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Author Archives: Mark Lieberman

Mark Lieberman is the former Senior Economist at Fox Business Network. He is now Managing Director and Senior Economist at Economics Analytics Research. He can be heard each Friday on The Morning Briefing on POTUS on Sirius-XM Radio 124.

First-Time Jobless Claims Continue Post-Sandy Improvement

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 23,000 to 393,000 for the week ending November 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 390,000 initial claims filings. First-time unemployment claims are gradually returning to pre-Sandy levels but remain elevated. In the four weeks prior to the storm that ravaged the East Coast, initial claims averaged about 369,000. Claims spiked to 451,000 in the week immediately following and have averaged 405,000 in the two weeks following.

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Beige Book Illustrates Economic Fractures

Fed

The economy, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, expanded "at a measured pace" in seven of the 12 federal reserve districts--Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. There was also "a somewhat stronger increase in activity" in Minneapolis and St. Louis. However, Boston and New York showed slower growth and weaker conditions attributable to Hurricane Sandy, and Philadelphia reported "general weakness that was exacerbated" by the storm. According to the Beige Book, business leaders and others "expressed concern and uncertainty about the federal budget, especially the fiscal cliff."

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October New Home Sales Dip, September Revised Downward

New home sales barely budged in October, dropping 0.3 percent to 368,000 after September's report was revised sharply downward from an original 389,000 to 369,000 the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the report to show a sales pace of 387,000. Even with the slow growth in October, sales are up 17.2 percent from October 2011. However, the year-over-year gain was weaker than the 25.3 percent annual growth reported for September.

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Case-Shiller: September Home Prices Up, Momentum Slows

price

Despite another month of home price improvement, the housing sector stumbled in September as prices increased in 13 of the 20 cities covered in the monthly Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The month-over-month September gain was weaker than in August, when prices rose in all cities surveyed.

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Housing Starts, Completions Rise in October as Permits Dip

bubble

Housing starts rose 3.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000--the highest level since July 2008--but permits for new residential construction fell, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Tuesday. Permits and starts for September were revised lower, making the month-over-month percentage growth for starts stronger. Permits in October were down 2.7 percent from September to 866,000.

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Existing-Home Sales, Prices Rise in October

Weathering Hurricane Sandy, sales of existing homes increased in October, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Total existing-home sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million in October from a downwardly revised 4.69 million in September. September sales were originally reported at 4.75 million. October home sales are up 10.9 percent over October 2011. The median price of an existing single-family home was $178,600 in October, 11.1 percent ahead of the median price in October 2011, $160,300.

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Sandy Cuts Jobless Claims

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 8,000 to 363,000 for the week ended November 3, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 370,000 initial claims filing. It was the third straight weekly decline and the fifth drop in the last seven weeks.

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