Retail sales flounder in February
Government reports that sales last month increased a weaker-than-expected 0.1%; sales excluding autos down 0.1%.
U.S. retailers suffered lackluster sales last month, with total sales coming in weaker than expected, according to a government report Tuesday.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rose an anemic 0.1 percent last month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com, on average, had forecast an increase of 0.3 percent for February.
Sales excluding autos and auto parts dipped 0.1 percent in February, compared with a revised 0.2 percent gain in January. January ex-auto sales were originally reported to have increased 0.3 percent...
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/1…tm?postversion=2007031308
New foreclosures at record high
Many more U.S. homeowners were unable to keep up with their mortgage payments in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday, with the rate of homes entering the foreclosure process hitting a record 0.54% and the delinquency rate on U.S. home loans leaping to 4.95% from 4.67% three months earlier.
"Although the U.S. economy and job market remain solid, the housing market continued to decelerate in the fourth quarter of 2006. Nationally, house prices increased at a slower rate and the pace of sales and construction activity continued to slow," said Doug Duncan, MBA's chief economist...
http://www.marketwatch.com/new…%2DA096%2DCCDFB0FB8982%7D