Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims increase to 383,000

Note: The BEA reported that the second estimate of Q1 real GDP growth was 1.9%, lower than the advance estimate of 2.2% and at the consesnus expectation. Real Gross Domestic Income (GDI) was reported at 2.7% annual rate.

The DOL reports:

In the week ending May 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 383,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 373,000. The 4-week moving average was 374,500, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average of 370,750.

The previous week was revised up from 370,000 to 373,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 374,500.

The average has been between 363,000 and 384,000 all year.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

This was above the consensus forecast of 370,000.

Look Ahead: GDP, ADP Employment, Weekly Unemployment Claims, Chicago PMI

There are a number of US economic indicators to be released over the next two days, and that may take some of the focus off of Europe (probably not). For Thursday:

' At 8:15 AM ET, the ADP employment report is scheduled for release. This report is for private payrolls only (no government). The consensus is for 154,000 payroll jobs added in May, up from the 119,000 reported last month.

' At 8:30 AM ET, the second estimate of Q1 GDP will be released by the BEA. The consensus is that real GDP increased 1.9% annualized in Q1, slower than the advance estimate of 2.2%. The BEA will also release Q1 Gross Domestice Income (GDI).

' Also at 8:30 AM, the initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for claims to be unchanged at 370 thousand.

' At 9:45 AM, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for May will be released. The consensus is for a decrease to 56.1, down slightly from 56.2 in April.

' At 11:00 AM, the New York Fed will release the Q1 2012 Report on Household Debt and Credit (filled with data!)

For the monthly economic question contest (one more questions for May):

ADP: Private Employment increased 133,000 in May

ADP reports:

Employment in the U.S. nonfarm private business sector increased by 133,000 from April to May on a seasonally adjusted basis. The estimated gain from March to April was revised down modestly, from the initial estimate of 119,000 to a revised estimate of 113,000.

Employment in the private, service-providing sector increased 132,000 in May, after rising a revised 119,000 in April. Employment in the private, goods-producing sector increased 1,000 in May. Manufacturing employment dropped 2,000 jobs, the second consecutive monthly decline.

This was below the consensus forecast of an increase of 154,000 private sector jobs in May. The BLS reports on Friday, and the consensus is for an increase of 150,000 payroll jobs in May, on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis.

Note: ADP hasn't been very useful in predicting the BLS report, but this suggests a somewhat weaker than consensus report.

Case-Shiller Seasonal Factors

Economist Tom Lawler wrote today:

I put 'seasonally' in quotes, as there have substantial changes in the purported 'seasonal' pattern of home prices since the housing market cratered. The reason, of course, is that there is a marked 'seasonal' in the distressed-sales share of home sales, which peaks in the late winter months and hits a trough in the summer months. Not coincidentally, the 'shift' in the 'seasonal' pattern of home prices has been one where home prices are 'seasonally' much weaker than they used to be in late winter, and 'seasonally' much strong than they used to be in the summer.
...
Everyone 'knows' why, and since the 'cause' of the apparent wider 'seasonal' swings is known (and someday will go away), it's not rightly correct to call such swings 'seasonal.'

The following graph shows the change in the seasonal factor over time using the Case-Shiller National Index.

Click on graph for larger image.

Most of the wild "seasonal" swings are related to foreclosures. As Lawler noted, foreclosure sales are fairly steady throughout the year, and conventional sales have a seasonal pattern. So in the winter foreclosures are a higher percentage of sales, and that pushes down the NSA prices.

The second graph shows the year-over-year change in the seasonal factor. Clearly something started to happen around 2005.

It seems that the seasonal factors started changing in 2005 - when prices were still going up.

Also, it appears that the change in the seasonal factors has slowed, and will probably start to reverse soon.

Lawler also commented that he thinks there is a "better than even shot" the National HPI will show a year-over-year gain next quarter. That would be a 6% increase in the NSA index in Q2 (or about a 2% increase in the "seasonally adjusted" index). My guess is the index will turn positive on a year-over-year basis later this year.

Earlier on house prices:
' Case Shiller: House Prices fall to new post-bubble lows in March NSA
' Real House Prices and Price-to-Rent Ratio at late '90s Levels

House Prices: From "bold call" to consensus in four months

Less than four months ago, I wrote The Housing Bottom is Here and I pointed out that the house price data had a significant lag so we had to look at other data for clues. The post title refers to the many emails I received back in February: "bold call", "gutsy call", "you are insane" ... and many more.

I could still be wrong, but it sounds like Robert Shiller and Karl Case are coming around to a similar view. Here are couple of quotes from a CNBC interview this morning (video below):

Karl Case: 'We lag of course ' January, February and March moving average ' and so we lag, and the indicators for the last three or four months on the quantity side have been real positive. We look like a bottom. You have to pick to find real negatives.'

CR: As I've noted before, this is just a possible bottom for nominal prices (not adjusted for inflation). We could see further real price declines, as Professor Shiller noted:

Robert Shiller on CNBC: "[The futures] go out to 2014. It is projecting something like 2% or 3% per year [increase], which by the way, is just the inflation rate. If you correct for the inflation rate, they [futures] are predicting no action."

Earlier on house prices:
' Case Shiller: House Prices fall to new post-bubble lows in March NSA
' Real House Prices and Price-to-Rent Ratio at late '90s Levels

MBA: Mortgage Rates Drop to New Survey Lows

From the MBA: Mortgage Rates Drop to New Survey Lows

The Refinance Index decreased 1.5 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.6 percent from one week earlier.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.91 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 3.93 percent, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.

Click on graph for larger image.

The purchase index is still very weak. This index has mostly been moving sideways for the last two years, although the 4-week average has increased slightly over the last couple of months.

Mortgates rates fell to another record low last week.

Monday Night Futures

' The S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Index for March is scheduled to be released at 9:00 AM ET. The consensus is for a 2.7% decrease year-over-year in the Composite 20 index (NSA) in March.

The Zillow forecast is for the Composite 20 index to decline 2.6% year-over-year, and for prices to increase slightly month-over-month seasonally adjusted. I expect these indexes to be at new post-bubble lows, Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA).

' At 10:00 AM, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index for May will be released. The consensus is for an increase to 69.7 from 69.2 last month.

' At 10:30 AM, the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey for May. The consensus is for the general business activity index to increase to 3.0, up from -3.4 in April. This is the last of the regional Fed manufacturing surveys for May.

The Asian markets are mixed tonight. The Nikkei is down about 0.3%, and the Shanghai Composite is down slightly.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: the S&P 500 futures are up about 5, and Dow futures are up 40.

Oil: WTI futures are at $90.08 (this is down from $109.77 in February) and Brent is at $106.90 per barrel.

Saturday:
' Summary for Week Ending May 25th
' Schedule for Week of May 27th
For the monthly economic question contest (two more questions for May, and four questions for June):

Number of Cities with Increasing House Prices

The following graphs show the number of cities with increasing house prices on a year-over-year, six month, and month-over-month basis.

The first graph is based on the Case-Shiller Composite 20 cities using seasonally adjusted data starting in January 2007.

There were still a few cities with increasing prices in early 2007. The increases in 2009 and 2010 were related to the housing tax credit (all of those gains and more are gone).

Recently prices have started increasing in more and more cities again. Note: Case-Shiller data is through February, Zillow data is through April.

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

The second graph shows the same year-over-year, six month, and month-over-month price increases for the 166 cities tracked by Zillow.

