Economy still falling, but not off a cliff
Data shows improvement, but no growth yet
The good news over the past few months is that the U.S. economy doesn’t seem to be getting much sicker. The bad news is that it’s not getting better very quickly.
Day traders can cheer or moan over each piece of data that crosses the wire as better or worse than expected. But the rest of us would be better served to look at the economy from 30,000 feet to see the bigger picture.
The view shows the economy is still very weak. Thousands of people are losing their jobs every day, and few are hired. Thousands of homes go into foreclosures every day. Businesses are still cutting back on their investments in the future. Factories are shipping fewer goods out the door. Home sales are anemic.
It’s easy to get depressed about such numbers, but a balanced view also recognizes that there is progress of a sort.
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