Leading Indicators Down for 5th Month (not necessarily a recession coming)

[papau]

Gary Thayer, chief economist with A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. "It's signaling .... not necessarily a recession."



http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=6&u=/nm/20041118/bs_nm/economy_index_dc

Leading Indicators Down for 5th Month

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key forecasting gauge of future U.S. economic activity fell for a fifth straight month in October, a private research firm said on Thursday.


The Conference Board (news - web sites) said its index of leading indicators fell 0.3 percent in October to 115.1, a fifth straight monthly decline. The index fell by a matching 0.3 percent in both September and August. The September figure was downwardly revised from a previously reported drop of 0.1 percent.


"A fifth straight decline in the leading indicators is a clear signal that the economy is losing steam, and may start off 2005 with a relatively weak pace of economic activity," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said in a statement.


The Conference Board said the decline in the October leading index was led by several negative contributors, notably consumer expectations, money supply and the interest rate spread. <snip>

[maxsolomon]

1. a recession is when wealth returns to its rightful owners

i read that somewhere.

go team america!

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Should this be in the Economics forum

rather than Environment and Energy?

[papau]

3. Environoment vs economics - - sigh - - time for a nap!

:toast:

:-)

[zbdent]

4. Similar situation as in 2000 - the economy was losing steam

Of course, that's enough for the Repukes to say that the recession started under Clinton . . .