January 27, 2009
January 27, 2009 by admin
Tuesday unveiled two key economic reports for the market to digest. Economic news has a tendancy to send the stock market on a roller coaster ride as investors today are searching for a direction in this highly volatile time. The first report released today covered existing home prices. According to a report release from CaseSchiller, existing home prices have fallen by almost 20% over the past twelve months. This can clearly be attirbuted to the challenges facing the U.S. housing market from the foreclosure crisis that is continuing to gain momentum. The second major report to be released today is the consumer confidence report. This report showed a decrease in confidence to the lowest level in the past 40 years. Consumers have little reason for optimism as employers are continuing to announce further corporate layoffs and almost all major economic news has been negative over the past sixty days.
The government is likely to focus on the economic stimulus packages they have been devising over the past sixty days. Internationally, Germany and Japan have both announced they will be moving forward with their own stimulus programs in an effort to jump start their respective economies. Locally, fixed rate mortgage loans remain relatively unchanged, despite the negative economic news. The stock market has traded in almost a 200 point range for the day, not uncommon reaction to the uncertain times.