The pattern is similar to the Case-Shiller Composite 20 cities.

I expect that the number of cities with a year-over-year price increase will continue to climb all year, and later this year the Case-Shiller Composite 20 index (and Zillow national index) will turn positive on a year-over-year basis.

In February, the Case-Shiller Composite 20 index was down 3.4% year-over-year, down 2.5% over the last six months, and up slightly in February. The March data will be released this coming Tuesday.

The Zillow national index was down 1.4% year-over-year in April, only down 0.4% over the last six months, and up 0.7% month-over-month. This index will probably turn positive year-over-year in a few months.

Extended Unemployment Benefits ending for many long term unemployed

by CalculatedRisk on 5/29/2012 08:40:00 AM

New home construction picks up in Las Vegas

This might surprise some people since Las Vegas is one of the hardest hit areas ... from Delen Goldberg at the Las Vegas Sun: Long time coming: Homebuilders are busy once again in Las Vegas. A few excerpts:

Las Vegas homebuilders can't build houses fast enough these days to keep up with buyers' demand.

Yes, you read that right.

The valley's new home market is booming. Developers say they haven't built, or sold, so many houses in years.

'I'm as much as 80 to 90 percent higher in volume than last year,' said Robert Beville, president of Harmony Homes. 'I'll probably more than double my deliveries this year.'
...
'The single largest impact has been houses under $200,000,' Beville said. 'Homes in the $130,000 to $190,000 (range) are getting a lot of love. The ones in the $200,000 to $300,000 are getting a little bit less.
...
Most of the land being developed has changed hands since it was bought during the boom. The developers building on it now, in most cases, acquired it empty or half developed from others who paid a premium a few years ago.
...
Perhaps the biggest winners in the revived housing market are construction workers ...

The land costs are much lower now, and the builders are typically building smaller homes than were built during the bubble - and that makes the new home prices competitive with existing homes.

Yesterday:
' Summary for Week Ending May 25th
' Schedule for Week of May 27th

A few Employment Report Forecasts

by CalculatedRisk on 5/27/2012 02:02:00 PM

Unofficial Problem Bank list increases to 931 Institutions

As expected, this week the FDIC released the Official Problem Bank List through March 2012 and it enforcement actions through April 2012. For the week, there were nine removals and 12 additions, which leaves the Unofficial Problem Bank List with 931 institutions and assets of $358.1 billion. A year ago, the list held 997 institutions with assets of $415.4 billion. From last week, the count on the UPBL increased by three while assets dropped by $3.9 billion. However, the decline in assets was solely due to shrinkage as updated assets figures through q1 declined by $5.1 billion. Moreover, the count increased in back-to-back weeks, which has not happened since a three consecutive weekly increase from June 24, 2011 through July 8, 2011. For the month, the UPBL increased from 930 to 931, but assets declined by $3.7 billion with the shrinkage also due to the updated assets figures. The FDIC reported the Official Problem Bank List at 772 institutions with assets of $292 billion.

The nine removals all were action terminations -- The Stillwater National Bank and Trust Company, Stillwater, OK ($2.0 billion Ticker: OKSB); Guaranty Bank and Trust Company, Denver, CO ($1.7 billion Ticker: GBNK); Transportation Alliance Bank, Inc., Ogden, UT ($852 million); First State Bank, New London, WI ($284 million); Front Range Bank, Lakewood, CO ($152 million); Bank of Alpena, Alpena, MI ($70 million); Security State Bank of Kenyon, Kenyon, MN ($53 million); VisionBank, Saint Louis Park, MN ($31 million); and Quality Bank, Fingal, ND ($25 million).

The 12 additions this weekly are the most since 16 institutions were added for the UPBL published on October 28, 2011. The additions this week were SpiritBank, Tulsa, OK ($1.3 billion); Crown Bank, Elizabeth, NJ ($575 million); Community Bank of Broward, Dania Beach, FL ($464 million); The Foster Bank, Chicago, IL ($441 million); Anderson Brothers Bank, Mullins, SC ($438 million); The Bank of Delmarva, Seaford, DE ($437 million Ticker: DBCP); Affinity Bank, Atlanta, GA ($285 million); Highlands Independent Bank, Sebring, FL ($270 million); The First National Bank of Ottawa, Ottawa, IL ($270 million Ticker: FOTB); First Trust and Savings Bank, Oneida, TN ($149 million); Hometown Community Bank, Braselton, GA ($137 million); and Legacy State Bank, Loganville, GA ($74 million).

Other changes include the FDIC issuing a Prompt Corrective Action Order against The Farmers Bank of Lynchburg, Lynchburg, TN ($164 million). Strangely, the PCA order was issued on November 21, 2011, but the FDIC waited until May 2012 to disclose.

It is anticipated next week's activity will be largely removals so the consecutive weekly increase should end. Until then, wishing all our readers a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend and we send out many thanks for all the past and current and their families for their service and sacrifice securing our freedom.

Schedule for Week of May 27th

Earlier:
' Summary for Week Ending May 25th

The key report this week is the May employment report to be released on Friday.

Other key reports include the March Case-Shiller house price index on Tuesday, the second estimate for Q1 GDP on Thursday, and the April Personal Income and Outlays report on Friday.

Auto sales for May will also be released on Friday.

Conviction: Fraud for Housing

I'd like to start this post with something Tanta wrote in early 2007: Unwinding the Fraud for Bubbles

There is a tradition in the mortgage business of distinguishing between two major types of mortgage fraud, called 'Fraud for Housing' and 'Fraud for Profit.' The former is the borrower-initiated fraud'inflating income or assets, lying about employment, etc.'that is motivated by the borrower's desire to get housing (not the same thing as 'real estate'), by means of getting a loan he or she doesn't actually qualify for. It may require some collusion by the loan originator or appraiser, but it may not. It is usually the least expensive kind of fraud to lenders and investors, since the goal is getting (and keeping) the property, so the borrower is at least usually motivated to make the payments. The problems come about, of course, because these borrowers failed to qualify honestly for a reason. Borrower-initiated fraud loans may be considered 'self-underwritten,' and such loans do have a much higher failure rate than the 'lender-underwritten' ones. Their only saving grace is that the lender tends to recover more in a foreclosure than in a fraud for profit case. Penalties to the borrower rarely ever come in the form of prosecution; losing the home and becoming a subprime borrower for the next four to seven years'with the credit costs that implies'are the borrower's punishment.

Fraud for profit is simply someone trying to extract cash'not housing'out of the transaction somewhere. If it is borrower-initiated fraud, it's not a borrower who wants a house; it's a borrower who wants to flip a piece of real estate or launder money or in some other way grab the cash and leave the lender holding the bag. Most of it, however, is initiated by a seller, real estate broker, lender, or closing agent (or all of them in collusion). It generally requires additional collusion by bribable appraisers, although it can certainly be initiated by a corrupt appraiser looking for a kickback, or can merely take advantage of a trainee or gullible appraiser. This is the flip scam, straw borrower, equity skimming, misappropriation of payoff funds, identity theft kind of fraud. It may not be as common as fraud for housing, at least in some markets, but it's much, much more expensive to the bagholder. At minimum, the fraud-for-housing borrower wants to take clear, merchantable title to the property and maintain it at an acceptable level. That's either unnecessary expense or (in the case of title) a hurdle to be gotten over by the fraud-for-profit participant.

