In the News.....

In the News Oct. 29, 2012 Real estate was a major newsmaker last week, with sales of new single-family homes in September hitting an annual rate of 389,000 units, the Census Bureau reported last week. This was 5.7 percent over August's revised rate of 368,000, and a whopping 27.1 percent over September 2011's estimate of 306,000. Analysts say that the considerable annual gain is leading to price stability, and to that point, the median sales price of new homes sold in September was $242,400, and the average sales price was $292,400. In terms of inventory, the estimate of new homes for sale at the end of September was 145,000, representing a 4.5-month supply at the current sales rate. In employment news, initial jobless claims filed in the week ending Oct. 20 dipped to 369,000, a decrease of 23,000 claims from the previous week's revised figure of 392,000, according to last week's report from the Employment and Training Administration. The four-week moving average was 368,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 366,500. The total number of unemployed Americans for the week ending October 13 skirted down to 3,254,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,256,000, the Administration also reported. The four-week moving average was 3,269,750, a decrease of 6,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,276,500. Turning to manufacturing, new orders for durable goods in September grew by 9.9 percent ($19.6 billion) to $218.2 billion, the Census Bureau reported last week. This increase followed a 13.1 percent August decrease and four monthly gains before that. Transportation equipment, up five of the last six months, had the largest increase, $16.8 billion or 31.7 percent to $69.6 billion. Excluding transportation, new orders gained 2 percent, and excluding defense, new orders grew by 9.1 percent. Shipments of durable goods during September expanded 0.8 percent ($1.8 billion) to $224.2 billion. This followed a 2.9 percent August decrease, and two prior monthly gains. Transportation equipment, also up two of the last three months increased the most, gaining 1.3 percent ($0.8 billion) to hit $64.7 billion. Inventories of manufactured durable goods in September, up 32 of the last 33 months, gained 0.3 percent ($0.9 billion) to hit $372.9 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first published in 1992 and followed a 0.6 percent August increase. Transportation equipment, also up 32 of the last 33 months, saw the biggest increase, gaining 0.4 percent ($0.4 billion) to hit $112.6 billion. This also was at the highest level since the series was first published. This week we can expect: Monday — September personal income and spending from the Bureau of Economic analysis. Tuesday — October consumer confidence from The Conference Board. Thursday — Initial jobless claims for last week from the Employment and Training Administration; September construction spending from the Census Bureau; October car and truck sales from the auto manufacturers. Friday — October unemployment, payrolls, earnings and workweek from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; September factory orders from the Census Bureau.