Last week may have been a light week in terms of the amount of economic data, but it was plenty important… particularly on the housing front. And, the news wasn’t good. New home sales plunged to an all-time low annualized sale rate of 276K, while existing home sales plunged to a multi-year low of 3.83 million.

Durable goods orders figures didn’t help the issue at all. July’s durable goods orders were up 0.3%, versus expectations of a 3.0% increase. When vehicles are taken out of the equation though, durable goods orders actually plunged by 3.8% last month, versus forecasts for a 0.5% improvement.

The second quarter GDP figure is going to be closer to 1.6% when the final figure is calculated. It’s better than the alternative (negative numbers), but it’s nothing to celebrate either.

The only bright spot from last week was still a dubious one… unemployment claims dropped. New claims fell from 504K to 473K, which is still higher than the recent average. Ongoing claims fell from 4518K to 4456K, which is in line with the recent levels. No real progress is being seen on either front.

Economic Calendar (8/22 through 8/28)

As for the coming week, it’s going to be a busy one to be sure - too many items are on the list to detail them. And, too much is on the plate to try and figure one out before the next one is announced. Just keep the following calendar nearby, and bear in mind that even neutral numbers have been interpreted as bearish lately.

Economic Calendar, This Week (8/29 through 9/4)

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