Economic Indicators

Assignment on Economic Indicators 1 . ) Housing starts lowest in months Housing starts are the number of new residential construction projects that are been g done at a given time. When housing starts are particularly low it could mean bad news for the economy and also for both large and small businesses. If houses are not being built, people ar e not spending money on the initial construction. If there’s not construction, there are no Joy BBS being created.

If there are no homes being built then their are no homebuilders spending m none on the items to furnish their homes. Therefore small and large businesses are not able to g enervate business. 2. ) Fed lowers discount rate and interest rates tumble When the Federal discount rate is low, interest rates tend to be lower as well. This co old be a bad indicator for the economy because most times lowering interest rates is a techno queue used to try to stimulate the economy.

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The economy only needs stimulated when it isn’t doing o well. