Economics Update

New Home sales and interest rates (H/t The Big Picture)

So the OMC of the Fed held its meeting, and left interest rates and purchases of debt unchanged, which basically means that they are still concerned about the recession, and not inflation, which they called "subdued".

You can see the full statement here.

On a more general level, we have durable goods rose unexpectedly in May, primarily on increased aircraft sales, but new home sales unexpectedly decreased in May.

We have a further indication of weakness in real estate from the Architecture billings index, which was up only 1/10 point, and still indicates continued contraction.

Mortgage applications rose last week, but that week was hit hard by the higher interest rates at that time.

We also have an indication that it's not just real-estate where banks will be hurting. The Moody’s Credit Card Index showed charge offs in excess of 10% for the first time ever, so in addition, to subprime, prime, and commercial real estate, expect to see big losses from credit cards.

Meanwhile, the Fed statement drove the dollar up, and oil down.