The problem with this traditional distinction is that, recently, we seem to have an epidemic of predator meeting predator and forming an alliance: a borrower willing to commit fraud for housing meets up with a seller or lender willing to commit fraud for profit, and the thing gets jacked up to a whole new level of nastiness.

As Tanta noted, usually "Fraud for housing" isn't prosecuted, but here is an example of that "whole new level of nastiness" from Julie Johnson at The Press Democrat: Former Petaluma man sent to prison for mortgage scheme (ht T. Stone)

A federal judge sentenced a former Petaluma man to 37 months in prison this week for securing a phony mortgage loan that let him buy a home on Muscat Circle in Petaluma, U.S. Attorney's officials said.

Justin Batemon, 34, pleaded guilty Jan. 31 and was sentenced Wednesday ... Batemon was a client of San Francisco loan officer Jacob Moynihan who federal prosecutors said masterminded a scheme that involved $15 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.

Batemon said he was self-employed at a fake company and inflated his income on the documents, prepared by Moynihan, that helped him buy a single-family home at 801 Muscat Court near Maria Drive ...

It sounds like Batemon's role was limited to, but still egregious, "fraud for housing". But this is an example of "predator meets predator", and Batemon is off to a 3+ year stay at the Big House.

Tanta finished her post writing: "Getting into a bubble is easy. Getting out?"

Five years later we are still trying to "get out".

Earlier:
' Summary for Week Ending May 25th
' Schedule for Week of May 27th

Friday Night Humor: Ivy League Hustle

Friday night humor ...

LANGUAGE WARNING (ht Catherine Rampell, Princeton Alum).

Lawler: Q1 REO inventory of "the F's", PLS, and FDIC-insured institutions combined down about 20% from a year ago

From economist Tom Lawler:

FDIC released its Quarterly Banking Profile for the first quarter of 2012, and according to the report the carrying value of 1-4 family REO properties at FDIC-insured institutions at the end of March was $11.0819 billion, down from $11.6736 billion at the end of December and $13.2795 billion at the end of March. FDIC does not release institutions' REO inventory by property count. If FDIC institutions' average carrying value were 50% higher than the average for Fannie and Freddie, then the number of 1-4 family REO properties at the end of March at FDIC institutions would be about 89,398, down from 93,215 at the end of December and 100,530 at the end of last March.

Using this assumption, here is a chart showing SF REO inventory for Fannie, Freddie, FHA, private-label ABS, and FDIC-insured institutions. The estimated total for this group in March was 450,194, down 19.9% from last March.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

CR note: As Tom Lawler has noted before: "This is NOT an estimate of total residential REO, as it excludes non-FHA government REO (VA, USDA, etc.), credit unions, finance companies, non-FDIC-insured banks and thrifts, and a few other lender categories." However this is the bulk of the 1-4 family REO - probably 90% or more. Rounding up the estimate (using 90%) suggests total REO is just around 500,000 at the end of Q1.

REO inventories have declined over the last year. This was a combination of more sales, fewer acquisitions due to the slowdown in the foreclosure process, and a focus on modifications and short sales. With the mortgage servicer settlement, and relaxed guidance on institutions holding REOs as rentals, the number of REOs will probably increase over the next few quarters.

Summary for Week of May 25th

Housing remains weak, but improving. The Census Bureau reported that new home sales increased again in April, and that there were 117,000 new homes sold during the first four months of 2012. This compares to only 101,000 sold for the comparable period last year. This level of sales is historically very weak - and 2012 will probably be the 3rd worst year on record after 2011 and 2010 - but the increase in sales is important for both jobs and economic growth.

For existing home sales, the key number is inventory. The NAR reported that inventory increased seasonally in April, but that inventory is down 20.6% from last April. Less listed inventory means less downward pressure on prices, and some preliminary data suggests house prices may have stabilized. We will have more data on house prices next week.

Also consumer sentiment improved in May, probably because of the recent decline in gasoline prices.

There were some negatives too: Europe is a mess, durable goods orders were soft, the Richmond Fed manufacturing survey showed slower expansion, and the trucking index declined. But this was a week for housing data, and housing is slowly recovering. Here are some comments from home builder Toll Brothers CEO Doug Yearly, Jr this week:

"It appears that the housing market has moved into a new and stronger phase of recovery as we have experienced broad-based improvement across most of our regions over the past six months. The spring selling season has been the most robust and sustained since the downturn began. Even now, for the first three weeks of May, our non-binding reservation deposits, a leading indicator of future contracts, are running 39% ahead on a gross basis, and 23% ahead on a per-community basis, compared to last year's same May period."

I always take home builder comments with a grain of salt, but that is a pretty strong statement.

Here is a summary in graphs:

' New Home Sales increase in April to 343,000 Annual Rate

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

The first graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions since 1963. The dashed line is the current sales rate.

The Census Bureau reported New Home Sales in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 343 thousand.

This was up from a revised 332 thousand SAAR in March (revised up from 328 thousand).

The second graph shows New Home Months of Supply.

Months of supply decreased to 5.1 in April from 5.2 in March.

The all time record was 12.1 months of supply in January 2009.

This is now in the normal range (less than 6 months supply is normal).

Starting in 1973 the Census Bureau broke inventory down into three categories: Not Started, Under Construction, and Completed.

The inventory of completed homes for sale was at a record low 46,000 units in April. The combined total of completed and under construction is at the lowest level since this series started.

Even though sales are still very low, new home sales have clearly bottomed. New home sales have averaged 340 thousand SAAR over the last 5 months, after averaging under 300 thousand for the previous 18 months. All of the recent revisions have been up too.

Record Low Mortgage Rates and Refinance Activity

Below is a graph comparing mortgage rates from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) and the refinance index from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Freddie Mac reported earlier today that 30 year mortgage rates had fallen to a record 3.78% in the PMMS®.

And the MBA reported yesterday that refinance activity has been increasing again.

Earlier from Freddie Mac: Historic Lows for Fixed Mortgage Rates Hold Steady

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.78 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending May 24, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.79 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.60 percent.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the MBA's refinance index (monthly average) and the the 30 year fixed rate mortgage interest rate from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey®.

The Freddie Mac survey started in 1971 and mortgage rates are currently at the record low for the last 40 years.

It usually takes around a 50 bps decline from the previous mortgage rate low to get a huge refinance boom - and rates are getting close! The 30 year conforming mortgage rates were at 4.23% in October 2010, so a 50 bps drop would be 3.73% - just below the current rate.

There has also been an increase in refinance activity from borrowers with negative equity and loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie. As the MBA noted, the HARP share of refinance applications was 28 percent last week.

European Gloom and Look Ahead: Consumer sentiment

First a little European gloom ... Note: US markets will be closed on Monday in observance of the Memorial Day, but the European markets will be open.

From the NY Times: European Economic Outlook Dims Amid Leaders' Impasse

A Markit Economics index that tracks the European services and manufacturing sectors fell in May to 45.9 from 46.7, worse than economists surveyed by Reuters and Bloomberg had expected. An index reading below 50 suggests the economy is contracting. ...

Perhaps even more worryingly, German data released Thursday showed signs of a slowdown in an economy that until now had been a bright spot for the Continent. A Markit index based on surveys of purchasing managers of German manufacturing companies fell to 45.0 in May from 46.2 in April.

A separate report from the Ifo Institute, based on surveys of German companies, showed 'greater pessimism about their business outlook,' and noted that the 'recent surge in uncertainty in the euro zone is impacting the German economy.'

