The US budget deficit has moved above $1 trillion (£616bn) for the first time – with three months of the financial year remaining, official data show. The government stepped up spending to counter the recession, and the bailout of financial institutions has taken a huge chunk out of government finances. Falling tax revenues and unemployment […]
From Calculated Risk: Just using Sacramento as an example … I wish the NAR broke out the data like this! The Sacramento Association of REALTORS® is now breaking out monthly resales by equity sales (normal resales), and distressed sales (Short sales and REO sales). Here is the June data. They started breaking out REO sales […]
By Ana Campoy Oil bulls betting that a burgeoning economic recovery would boost crude prices got another slap today. New government data showed that the nation’s fuel stockpiles continue to balloon as demand for them remains in the doldrums. Diesel inventories, in particular, soared to their highest level since 1985, more than 30% above their […]
From Calculated Risk: Last night Reis reported that the U.S. office vacancy rate hit 15.9 percent in Q2. (See Reis: U.S. Office Vacancy Rate Hits 15.9% in Q2 for a graph). This graph shows the office vacancy rate vs. the quarterly unemployment rate and recessions. The unemployment rate and the office vacancy rate tend to […]
Update: Apparently, some retouching shenanigans occurred with this series, and The New York Times has withdrawn the photos. Too bad we didn’t get that kind of probity from NYT before the invasion of Iraq. We have been discussing Whither the McMansion, wondering about their future; their present is equally troubling. The New York Times sent […]
From Calculated Risk: By popular request … The FDIC closed seven more banks yesterday, and the following graph shows bank failures by week for 2009. So far there have been 52 FDIC bank failures in 2009.It appears the pace has picked up lately (12 bank closings over the last two weeks). … FDIC Bank Failures […]
From Calculated Risk: The graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions for the last 45 years. New Home sales have fallen off a cliff. … New Home Sales: Record Low for May Technorati Tags: financial collapse
Dmitry Orlov brings his A-game: This talk was presented at The New Emergency Conference in Dublin, on June 11, 2009. Good morning. The title of this talk is a bit of a mouthful, but what I want to say can be summed up in simpler words: we all have to prepare for life without much […]
From Calculated Risk: This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is at another record low (the series starts in 1967). In addition to the weakness in industrial production, there is little reason for investment in new production facilities until capacity utilization recovers. … Industrial Production Declines, Capacity Utilization at Record Low Technorati Tags: financial collapse
Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic “shrink to survive” proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline. By Tom Leonard in Flint, Michigan The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and […]
