Maybe It Isn’t As Bad As It Seems

Chart of the Week for September 10-16, 2004

Investors have been bombarded with conflicting reports about the state of the economy in recent weeks. Economic indicator reports frame the headlines with either good or bad news almost daily and the stories vary. The chart above shows the percent change so far in 2004 for some of these indicators and they all seem positive, except rising inflation measured by CPI. Even the jobless claims, shown in red, is positive because it is indicating a decrease in initial claims for unemployment. It appears from this chart that people are making more money, continuing to shop, buying new homes, and jobs are slowly becoming more available. All-in-all, not a bad outlook for such confusing news.

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