And from the NY Times: British Recession Is Worse Than Thought, Data Says

The Office for National Statistics revised the decline in gross domestic product in the first three months of this year to 0.3 percent, from the 0.2 percent it estimated last month, because of a deeper slump in the construction industry. Construction output dropped 4.8 percent from a year earlier, the agency said, not 3 percent, as it had estimated earlier.

The revised figures were 'bad news for U.K. policy makers as it shows the economy faring even more badly than initially thought,' said Scott Corfe, senior economist at the Center for Economics and Business Research in London. 'Indeed, the latest data show the U.K. economy performing worse than the euro zone economy, which saw zero growth at the start of the year ' meaning the U.K.'s woes cannot even be fully attributable to the debt crisis embroiling the Continent.'

' Friday at 9:55 AM ET the final May Reuter's/University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index will be released. The consensus is for no change from the preliminary reading of 77.8. The recent decline in gasoline prices might boost sentiment, although that might be offset by weaker job growth and European concerns. From MarketWatch: Gasoline prices add to the holiday cheer

The average price for a gallon of regular gas has fallen each day since May 16 and stood at $3.676 on Thursday, according to AAA data. That is down 17 cents from a month ago.

Tim Duy: "Is QE3 Just Around the Corner?"

by CalculatedRisk on 5/25/2012 08:45:00 AM

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims essentially unchanged at 370,000

The DOL reports:

In the week ending May 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 370,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 372,000. The 4-week moving average was 370,000, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 375,500.

The previous week was revised up from 370,000 to 372,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased to 370,000.

The 4-week average has declined for three consecutive weeks. The average has been between 363,000 and 384,000 all year.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

This was close the consensus forecast of 371,000.

Grexit Update and Look Ahead: Durable Goods, Weekly Unemployment Claims

The Greek election is June 17th, and Greece will be funded through the election. But the contingency planning has started ... from the WSJ: Europe Plans for Greece Exit

Finance-ministry officials from the 17 countries that use the euro agreed earlier this week on the need to develop national contingency plans in case Greece drops out of the common currency, euro-zone officials said. The plans would seek to address what would be an unprecedented event in the modern financial system: how to buffer government bond markets, the banking sector and other financial markets in the event of a Greek exit.
...
Europe's leaders emphasize they want to avoid a Greek exit and warn of turmoil in Greece and beyond if the country leaves.

From the Athens News: Euro exit fears hinder tax collecting efforts

Two tax officials who declined to be named told Reuters that May revenues fell by 15-30 percent in tax offices away from the major cities and relative wealth centres of Athens and Thessaloniki.

"People are suspending some payments because we are in a pre-election period and also because of uncertainty stemming from a potential Greek euro exit," said the finance ministry official

And on Thursday:

' At 8:30 AM ET, the Census Bureau is scheduled to release the Durable Goods report for April. The consensus is for a 0.5% increase in durable goods orders.

' At 8:30 AM, the Department of Labor will release the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report. The consensus is for claims to be essentially unchanged at 371 thousand compared to 370 thousand last week.

' Also the Kansas City Fed regional Manufacturing Survey for May will be released at 11:00 AM, and NY Fed Predisent William Dudley speaks at 10:30 AM.

Earlier on new home sales:
' New Home Sales increase in April to 343,000 Annual Rate ' New Home Sales Comments
' New Home Sales graphs

Kolko: Dissecting the House Price Indices

CR Note: This is from Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko:

Dissecting the House Price Indices

Each month, several data releases track house price changes. Case-Shiller, CoreLogic, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and others report monthly sales-price trends, and the Trulia Price Monitor reports trends in asking prices, a leading indicator of sales prices. These indices often show different trends even for the same time period. Some of the differences among these indices are well-known, such as the fact that FHFA's traditional index is based on transactions involving conforming, conventional Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac mortgages, while other indices (including the newer FHFA expanded-data index) cover a broader set of homes. But other, more technical differences help account for why some indices go up while others go down, including how they handle:

' The mix of homes listed and sold.
' Seasonal patterns in home prices.
' Weighting of homes and metros.

How much do these issues really matter for price trends? A lot, it turns out. In constructing the Trulia Price Monitor, we (1) adjust for the mix of homes listed, (2) adjust for seasonality, and (3) 'weight' homes equally so that our national trend best represents what's going on with the typical home in the largest 100 metros. Using this approach, we found that asking prices nationally rose 0.2% year-over-year and 1.9% quarter-over-quarter in April. Other price indices take different approaches, and mix-adjustment, seasonal adjustment, and value-weighting all have pros and cons. To see how much these issues matter, we used our data to see what the price trends would look like using different technical approaches.

Mix of homes listed and sold.

The price of a home depends on its size, location, and many other factors. For example, if larger homes or homes in more expensive neighborhoods happen to be listed or sold, the average (or median) listing or sales price will rise. That doesn't mean that the typical home has increased in value ' which is what most owners, buyers, sellers, and investors really care about. To know how the typical home's value has changed, most price indices adjust for the mix of homes that are listed or sold, either by factoring in specific attributes of the home like its size and location (hedonic models, which the Trulia Price Monitor and FNC use) or by looking only at how prices have changed for the same home over time (repeat-sales models, which Case-Shiller, FHFA, and CoreLogic use). How much does the changing the mix of homes matter? The Trulia Price Monitor for April 2012 showed that prices nationally increased 0.2% year-over-year; this adjusts for the mix of homes. But without adjusting for home size, neighborhood, and other factors, the median listing price increased by 8.1% year-over-year. That's a huge difference and that can partly be attributed to the fact that homes listed today are, on average, 6.2% larger than a year ago. They also tend to be located in slightly more expensive neighborhoods.

The shift toward larger homes on the market means that price indices that don't adjust for the mix of homes are showing much larger price increases than what the typical home is experiencing. So why look at any price trends that don't adjust for the mix of homes? Unadjusted price trends do reflect how typical transaction amounts are changing, which affects real estate commissions and the health of the real estate industry.

Seasonal patterns in home prices.

Home prices ' both asking and sales ' follow predictable seasonal patterns, dipping in winter and rising in spring and summer. (Other housing activities, like sales volume and construction starts, swing even more with the seasons than prices do.) Comparing home prices at the same time of the year takes out any seasonal effect, but quarter-over-quarter or month-over-month changes can be strongly affected by seasonal patterns.

The Trulia Price Monitor for April 2012 showed that prices increased nationally quarter-over-quarter by 1.9%, seasonally adjusted, but by 4.8% without adjusting for seasonality since the adjustment removes the regular springtime price jump.

Seasonal adjustment has its challenges. If the seasonal pattern changes over time ' like if winters get warmer and cause housing activity to drop off less in winter ' seasonal adjustment methods need to reflect those changes. Not-seasonally-adjusted trends are still useful because they show what buyers and sellers are actually experiencing in the market right now and can help them time when in the year to buy or sell. But to detect if and when housing prices are finally reaching a sustained turnaround, seasonal adjustment is needed to distinguish the underlying trend from regular seasonal patterns.

The Trulia Price Monitor, Case-Shiller and FHFA report seasonally adjusted price changes, even though Case-Shiller emphasizes the non-seasonally-adjusted trends. Most other indices only report non-seasonally-adjusted trends.

Weighting of homes and metros.

