A wealth of economic data released today gives mixed messages. Initial jobless claims almost 10% higher than last week. June housing starts were 6.9% higher than the prior month. This marked the highest number in almost four years, since October 2008. Yet existing home sales fell 5.4% due to constrained inventory. That same inventory shortage helped prices rise 5% to their highest level since September 2008. The Leading Economic Indicators fell 0.3% in June, after rising 0.4% in May. This gives further evidence of a slowing economy. And finally, natural gas prices have risen to a six month high thanks to record heat across the country and inventory levels are falling a bit. Overall, a mediocre picture, yet the stock market is holding firm near 13,000. Go figure.
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Go figure indeed. On a similar note, The Wall Street Journal reports that New York’s unemployment rate rose again in June to its highest level in more than two years, continuing a puzzling trend: As the nation’s jobless numbers have declined in the past year, the city and state numbers have turned sharply upward.