Moving in the right direction
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, August 31, 2009
In case you missed the official proclamation, the global recession is just about over!
I guess that means we can all exhale.
Two weeks ago, during an economic symposium in Wyoming, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke credited aggressive actions taken by a number of banks and world governments for helping the global economy to come out of this recent recession.
According to news reports, Germany's economy, as one example, grew 0.3% in the second quarter and was declared to be out of its recession.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press recently noted that, “Japan's return to growth — thanks to a 6.3% uptick in exports along with government stimulus measures — marked the end of a yearlong recession.”
The AP went on to note that, “Turnabouts in European and Asian economies, along with recent gains in the U.S., are raising hopes that the worldwide recession is drawing to a close.”
Truth be told, there are encouraging signs that our housing market, which was one of the drivers that pushed us into the ditch, may indeed be on the mend.
Reuters recently polled more than 60 economists, who believe U.S. sales of existing homes may have risen to their highest level in 10 months in July, probably as the result of consumers hoping to take advantage of the $8,000 government tax credit that is available until November to first-time homeowners.
The survey indicated that sales of previously owned homes climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million in July, the highest rate since last September and the fourth consecutive month that sales of existing homes have improved.
Last week, the Commerce Department said new home sales surged 9.6% in July from June. No doubt, housing is more affordable, interest rates are still attractive and on paper, we are beginning to see some action.
So, is the recession really almost over? I don't know if I would go that far. But we are moving again and moving in the right direction.
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