In the Case-Shiller and CoreLogic indices, higher-priced homes count more ' they are 'value-weighted'; in contrast, the Trulia Price Monitor, the FHFA index, and most other indices don't put extra weight on higher-priced homes. Why give more weight to pricier homes? Higher-priced homes should get more weight if the purpose of an index is to assess movements in the value of a real-estate portfolio. If, for instance, a $1,000,000 real estate portfolio consists of two homes, one initially worth $900,000 and one initially worth $100,000, the change in the overall value of the portfolio depends a lot more on the percentage change in the value of the $900,000 house than the $100,000 house. In other words, weighting by home price yields an index that shows how the value of a dollar invested in real estate changes. The Trulia Price Monitor weights homes equally, regardless of price, in order to show how the value of a typical home is changing ' rather than the value of a dollar invested in real estate. (FHFA doesn't use value-weighting, either.)

Value-weighting potentially matters a lot for price trends if high-priced and low-priced homes in a market are trending differently. We tested the potential impact of value-weighting by comparing the year-over-year price change in several metro areas from the Trulia Price Monitor with the price change we would have reported for those same metros over the same time period but with value-weighting. The Trulia Price Monitor for April 2012 showed that prices in New York decreased 2.6% year-over-year, but with value-weighting prices decreased just 0.3%. In Los Angeles, the Trulia Price Monitor showed that prices decreased 2.8% without value-weighting but increased 0.7% value-weighted. In Phoenix, the Trulia Price Monitor showed that prices increased 15.8% without value-weighting, but increased only 11.1% value-weighted. In short, value-weighting can change the price trend either up or down by several percentage points ' a big difference for what sounds like an obscure technical issue.

Finally, value-weighting can lead to expensive metro areas counting heavily in a broad home price index. The New York and Los Angeles metros together account for 48% of the Case-Shiller Composite 10 index and 35% of the Composite 20 index (based on weights in the published methodology) -- not only because those metros are large but also because they are expensive. At the same time, Houston and Philadelphia, which are among the ten largest metros in the US, are not included in the Case-Shiller Composite 20 ' even though much smaller metros, like Charlotte, NC, and Portland, OR, are.

To sum up: home-price indices can disagree with each other by several percentage points depending on whether they adjust for the mix of homes, whether they adjust for seasonal patterns, and how they weight homes and local markets in the index. These technical issues help explain why different indices looking at the same market at the same time can tell very different stories.

ATA Trucking index declined 1.1% in April

From ATA: ATA Truck Tonnage Fell 1.1% in April

The American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.1% in April after increasing 0.6% in March. (March's gain was more than the preliminary 0.2% increase ATA reported on April 24.) The latest drop put the SA index at 118.7 (2000=100), down from March's level of 120. Compared with April 2011, the SA index was up 3.5%, better than March's 3.1% increase. Year-to-date, compared with the same period last year, tonnage was up 3.8%.
...
'While April's decrease was a little disappointing, the March gain turned out to be stronger than originally thought,' ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. 'The ups and downs so far this year are similar to other economic indicators.'

'While just one month, the April's decrease also matches with an economy that is likely to grow slightly slower in the second quarter than in the first quarter,' he said. Costello reiterated last month's noting that the industry should not expect the rate of growth seen over the last couple of years, when tonnage grew 5.8% in both 2010 and 2011. 'I continue to expect tonnage to moderate from the pace over the last two years. Annualized growth in the 3% to 3.9% seems more likely.'

Click on graph for larger image.

Here is a long term graph that shows ATA's For-Hire Truck Tonnage index.

The dashed line is the current level of the index. The index is above the pre-recession level and up 3.5% year-over-year.

From ATA:

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 67.2% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 9 billion tons of freight in 2010. Motor carriers collected $563.4 billion, or 81.2% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

Look Ahead: New Home Sales

' At 10:00 AM ET, the Census Bureau is scheduled to release the New home sales report for April. The consensus is for an increase in sales to 335,000 on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate basis (SAAR) in April from 328,000 in March. Based on recent builder comments, and the homebuilder confidence survey, new home sales probably increased in April. Also, watch for upward revisions to prior reports.

' Also at 10:00 AM, the FHFA House Price Index for March 2012 will be released. This is based on GSE repeat sales and is not as closely followed as Case-Shiller or CoreLogic. Last month this index turned positive on a year-over-year basis: "For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices rose 0.4 percent, the first 12-month increase since the July 2006 - July 2007 interval." Look for a larger year-over-year increase in March.

For the monthly economic question contest:

Earlier on existing home sales:
' Existing Home Sales in April: 4.62 million SAAR, 6.6 months of supply
' Existing Home Sales: Inventory and NSA Sales Graph
' Existing Home Sales graphs

MBA: Mortgage Refinance activity increases, Mortgage Rates at Record Low

by CalculatedRisk on 5/23/2012 08:30:00 AM

Look Ahead: Existing Home Sales

' Existing home sales for April will be released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) at 10 AM ET. Existing home sales were at a 4.48 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in March, and the consensus is that sales increased to 4.66 million in April. Housing economist Tom Lawler is forecasting the NAR will report sales of 4.53 million.

Inventory will be closely watched. The NAR reported inventory at 2.37 million in March, and usually inventory increases sharply in April. The median increase from March to April over the last 10 years was 8%. Other sources suggest a smaller than normal seasonal increase, but as Tom Lawler noted last week: "for some reason the NAR's inventory number in April has for many years shown a much larger monthly gain than listings data might suggest ...", and Lawler is projecting the NAR will report a 6.8% increase for April.

' Also at 10:00 AM, the Richmond Fed will release the regional Survey of Manufacturing Activity for May. The consensus is for a decrease to 11 for this survey from 14 in April (above zero is expansion).

For the monthly economic question contest:

LPS: Mortgage delinquencies increased slightly in April

LPS released their First Look report for April today. LPS reported that the percent of loans delinquent increased slightly in April from March, and declined year-over-year. The percent of loans in the foreclosure process was unchanged and remained at a very high level.

LPS reported the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) increased to 7.12% from 7.09% in March. The percent of delinquent loans is still significantly above the normal rate of around 4.5% to 5%. The percent of delinquent loans peaked at 10.97%, so delinquencies have fallen over half way back to normal. Note: There is a seasonal pattern for delinquencies, and it is not unusual to see an increase in April after a sharp decline in March.

The following table shows the LPS numbers for April 2012, and also for last month (March 2012) and one year ago (April 2011).

The number of delinquent loans is down about 16% year-over-year (682,000 fewer mortgages delinquent), and the number of loans in the foreclosure process is down 136,000 year-over-year (the percent in foreclosure is unchanged, but the number of total loans has declined).

The percent of loans less than 90 days delinquent is about normal, but the percent (and number) of loans 90+ days delinquent and in the foreclosure process are still very high.

New Push for Eurozone Bonds

by CalculatedRisk on 5/22/2012 08:48:00 AM

Comment: We need more and better data, not less

The Depression led to an effort to enhance and expand data collection on employment, and I was hoping the housing bubble and bust would lead to a similar effort to collect better housing related data. From the BLS history:

[T]he growing crisis [the Depression], spurred action on improving employment statistics. In July [1930], Congress enacted a bill sponsored by Senator Wagner directing the Bureau to "collect, collate, report, and publish at least once each month full and complete statistics of the volume of and changes in employment." Additional appropriations were provided.

