How’s that Recovery Summer Fall Winter Spring Summer doing?
New durable goods orders in August fell by the most since the recession and a separate reading on the broader U.S. economy came in much weaker than expected. But weekly jobless claims sank to a two-month low, in a hopeful sign for the labor market.
So it’s hopeful now that people keep giving up looking for a job?
New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods in August fell by the most in 3 1/2 years, pointing to a sharp slowdown in factory activity even as a gauge of planned business spending rebounded.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday durable goods orders dived 13.2 percent, the largest drop since January 2009, when the economy was in the throes of a recession. Orders for July were revised down to show a 3.3 percent increase instead of the previously reported 4.1 percent gain.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders for durable goods — items from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last at least three years — to fall 5 percent.
Reuters needs to find some new economists to poll. Its usual suspects keep getting blindsided by the obvious weaknesses in the economy.
Those weaknesses are: High energy costs, thanks in part to the Obama EPA’s stringent coal regulations and thanks in part to volatility in the Middle East. The first is Obama’s policy, which he could reverse but will not, the second has a lot to do with this president’s inattention to his job. High energy costs lead to slowed economic activity. The second major weakness is ObamaCare, which a majority of small business owners cite as the main drag on their businesses. Small business is the engine of the US economy and job growth. Put the brakes on them and you get very little movement in the unemployment picture.
In other words, Barack Obama is hurting the already weak economy with his policies. Reuters’ clueless economists just don’t seem to get it.
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