Points of View of the U.S. Economy

"Overall, the U.S. economy seems poised to grow in coming Quarters."

—Ben Bernake
Federal Reserve Chairman

"I think there's going to be a relatively quick correction. I think we're in the process now of bottoming out in the housing market, but I don't expect it to collapse and drag the entire economy down with it like a big whirlpool."

—Brian Wesburg
Chief Economist
First Trust Advisors

I'm very worried about housing and the potential negative impact on overall economic activity... the big question for me is how will that impact consumer spending?"

—Nancy Lazar
Economist
International Stratergy & Investment

"If you go back, there have been many declines in the housing markets. Some have ended in recessions. Some have not."

—Allan Meltzer
Monetary Policy Historian
Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business

The economy has "caught a cold, or has a little case of the flu-but it's not on its deathbed."

—Peter Hooper
Chief Economist
Deutsche Bank

FACTS
Since 1920 there have been three depressions, six sharp recessions and six mild recessions in the U.S. The longest was the depression of 1929-33 which lasted 43 months. The shortest was the 1980 recession, which lasted six months.

The total value of goods and services — including income from abroad — produced per person in the U.S. is about $44,000, according to the World Bank. That ranks seventh in the world behind Luxembourg — $66,000 — and then Norway, Switzerland, Bermuda, Denmark then Iceland.

The highest recorded monthly average pump price in the U.S. was set in March 1981, when gasoline cost $3.12 a gallon in 2005 dollars.

The word "weak" was used 50 times in September Federal Reserve "beige book" — a roundup of regional economic reports — up from 40 in July, according to Merril Lynch. It was used 53 times in January 2001, two months before the last recession began.

Americans spent $1.58 trillion on medical care over the past year — the highest category of personal consumtion expenditure. Americans spent $1.37 trillion on housing and $1.27 trillion on food.

In some luxury areas, housing prices are still climbing. Home sales in Telluride ski resort area in Colorado rose 7% from last year. The average home-sale price in the Vail, Colorado, area was $840,646 in July-up 21% from a year earlier.

For more information, please call:
Louis Wery, Broker Associate, CIPS, CRS, ABR, LHMS
Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Inc.
201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Suite One
Longboat Key, Florida 34228 USA
1-941-232-3001