Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Quick Overview

  • The OECD today cut its forecast for 2007 OECD-country GDP growth to +2.5% from +3.2% in 2006, which would be the weakest level since 2003.

  • Durable goods orders posted their biggest decline since July 2000, falling 8.7% in October. Excluding transport, orders were down 1.7%

  • U.S. Consumer confidence fell to 102.9 in November from a revised 105.1 last month, the New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday.

  • The confidence of American consumers rose in the latest week to match its 2006 high and best since April 2002, just in time for the beginning of the holiday season, ABC News and The Washington Post said on Tuesday.

  • The National Association of Realtors said U.S. existing home sales were at an annual rate of 6.24 million units in October, better than expected and up 0.5% from September's pace. The 3.85 million homes for sale in October represented a 7.4 month supply, the most in 13 years.

  • The U.S. economy is not yet facing a generalized economic slowdown, despite cooling in the housing and automobile sectors, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist said on Tuesday.

  • Retail sales in Japan were down 0.2% in October, more than expected.

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