Jul 1, 2009 6:09 pm US/Eastern
Economy Showing Some Signs Of Recovery
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
It was hoped consumer confidence and spending would improve so much by the end of the second quarter of 2009; we'd literally start "buying our way" out of the recession. But with consumer confidence stalled and credit still tight, we're still holding onto our cash. And no spending means no major turn-around just yet.
Financial planner Lane Jones said, "There is no question that the headwinds are still there and there's a lot of uncertainty that still remains and hence people still intend to be cautious"
Still, the U.S. economy is showing signs of improvement.
The critical National Housing Markets are seeing growing sales based on bottom-line pricing and a glut of foreclosures.
Unemployment is worsening, with predictions the national unemployment rate will peak over 10% sometime later this fall. But layoffs are slowing down. Heavy industry's ramping up and overall, industrial output is showing steady gains.
Wall Street's still having good days and bad days after some of the best triple digit gains of the year. During early June, it looked like 2009's losses would actually be erased. International tourism and foreign trade is boosting South Florida's economy. But, both are still down from last year.
Many experts believe until our overall housing and construction sectors improve, our economic recovery will remain stalled though still better than the rest of the state.
Financial Planner Matt McGrath, of Coral Gables-based Evensky & Katz, said housing sales have to improve here before we can really see any signs of recovery, though he still believes because of the strength of our local economy, we'll feel a recovery here before the rest of the state.
Over the next few weeks, the latest corporate earnings' reports will give us more clues where the U.S. economy is heading. But as we end the first half of the year, it's clear the economy has made some solid progress. But it's also clear we still have a long way to go.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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