In the early stages of the Depression, policymakers were flying blind. But at least they recognized the need for better data, and took action. All business people know that when there is a problem, a key first step is to measure the problem. That is why I've been a strong supporter of trying to improve data collection on the number of households, vacant housing units, foreclosures and more.

But unfortunately some people want to eliminate a key source of data ...

From Matthew Philips at Businessweek: Killing the American Community Survey Blinds Business

On May 9 the House voted to kill the American Community Survey, which collects data on some 3 million households each year and is the largest survey next to the decennial census. The ACS'which has a long bipartisan history, including its funding in the mid-1990s and full implementation in 2005'provides data that help determine how more than $400 billion in federal and state funds are spent annually. Businesses also rely heavily on it to do such things as decide where to build new stores, hire new employees, and get valuable insights on consumer spending habits. Check out this video of Target (TGT) executives talking about how much they use ACS data.

From Catherine Rampell at the NY Times: The Beginning of the End of the Census?

'This is a program that intrudes on people's lives, just like the Environmental Protection Agency or the bank regulators,' said Daniel Webster, a first-term Republican congressman from Florida who sponsored the relevant legislation.

'We're spending $70 per person to fill this out. That's just not cost effective,' he continued, 'especially since in the end this is not a scientific survey. It's a random survey.'

In fact, the randomness of the survey is precisely what makes the survey scientific, statistical experts say.

The good news is this vote is being criticized across the political spectrum ...

From the WSJ: Republicans try to kill data collection that helps economic growth

The House voted 232 to 190 to abolish the Census's American Community Survey, or ACS, which is the new version of the long-form questionnaire and is conducted annually. Republicans claim the long form'asking about everything from demographics to income to commuting times'is prying into private life and is unconstitutional.

In fact, the ACS provides some of the most accurate, objective and granular data about the economy and the American people, in something approaching real time. Ideally, Congress would use the information to make good decisions. Or economists and social scientists draw on the resource to offer better suggestions. Businesses also depend on the ACS's county-by-county statistics to inform investment and hiring decisions. As the great Peter Drucker had it, you can't manage or change what you don't measure.
...
Since the political class is attempting to define the GOP as insane and redefine "moderation" as anything President Obama favors, Republicans do themselves no favors by targeting a useful government purpose.

From the NY Times: Operating in the Dark

The Web site of Representative Daniel Webster, Republican of Florida, instructs visitors to click on a link for 'Census data for the 8th district' to learn about the area's economy, businesses, income, employment, homeownership and other important features. And yet, on Wednesday, Mr. Webster declared that the Census Bureau's American Community Survey ' the source for much of that data ' is an unconstitutional breach of privacy.

From AEI's Norman Ornstein at Roll Call: Research Cuts Are Akin to Eating Seed Corn

significant was the House vote to eliminate the annual American Community Survey and the Economic Census to provide basic information on the state of businesses and industries in the country and data used for generating quarterly gross domestic product estimates.

If ever we need evidence of ideology run rampant, these actions become exhibit A. Learning about the population and about the economy are fundamental for a society to understand where it has been and where it is going ...

From the WaPo: The American Community Survey is a count worth keeping

Every year, the Census Bureau asks 3 million American households to answer questions on age, race, housing and health to produce timely information about localities, states and the country at large. This arrangement began as a bipartisan improvement on the decennial census. Yet last week the Republican-led House voted to kill the ACS. This is among the most shortsighted measures we have seen in this Congress, which is saying a lot.

And from Menzie Chinn at Econonbrowser: The War on Data Collection

Pretty sad. The only good news is this vote was condemned across the political spectrum.

Chicago Fed: Economic growth near historical trend in April

The Chicago Fed released the national activity index (a composite index of other indicators): Index shows economic activity increased in April

Led by improvements in production-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to +0.11 in April from '0.44 in March. ...

The index's three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, ticked down to '0.06 in April from +0.02 in March, falling below zero for the first time since November 2011. April's CFNAI-MA3 suggests that growth in national economic activity was near its historical trend. The economic growth reflected in this level of the CFNAI-MA3 suggests subdued inflationary pressure from economic activity over the coming year.

This graph shows the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (three month moving average) since 1967.

Click on graph for larger image.

This suggests growth was near trend in April.

According to the Chicago Fed:

A zero value for the index indicates that the national economy is expanding at its historical trend rate of growth; negative values indicate below-average growth; and positive values indicate above-average growth.

Schedule for Week of May 20th

Earlier:
' Summary for Week Ending May 18th

There are two key housing reports to be released this week: April existing home sales on Tuesday, and April new home sales on Wednesday.

Other key reports include durable goods on Thursday, and two regional manufacturing surveys.

Note: The FDIC might release the Q1 Quarterly Bank Profile this week.

Unofficial Problem Bank list increases to 928 Institutions

This is an unofficial list of Problem Banks compiled only from public sources.

Here is the unofficial problem bank list for May 18, 2012. (table is sortable by assets, state, etc.)

Changes and comments from surferdude808:

The OCC released its actions through mid-April 2012, which contributed to many changes in the Unofficial Problem Bank List. For the week, there were eight additions and four removals that leave the list with 928 institutions and assets of $361.9 billion. The list is up from 924 institutions last week, which represents the first weekly count increase since February 24th, a period of 11 weeks. A year ago, the list held 988 institutions with assets of $423.8 billion.

Among the removals is the failed Alabama Trust Bank, National Association, Sylacauga, AL ($56 million). There were two action terminations -- National Bank of Commerce, Birmingham, AL ($426 million) and BankTennessee, Collierville, TN ($247 million). The Peoples National Bank, Easley, SC ($324 million Ticker: PBCE) was removed because of an unassisted merger.

The eight additions this week are Sterling Bank and Trust, FSB, Southfield, MI ($762 million); The First National Bank of Talladega, Talladega, AL ($421 million); First Federal Bank Texas, Tyler, TX ($212 million Ticker: FFBT); Bank of St. Augustine, Saint Augustine, FL ($186 million); The First National Bank of Wamego, Wamego, KS ($159 million); The First National Bank of Hartford, Hartford, IL ($146 million); The First National Bank of Paducah, Paducah, TX ($56 million); and Flint River National Bank, Camilla, GA ($27 million). Flint River was removed from the list on April 20th when the OCC terminated an Formal Agreement, but the removal was inadvertent as they subsequently put the bank under a Consent Order.

Next week, we anticipate the FDIC will release the 2012q1 Official Problem Bank List and its enforcement actions through April 2012.

Earlier:
' Summary for Week Ending May 18th
' Schedule for Week of May 20th

Quarterly Housing Starts by Intent compared to New Home Sales

We can't directly compare single family housing starts to new home sales. For starts of single family structures, the Census Bureau includes owner built units and units built for rent that are not included in the new home sales report. For an explanation, see from the Census Bureau: Comparing New Home Sales and New Residential Construction

We are often asked why the numbers of new single-family housing units started and completed each month are larger than the number of new homes sold. This is because all new single-family houses are measured as part of the New Residential Construction series (starts and completions), but only those that are built for sale are included in the New Residential Sales series.

However it is possible to compare "Single Family Starts, Built for Sale" to New Home sales on a quarterly basis. The Q1 2012 quarterly report was released this week and showed there were 77,000 single family starts, built for sale, in Q1 2012, and that was below the 83,000 new homes sold for the same quarter (Using Not Seasonally Adjusted data for both starts and sales).

