Reuters: Economy was wavering before Katrina

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-09-22T171246Z_01_MOR248331_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECONOMY.xml

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. economy may have been losing steam even before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in late August, a gauge of likely future conditions showed on Thursday as Hurricane Rita bore down on the Texas oil patch.

Leading economic indicators fell by 0.2 percent in August, slightly less than the median forecast for a 0.3 percent decline, according to the New York-based Conference Board.

Katrina's fallout on the jobs market continued as weekly U.S. jobless claims spiked to the highest in over two years.

July's indicators were revised to show a 0.1 percent drop from an original 0.1 percent increase.

The index has risen only 1.9 percent over the past year.

As recently as March 2004 the year-on-year growth rate was 10 percent, said Steven Wood, economist at Insight Economics.

...more...

[Maple]

1. I wouldn't say 'wavering'

I'd say 'teetering'

[KittyWampus]

5. how about hovering over an abyss?

[htuttle]

6. Hovering like Wile E. Coyote right before he looks down

[Maple]

9. Yeah, that's more accurate

unfortunately.

[liberal N proud]

2. Save that document and put it in the face of every neo-con

or bu$h loyalist that blames Katrina for the ensuing depression.

[SiouxJ]

10. No kidding. They are gonna use Katrina as an excuse

for all of Shrub's failures. I can hear it now. Americans have bad memories and none will remember that he was bankrupting this country, long before Katrina - unless we keep reminding them.

[stopbush]

3. How soon before the phrase "going back to the Clinton years"

is added to that "wavering economy" statement?

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. Right, these same "experts" claimed the economy was "humming"

right along, fueled by low interest rates and easy to borrow money.

[orion9941]

7. Ya know....

When they said that the Recession was over with, I looked around at the job market, I looked at the news, and I looked in my check book, and had to ask myself...according to who?!?!?!

On paper we may not officially be in a recession any longer, but dammit it still feels like one to me!

[leesa]

8. Really? I think "in the toilet" might be a more apt description

of the economy before Katrina.

[54anickel]

11. No way!!! They were all saying it was STRONG! You don't mean to

say they were ly-y-y-y-y-ing again?

The only thing that's been strong about this economy since the usurper moved into the WH has been the stench.

[AX10]

12. Really, weren't these experts crowing about the great economy...

just a few months back. The economy is on the verge of a recession. Expect this to occur in mid 2006.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

13. Plenty of other verbs come to mind other than wavering

Swirling the bowl would be far more apropos.

Regardless, I would not want to be an incumbent next fall...

DBDB

[area51]

14. "... the U.S. economy may have been losing steam ...."

Well, no shit, Sherlock. Anyone who has tried to find a job in this dying economy could have told Reuters that. This economy's been sinking ever since GW Hoover jumped into the White House.