But how do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values, which then become subject to unexpected and prolonged contractions... - Alan Greenspan, The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society, at the Annual Dinner and Francis Boyer Lecture of The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., December 5, 1996 Are investors too optimistic? [...]
Existing home sales rose in November to an annual rate of 3,820,000 units from 3,790,000 in October. This is 7% lower than November 2022, but the negative growth in sales is improving. If the National Association of Realtor's expectations for 4,710,000 sales in 2024 is correct, this series will show positive growth which could be north of 20%. Inflation in [...]
Chicago Fed Activities Index An expected drop in Oct versus strong Sept. We are near concerning levels which would be below -.5. Fuel Prices Continuing down. Existing Home Sales Sales are down again and inventory is up. This is all about affordability. Many home owners are locked into their home because of the large difference between their existing mortgage and [...]
The economic data over the last month continued to improve but the breadth of improvement has narrowed. Additionally, while most of the economic data series are still improving, the rate of change, as Jeff pointed out recently, has slowed. I guess that isn't that surprising as the initial phase of the recovery comes to an end. 2nd quarter was a [...]
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