Economics Update

Well, it looks like real estate will be the suck for some time to come, as new home sales falling to an all time low, while inventory rose to 9.2 months, up from January's 8.9 months.

The snowpocalypse might have had a little to do with this, but it has nothing to do with the fact that the Architecture Billings Index falling, since that is all about future residential construction.

On the brighter side, durable orders rose, largely on civil aircraft purchases.

In the "why the hell is this happening?" division, treasuries fell and yields rose in the most recent bond auction, despite the fact that the Greek meltdown would normally encourage a flight to safety, which would bid T-bills up.

In any case, the Greek problems have driven the dollar up and oil down.

On the other hand, things are good in New Zealand, if you don't mind all the rain, with Kiwi GDP growing 0.8% (about a 3.2% annual rate) last quarter.