The US fundamental reports show a rosy picture here. Strong employment , retail sales up ism up etc. I am in the auto aftermarket business and my wife is in the retail clothing business. In both our industry the distributors say business has been down big time since feburary . My brother is a manager at whirlpool in Indiana and there business is way down with layoffs also other factories. Could you make a comment about the state of your industry or proffesion since the beginning of the years stating increase business or a slow down . I know some business like medical or supermarkets dont get affected by consumer spending slowdown . Just interested to hear how others are doing in there own business or jobs.
Are you kidding, what inflation, spend spend spend says the consumer. Debt? what Debt? 10g or 8g in credit card debt at 22% is nothing the consumer says. Gas at 3, I'll drive further..... I am THE CONSUMER and nothing will effect me. By the way, 1 million dollar homes and unimproved lots of acre or more have slowed in my area. However, land development on the commerical end continues. Not saying money is bad, but the trend is slowing for the moment. E
in healthcare: demand for services continues to rise with aging population but percentage of population as uninsured is also rising, particularly in the 40-60 set. Significant cost pressures on insurers are unabating. Kick in declining reimbursement due to balanced budget laws, etc... Hiring freezes and removal of support staff while trying to increase productivity has made staff very overburdened. Some quitting just because they can't handle the load. This does not seem a reversible trend. Some smaller weaker players being forced out of business. Long term trends towards consolidation continue. Anecdotally, noticed about 6 months ago in my area a surprising drop in illegals seeking care. While a few are trickling back in, many have left the area. Interesting... did they go home?
In natural gas market: Year over year supply/demand balance is a looser. I attribute it to loss of incremental industrial loads and a bit of residential conservation (raising therm a couple degrees). Although natural gas is running historically high for this time of year, the loss of some loads is telling me that things are slowing down. Gasoline report yesterday had decr4easing demand!?! Starting to see a loss os discretionary driving??
Manhattan Real Estate- on fire! Bidding wars right and left, low inventory in many neighborhoods and tons of outside money coming in. Rental market very strong with low vacancy and all time record rent prices.
Let's not overexaggerate. High construction prices have cooled the market, it just does not make sense anymore for most developments.
the market is on fire my friend. Try looking for a place in dowtown village. The only place thats slowing down is the financial district- which is nasty anyways.