There are certainly a lot of indicators that are screaming “L!” in the present economic recovery.
Calculated Risk produces a graph of housing starts that certainly looks like an L to me.
Last week the International Council of Shopping Centers reported a 1.7% year-on-year increase for the month of March among its member retail chains. That figure is not adjusted for inflation.
Last week’s G.19 report on total consumer credit from the Federal Reserve showed a decrease from $2,432.9 billion in January 2011 to $2,416.5 in February 2011, nearly all of it coming from education loans.
Employment is phlegmatic—the number of new jobs created has been right around the level required to put those coming into the market to work for years and not nearly high enough to employ those who’ve been out of work since the start of the Great Recession.
GDP is rising largely due to the prodigious borrowing being done by the federal government. If you think that’s a good thing, you might want to take a look at Mish Shedlock’s post on the problem posed by interest on the debt over the long term.
Have a nice day.
Oy. You’ve been in this camp for two, two and a half years, as have I. At some point what’s the difference between a protracted U and an L?
I have some solutions, but they involve getting rid of the current President, and I know the invective that will come my way if I comment on that…….
“I have some solutions, but they involve getting rid of the current President, and I know the invective that will come my way if I comment on that…….”
Hey, not to worry. Since you think businessmen, folk, are supremely fitted to govern, you should be enjoying a suffusing warmth now that The Donald is about to capture the Republican nomination. Or at least inject some of his businessman’s wisdom into the race.