With money supply growth continuing at an erratic stop-go pace, the economy and stock market reflect the mad policy of Ben Bernanke. Today the numbers are on the upside.
New applications for U.S. jobless benefits dipped slightly in the latest week and U.S. housing starts rose more than expected and permits for future construction touched a five month high in May.
Jobless claims fell to 414,000 in the week ended June 11 from an upwardly revised 430,000 in the prior week.
Continuing claims fell to 3.68 million from 3.70 million in the week to June 4, the most recent data available, while the total number of recipients on benefit rolls, including those receiving emergency benefits under a congressional extension, remained at 7.4 million in the week ending May 28, down about 200,000 from a week earlier.
The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 3.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units, retracing almost half of April's steep decline. April's starts were revised up to a 541,000 unit pace, which was previously reported as a 523,000 unit rate.
Multi-family home starts rose 2.9 percent. Single-family home construction, which accounts for a large portion of the market, rose 3.7 percent.
New building permits climbed 8.7 percent to a 612,000-unit pace last month. Permits were boosted by a 23.2 percent surge in the multi-family segment. Permits to build single-family homes rose 2.5 percent. The increase in the construction of multi-family units reflects a growing demand for rentals as people fear the housing market----a good sign that now may be the time to buy a house for those looking.
Just out of curiosity, why exactly are we building new houses? Not only do we have plenty of houses on the market (as shown by the decrease in prices), but there are still thousands of houses that haven't been foreclosed on yet. WTF?! Something is amiss here....
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