Leading Indicators – Significant

Leading Indicators were better than expected, but there were several areas that showed significant weakness. As expected, the consumer confidence was a drag as were new orders.

The new orders does not bode well for manufacturing and the pull through to GDP.

 

June 21 (Bloomberg) — The index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose more than forecast in May, propelled by a jump in home-building permits. The Conference Board‘s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months increased 0.3 percent after a 0.1 percent drop in April, the New York-based group said today. Economists   projected the gauge would rise by 0.1 percent, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

A labor market that‘s lost momentum and more cautious spending among businesses are keeping economic growth from gaining speed. The Federal Reserve pledged yesterday to undertake further action to lower interest rates as a means of spurring growth. “Everything is just growing at a really, really slow pace as decision makers in the U.S. keep a watchful eye on developments in Europe,” Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, said before the report.