This graph shows the NSA quarterly intent for four start categories since 1975: single family built for sale, owner built (includes contractor built for owner), starts built for rent, and condos built for sale.

Click on graph for larger image.

Single family starts built for sale were up about 17% compared to Q1 2011. Usually Q2 is the strongest quarter seasonally, and single family starts, built for sale, will probably be close to 100 thousand in Q2 - the highest level since 2008.

Owner built starts were up 30% year-over-year from a record low in Q1 2011. And condos built for sale are still near the record low.

The 'units built for rent' has increased significantly and is up about 41% year-over-year.

The second graph shows the difference (quarterly) between single family starts, built for sale and new home sales.

In 2005, and most of 2006, starts were higher than sales, and inventories of new homes increased. In 2008 and 2009, the home builders started far fewer homes than they sold as they worked off the excess inventory they had built up in 2005 and 2006.

For the last 2+ years, the builders have sold a few more homes than they started, and inventory levels are now at record lows. In Q1, builders started 6 thousand fewer homes than they sold.

Note: new home sales are reported when contracts are signed, so it is appropriate to compare sales to starts (as opposed to completions). This is not perfect because of the handling of cancellations, but it does suggest the builders are keeping inventories.

Earlier:
' Summary for Week Ending May 18th
' Schedule for Week of May 20th

Summary for Week of May 18th

The headlines last week were once again mostly about Europe and Greece, especially the possibility of Greece exiting the euro (aka "Grexit") after the next election on June 17th. The outcome of the election is uncertain, although most Greeks and European policymakers would like Greece to stay in the euro. One thing is certain, Greece will be in the headlines for at least another month.

Most of the US economic data was at or above expectations last week. An exception was the Philly Fed manufacturing survey, but that was partially offset by faster expansion in the Empire State survey.

Housing starts were solid as the slow housing recovery continues. Industrial production and capacity utilization increased, and the mortgage deliquencies are trending down.

The US economy remains sluggish. However, excluding Europe (and other international issues), the outlook would be improving. Two key questions are: what will happen in Greece and Europe? and how will that impact the US economy? I'll try to add some thoughts soon, but even with the problems in Europe, a recession in the US seems unlikely this year.

Here is a summary in graphs:

' Housing Starts increased to 717,000 in April

Click on graph for larger image.

Total housing starts were at 717 thousand (SAAR) in April, up 2.6% from the revised March rate of 699 thousand (SAAR). Note that March was revised up sharply from 654 thousand to 699 thousand..

Single-family starts increased 2.3% to 492 thousand in April. March was revised up to 481 thousand from 462 thousand.

Total starts are up 50% from the bottom, and single family starts are up 39% from the low.

This was above expectations of 690 thousand starts in April, and was especially strong given the upward revisions to prior months.

Bank Failure #24 in 2012: Alabama Trust Bank

by CalculatedRisk on 5/18/2012 06:26:00 PM

Van Rompuy Statement: "Stay the course" in Europe, "Pro-growth agenda" in June

Remarks from Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council prior to the G8 summit:

This G8 summit comes at a time of significant challenges to the world economy, and for Europe in particular. As far as Europe is concerned, my message is straightforward: we are determined to stay the course. We will pursue our comprehensive strategy to decrease deficit and debts, and to return to growth and job creation, based on structural reforms, investments and trade. The European Council will discuss a pro-active growth agenda on the dinner on May 23 and we will finalize it on the European Council on 28-29 of June. In that respect it should not be forgotten that in aggregate terms growth in the Euro area is positive and picking up, while our external balances with the rest of the global economy are in equilibrium.

Recently, we have raised our firewalls and increased our contribution to the International Monetary Fund; we have also strengthened economic governance, recapitalised banks and provided ample bank liquidity through the European Central Bank. This week, finance ministers of the EU also made further significant progress in putting into European law the international Basel 3 agreements. We will do whatever is needed to guarantee the financial stability of the euro zone.

In parallel, most EU countries are engaged in very ambitious reforms to ensure debt sustainability, raise productivity and improve competitiveness. This is particularly the case in Spain - where the Government has embarked on a set of comprehensive reforms - and in Italy, as also positively recognized by the IMF after its consultation with Rome this week. I am confident they will succeed.

As regards Greece, I do not hide my concern about the current political uncertainty. Greece is a member of the EU and the Euro zone and this membership implies solidarity and responsibility. The Euro zone has shown considerable solidarity, supplying nearly ' 150bn in loans to Greece so far. Alongside this support the EU is developing a huge effort to help reviving the Greek economic potential.

We do not question Greece's sense of responsibility and are hopeful that the next Greek government will act in accordance with the country's engagement and its European future. Continued reform is the best guarantee for the Greek economy and for a future of the Greek people in the euro area.

The long awaited "growth agenda" will finalized in late June. Most likely too little, too late.

I'm not sure what Van Rompuy means by "aggregate growth in the Euro area is positive and picking up". According to Eurostat, "GDP remained stable in both the euro area1 (EA17) and the EU271 during the first quarter of 2012, compared with the previous quarter". Flat line isn't growth.

Although Van Rompuy expressed "concern" about Greece, he also said the EU will "do whatever is needed to guarantee the financial stability of the euro zone". It is important to remember that these guys are committed to the euro - and they will not give up easily.

Misc: Record Low Mortgage Rates, Spanish Banks downgraded, and more

The only economic release schedule for Friday is the State Employment and Unemployment report for April.

' From Freddie Mac: Fixed Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows Again

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates again hitting new record lows. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.79 percent continues to remain well below 4 percent and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages are also slightly down at 3.04 percent.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.79 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 17, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.83 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.61 percent.

' From the WSJ: Ten-Year Treasury Yield Near Record Low

The benchmark note gained 18/32 in price by late-afternoon trading to yield 1.702% after sinking as far as 1.692%. The record low of 1.672% was matched in September and originally set in February 1946. Based on a 3 p.m. EDT finish, 1.702% would be the lowest yield ever to round out a session.

' From the Financial Times: Spain moves to calm bank fears

Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks, with three-notch cuts for the 'Big Three' lenders ' Santander, BBVA and La Caixa ' and three small institutions left in 'junk' territory, though the agency made no mention of Bankia.

It said the downgrades were prompted primarily by the deteriorating Spanish economy and the reduced credit-worthiness of the government.
Excerpt with permission

Earlier in the day there were unfounded rumors of a bank run in Spain.

' The Asian markets are all red tonight. From MarketWatch: Asia stocks tumble as Spain joins list of fears

Japan's Nikkei Stock fell 2.1%, South Korea's Kopsi dropped 2.7%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index skidded 2.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2%, and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7%.

Greece: Election is June 17th

The election is a month away and Europe will support Greece financially through the next election, but no one knows what will happen at the end of June.

Until the election, the campaign rhetoric will be global front page news. Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras seems to think that Greece can stay in the euro and also break the bailout agreement. His opponents say a vote for Syriza is a vote to exit the euro.

From the AthensNews: Judge to lead Greece to critical eurozone vote

A senior judge was put in charge of an emergency government on Wednesday to lead Greece to new elections on June 17 and bankers sought to calm public fears after the president said political chaos risked causing panic and a run on deposits.

European leaders who once denied vociferously that they were fretting over Greece leaving their currency union have given up pretence. Asked if he was concerned about a Greek exit, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said simply: "No comment".

Citizens have been withdrawing hundreds of millions of euros from Greek banks in recent days, as the prospect of the country being forced out of the European Union's common currency zone seems ever more real ...

The "run" on Greek deposits started in 2010, and deposits were already down about one-third before the recent run started. There won't be much left on June 17th.

Right now Syriza is leading in the polls, but the election outcome is uncertain. From the WSJ: Greek Leftist Leader Throws Down Gauntlet on Debt

The head of Greece's radical left party says there is little chance Europe will cut off funding to the country and if it does, Greece will repudiate its debts ...

A financial collapse in Greece would drag down the rest of the euro zone, says Alexis Tsipras, the 37-year-old head of ... Syriza ... Instead, he says, Europe must consider a more growth-oriented policy to arrest Greece's spiraling recession and address what he calls a growing "humanitarian crisis" facing the country.

"Our first choice is to convince our European partners that, in their own interest, financing must not be stopped," Mr. Tsipras said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "If we can't convince them'because we don't have the intention to take unilateral action'but if they proceed with unilateral action on their side, in other words they cut off our funding, then we will be forced to stop paying our creditors, to go to a suspension in payments to our creditors."

I think Tsipras is both right and wrong. He is correct about the need for growth policies, but he might be misjudging the European policymakers who seem more and more willing to stop financing Greece.

Many people are asking: Will this be a Lehman moment? US policymakers had many months to prepare for the collapse of Lehman, and the Bush administration was still unprepared when it happened. Are the policymakers in Europe ready for Greece leaving the euro? They sure haven't inspired confidence so far ...

Hotels: RevPAR increases 4.5% compared to same week in 2011

From HotelNewsNow.com: St. Louis posts top occupancy, RevPAR gains

Overall, the U.S. hotel industry's occupancy ended the week virtually flat with a 0.1% increase to 62.7%, ADR increased 4.5% to $105.85 and RevPAR jumped 4.5% to $66.35.

Hotel occupancy and RevPAR have improved from 2011, and occupancy is back close to normal. However ADR is still 3% to 4% below the precession levels, and the same for RevPAR.

Note: ADR: Average Daily Rate, RevPAR: Revenue per Available Room.

The following graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using a four week average.

Click on graph for larger image.

The red line is for 2012, yellow is for 2011, blue is "normal" and black is for 2009 - the worst year since the Great Depression for hotels.

Looking forward, leisure travel usually increases over the summer months, and occupancy rates will rise. So far it looks like 2012 will have higher occupancy than 2011, but still mostly below the pre-rececession median. Hotels have come a long way since 2008 when I was writing about The Coming Hotel Bust. But it will be sometime before investment increases again.

Data Source: Smith Travel Research, Courtesy of HotelNewsNow.com

Some thoughts on Apartments and Rents

Just over two years ago we started discussing how the environment was becoming more favorable for apartment owners. This was based on several factors:

' Favorable demographics: a large cohort was moving into the low 20s to mid-30s age group. (see graph of age groups at "Rents soar")
' There were a record low number of multi-family housing units being started, meaning very few completions in 2010 and 2011.
' A large number of families were losing their homes in foreclosure, or through a short sales, and many of these families were becoming renters. (limited new supply)
' The price-to-rent ratio favored renting.

Sure enough, the vacancy rate for apartments declined sharply over the last two years, and rents have been rising.

Looking forward, the environment will be a little less favorable for apartments owners in a year or two. Demographics will still be favorable for several more years, but it appears completions might start catching up to absorption in a year or two (based on some comments and projections today from Reis director of research Victor Canalog on a webinar).

Below is an update to a graph comparing multi-family starts and completions. Since it usually takes over a year on average to complete a multi-family project, there is a lag between multi-family starts and completions. Completions are important because that is new supply added to the market, and starts are important because that is future new supply (units under construction are also important for employment).

This graphs use a 12 month rolling total for NSA starts and completions.

Click on graph for larger image.

The blue line is for multifamily starts and the red line is for multifamily completions.

The rolling 12 month total for starts (blue line) has been increasing since mid-2010. The 12 month total for completions (red line) is now following starts up. This suggests that completions (new supply) will increase sharply in 2013 and 2014, although this will still be below the level for the pre-bust period.

Other factors that might make the environment less favorable for apartment owners are:
' More investor buying of single family homes as rentals.
' Fewer foreclosures in 2013 and beyond.
' Wages not keeping up with rent increases.
' House prices are now back to "normal" levels in many areas based on rents. Further rent increases will start pushing more renters to buy (those that can qualify).

These are just some preliminary thoughts - right now conditions remain very favorable for apartment owners as indicated by the recent NMHC apartment survey and Reis quarterly survey.

Earlier:
' Housing Starts increase to 717,000 in April
' Industrial Production up in April, Capacity Utilization increases
' MBA: Mortgage Delinquencies decline in Q1
' Q1 MBA National Delinquency Survey Comments

Look Ahead: Weekly Unemployment Claims, Philly Fed Manufacturing Survey

On Thursday:

' The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released at 8:30 AM. The consensus is for claims to be essentially unchanged at 365 thousand compared to 367 thousand last week. Based on the consensus (and the usual upward revision to the previous week), the 4-week average will probably decline to below 375 thousand.

' At 10:00 AM, the Philly Fed Survey for May is scheduled for release. The consensus is for a reading of 10.0, up from 8.5 last month (above zero indicates expansion). This is the 2nd regional Fed survey for May; the NY Fed (Empire state) survey indicated faster expansion in May.

' Also at 10:00 AM, the Conference Board Leading Indicators for April will be released. The consensus is for a 0.1% increase in this index.

Earlier:
' Housing Starts increase to 717,000 in April
' Industrial Production up in April, Capacity Utilization increases
' MBA: Mortgage Delinquencies decline in Q1
' Q1 MBA National Delinquency Survey Comments

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims at 370,000

The DOL reports:

In the week ending May 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 370,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised figure of 370,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,000, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average of 379,750.

The previous week was revised up from 367,000 to 370,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since January 2000.

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims decreased to 375,000.

The 4-week average has declined for two consecutive weeks. The average has been between 363,000 and 384,000 all year.

And here is a long term graph of weekly claims:

This was above the consensus of 365,000.

Housing Starts increase to 717,000 in April

From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions

Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000. This is 2.6 percent (±14.8%)* above the revised March estimate of 699,000 and is 29.9 percent (±15.2%) above the revised April 2011 rate of 552,000.

Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 492,000; this is 2.3 percent (±11.9%)* above the revised March figure of 481,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 217,000.

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 715,000. This is 7.0 percent (±1.0%) below the revised March rate of 769,000, but is 23.7 percent (±1.9%) above the revised April 2011 estimate of 578,000.

Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 475,000; this is 1.9 percent (±1.1%) above the revised March figure of 466,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 217,000 in April.

Click on graph for larger image.

Total housing starts were at 717 thousand (SAAR) in April, up 2.6% from the revised March rate of 699 thousand (SAAR). Note that March was revised up sharply from 654 thousand.

Single-family starts increased 2.3% to 492 thousand in April. March was revised up to 481 thousand from 462 thousand.

The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.

This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and that total housing starts have been increasing lately after moving sideways for about two years and a half years.

Total starts are up 50% from the bottom, and single family starts are up 39% from the low.

This was above expectations of 690 thousand starts in April, and was especially strong given the upward revisions to prior months.

The housing recovery continues.