Needed: More confidence in business investment

Needed: More confidence in business investment

If the Trump administration is going to get the economy growing at something better than the 1.6% growth in GDP recorded in 2016, it’s going to need businesses to invest in new plants and new equipment–the stuff needed to make more stuff. Which is why the January report on durable goods order released today by the Department of Commerce is a little worrying.

New home sales slightly lower than forecast in January; weakness at lower end of market

New home sales slightly lower than forecast in January; weakness at lower end of market

Sales of new homes climbed in January from December’s disappointment–climbing 3.7% to a 555,000 annualized rate–but still fell short, modestly, of forecasts. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for an annualized rate of 571,000. I don’t think there’s anything in these numbers to cause a revision in thinking about interest rates at the Federal Reserve.