Consumer spending in the US probably rose last month for the first time in three months and home sales increased as Americans became more confident the recession will end this year, economists said ahead of reports this week.
Purchases advanced 0.3 percent, according to the median of 58 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of Commerce Department figures due on Friday. Combined sales of new and existing homes likely improved to 5.18 million, capping the first back-to-back increase since 2006, the survey showed.
“There’s more optimism as we get further away from last year’s financial-market chaos,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd in New York. “Spending on the part of consumers seems to be picking up after a soft patch. It looks like housing has bottomed.”
Government efforts to restore the flow of credit and prop up incomes are allowing households to take advantage of retailer discounts even as unemployment soars.
The Commerce Department’s spending report may also show incomes increased 0.3 percent last month after gaining 0.5 percent the month before, mainly reflecting the tax cuts and transfers linked to the administration’s stimulus plan, economists said.
Sales of existing homes climbed 3 percent to an annual pace of 4.82 million, the highest level since October, when the economy was in the throes of the financial crisis, according to the survey median. Foreclosure-driven declines in property values are helping to reduce the glut of unsold houses. The National Association of Realtors’ report is due tomorrow.
The next day, Commerce data may show purchases of new homes rose 2.3 percent last month to an annual pace of 360,000.
In another sign of the improving economic outlook, the Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment probably rose to 69 this month, the highest level in nine months, from 68.7 last month, economists’ forecasts show. The figures are due on Friday.
Business in Las Vegas has “clearly bottomed out,” said Jim Murren, chief executive officer of casino company MGM Mirage.
“It’s just a matter of how long we’re going to be on the bottom, and that is what we’re debating internally,” Murren said in a telephone interview last week. “The business trends are no longer deteriorating.”
Some parts of the economy are lagging. A Commerce report due on Wednesday may show bookings for goods meant to last several years slid 0.8 percent last month, the survey showed. Durable-goods orders excluding transportation equipment may have also fallen.
GDP shrank at a 5.7 percent pace in the first quarter, the same as estimated last month, revised figures from Commerce may show. Figures are due for release on Thursday.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS