Let’s get all the bad news out of the way.
Durable goods orders fell $9 billion or 5.2% in January. The following quote describes the situation in manufacturing:
“There’s no forward-looking purchase, no anticipating next quarter being strong,” said Daniel J. Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. “You’re in a survival mode. You’re only replacing. You’re not investing for future growth. All you can do is wait it out.”
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims increased to 639,000 from 620,000.
GM reported that it had lost $30.9 billion in 2008.
These are truly awful numbers. At this point one has to hope that we are either in nearing the bottom or that the stimulus plan will begin to have some positive effect otherwise we are in for some very tough sledding indeed.
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