Economic Update - 07/30/07

The economy grew at a 3.4% pace in the second quarter, a big
> improvement over the 0.6% showing in the first three months of 2007
> and better than the 3.2% growth rate economists were expecting, the
> Commerce Department reported July 27. Also in the second quarter, core
> prices -- excluding food and energy -- rose at a rate of just 1.4%, sharply down from a 2.4% pace in the
> first quarter and the smallest increase in four years.
>
> Meanwhile, consumer sentiment registered 90.4 in July, a shade below
> the median forecast of 91.2, but well ahead of June's reading of 85.3,
> a 10-month low. The gain was tied to consumers' favorable outlook
> about the economy, particularly regarding future employment and income prospects, the
> Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers said July 27.
>
>
> Orders for durable goods -- manufactured to last three years or more
> -- increased by 1.4% in June, the best performance in three months,
> the Commerce Department reported July 26. Soaring demand for commercial
> airplanes helped fuel the rise.
>
> Sales of new single-family homes dropped by 6.6% last month, a decline
> more than triple what analysts had expected, the Commerce Department reported
> July 26. New home sales are 22.3% below the level of a year ago.
>
>
> Sales of existing homes fell 3.8%, a decline about twice what had been
> anticipated. Yet the median price of an existing home edged up to
> $230,100, 0.3% more than a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said July
> 25.
>
> This week look for updates on personal income on July 31 and the
> unemployment rate on August 3.