Economics Update

Credit card defaults have hit a 20 year high, which implies to me that the unemployment numbers when they come out are going to show further contraction.

Housing Starts were up 22% from January in February, though the headline on the link, "U.S. Housing Starts Rebound," is simply nonsensical, as Barry Ritholtz notes, single family building remained flat, it was people building multi-residential properties, and even with the gain, the number is down 50% year over year.

Calculated Risk's Credit Crisis Indicators are showing modest improvement, though they all remain at troubling levels.

In energy, oil hit a new high for the year, approaching nearly $50/bbl, and in currency, they dollar was down only marginally.