The Wall Street Journal-20080119-Economic Snapshot- Leading Indicators Post Third Straight Drop
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Economic Snapshot: Leading Indicators Post Third Straight Drop
An index designed to foreshadow the economy's course decreased for the third consecutive month in December, pointing to continued weak growth.
The index of leading indicators fell 0.2% last month, according to the Conference Board, a New York research group. The index declined 0.4% in November and 0.7% in October. Of the gauges included in the index, housing permits posted the biggest drop.
"Consumption and investment have weakened and even export growth, the remaining source of strength, has cooled," said Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board. "The latest data suggest that growth could remain slow, and possibly even be a little slower, in the first half of 2008."
A separate report indicated that consumers' moods showed surprising improvement earlier this month. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer-confidence index rose to 80.5 from 75.5 in December.
Some economists were skeptical that consumers are as upbeat as the data suggested. "With the markets still in disarray, consumers' confidence cannot stage a sustainable rebound," said High Frequency Economics' Ian Shepherdson. "This is very hard to square with the mostly awful economic data, and it cannot last."
