Contra Costa Real Estate News
1. Sales of new homes surged 27 percent in March and orders for most durable goods climbed, indicating the U.S. economy sped up heading into the second quarter.
2. Sales of new houses increased to an annual pace of 411,000, exceeding the highest forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The gain in new-home sales was the biggest in 47 years.
2. Durable Goods (items expected to last at least three years) excluding cars and aircraft, climbed 2.8 percent.
3. The outlook for the rest of the year hinges on job gains that will spur consumer spending, which makes up 70 percent of the economy. “The pieces are falling into place for a strong recovery,” said Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “We’ve got strong business investment and we’re going to have some investment in residential” real estate.
4. Bonds issued by non-financial companies are the most expensive they’ve been since the start of the credit crisis, as rising profits help offset concern that Europe’s fiscal crisis is worsening and the U.S. will adopt stricter regulations on Wall Street.
5. Companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index are posting first-quarter profits that exceed analyst estimates by a record 82 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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