http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/04/empty-restaurants-falling-rents.htmlEmpty Restaurants, Falling Rents, Abandoned Boats, and Collapsing Auction Sales
Signs of deflation continue to mount in numerous areas. Let's take a look at some headlines starting with a consumer spending survey: Consumer Spending to Drop Again
U.S. consumer spending will falter after a first-quarter spurt and recover only gradually toward the end of the year, a monthly Bloomberg News survey showed.
Purchases will drop at a 0.5 percent pace from April to June and grow at an average 0.9 percent rate the next six months, according to the median of 51 projections in a survey taken from March 30 to April 8. The estimated 0.5 percent first-quarter gain would break the longest slide since 1991.
Soaring unemployment and tattered household finances are forcing Americans to pay off debt and save more, preventing the economy from gaining traction. What’s shaping up to be the worst global recession in the postwar era means companies are also cutting back and foreigners are buying fewer U.S.-made goods.
“We are going to have an economic recovery, but it won’t feel like one most of us are used to,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Recovery by the end of the year is wishful thinking.
Hong Kong Auctions Sales Fall By 50%
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/04/empty-restaurants-falling-rents.html