Economy - Wednesday      (Investor's Business Daily)
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Investor's Business Daily - Credit woes are easing and its impact on growth will be muted, Robert Steel, Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance, told CNBC. &quot;The U.S. economy is strong and we&#39;re optimistic the penalty (on growth from credit woes) will be modest,&quot; he said. Credit markets should mostly be functioning normally by year-end, he said.
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Investor's Business Daily - U.S. stock mutual funds tumbled for the third straight month in July as the Federal Reserve kept raising interest rates, oil prices rose and geopolitical problems from North Korean missile tests to an Israel military strike into Lebanon kept investors on the sidelines.
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Investor's Business Daily - While rivals Hewlett-Packard and IBM struggle with change, computer giant Dell showed its consistency Thursday.
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Investor's Business Daily - Insult is about to follow injury. It's bad enough that you've had to put up with a so-so year of market performance. Now you have to brace for an expected rise in stock fund capital gain distributions.
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Investor's Business Daily - The Economic Cycle Research Institute&#39;s leading U.S. index edged down to 140.6 in the week ended Sept. 14 after climbing in the prior 2 weeks. The 4-week annualized growth rate ticked up to 0.4% from 0.3%, which was the lowest since last Oct. ECRI says readings would have to fall sharply negative before they&#39;d signal recession.
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Investor's Business Daily - Average 30-year rates fell to 6.14% from 6.18% in the prior week. The 15-year rate averaged 5.86% vs. 5.92%, while 1-year ARMs fell to 5.47% from 5.49%. Rates are at their lowest levels so far this year, Freddie Mac said, citing worries over last week's sell-off in stocks and concerns over the slowing U.S. economy.
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Investor's Business Daily - California, Florida and Ohio led the 176,137 total U.S. filings, RealtyTrac said. The total was nearly double May &#39;06 and 19% higher than April. More homeowners are falling behind on payments. Higher foreclosure activity also likely will mean lower home prices. Median prices fell 1.8% in Q1, according to the National Association of Realtors.
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Investor's Business Daily - The Business Roundtable&#39;s CEO Economic Outlook Index fell 3 points to 81.9 in May amid high energy prices and the housing slump. But that&#39;s still well-above the boom-bust line of 50. Most executives expect sales, capital spending and hiring to be flat or rise in the coming months. &quot;While the survey does suggest that the economy is settling into a softer consolidation phase, as long as consumers keep spending, the economy can continue to move ahead,&quot; said Harold McGraw, the group&#39;s chairman.
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Investor's Business Daily - Despite a sagging stock market, investors put &#36;9.46 billion into stock mutual funds in July.
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Investor's Business Daily - The Chicago Fed&#39;s manufacturing index rose to 106 in July from an upwardly revised 105.3 in June. Still, the index is only up half a percent from a year ago, below national increases. The gain came from a 1% rise in resource output. That helped offset declines in the auto, steel and machinery segments.
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Investor's Business Daily - The National Assoc. of Realtors cut its &#39;07 outlook for the fourth consecutive month. Home resales will fall to 6.18 mil from last month&#39;s forecast of 6.29 mil and well below the initial 6.42 mil forecast. The median existing-home sales price will fall 1.3%, more than the previously forecast 1% slide. The median new-home price will fall 2.3% to $240,800, reversing the Jan. forecast for a 2% gain, NAR said.
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Investor's Business Daily - March crude rose $1.30 to $90.71 a barrel -- topping $91 intraday -- on rising beliefs that the U.S. is headed for a recession. Oil prices shot up $2.42 on Thu. after House leaders and President Bush agreed on a $150 bil economic stimulus plan. Crude hit a 3-month closing low of $86.99 on Wed. OPEC is expected to discuss further output hikes at its Feb. 1 meeting.
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Investor's Business Daily - What the credit crisis couldn't do to the private-equity market -- knock it to the canvas for a 10-count -- a looming recession might.
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Investor's Business Daily - The economy continues to grow at a decent clip with inflation well in hand, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress Wednesday.
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Investor's Business Daily - The Mortgage Bankers Association&#39;s applications index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3% to 622.9 in the week ended Aug. 31, but multiple applications and refilings caused by recent credit problems may have played a role. Activity could slow on higher interest rates. The MBA said a dearth of demand for short-term loans sent 1-year ARM rates to 6.52%, near week-ago levels but well above longer-term rates. Average 30-year mortgages edged up to 6.42% from 6.41%. ARMs made up just 12.6% of applications in the week, down from more than 30% just a few weeks ago.
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Investor's Business Daily - Stock markets have soared in India for the last few years. HDFC Bank has held on for the ride.
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Investor's Business Daily - These are good times for owners of mutual funds that go short.