at the time.
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Rick Ackerman December 17th, 2017
Posted In: Rick's Picks