Today, the MSM is trumpeting the rise in home sales, trying to ignore that those homes sold because of a soon-to-expire tax credit (since extended) and the fact that sales prices tumbled hard. This is supposed to hint that the economy has turned the corner and that those “green shoots” are back. Happy days are here again, right?
Well, not exactly. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago threw a huge bucket of water on the economic flare up today, in a story that the American press is not covering all that much as far as I can tell. Reuters, however, twigged to it.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said on Monday its gauge of the national economy fell further into negative territory in October, in a report that suggested the economic recovery could be in trouble.
Trouble is an understatement. The Chicago Fed actually mentions the “R” word in their press release:
When the CFNAI-MA3 value moves below –0.70 following a period of economic expansion, there is an increasing likelihood that a recession has begun.
The economy is not recovering. In fact, this indicates the exact opposite. Other data also indicates that there is a problem. Gold is rising to all time record highs while the dollar continues it’s slide.
Yes, some homes sold at greatly deflated prices, everything else is looking rather more bleak.
Yes, the ‘vaporecovery’ was an effete sham. Government executives everywhere: layoffs excluding the confines of your office cannot save your sorry derriere.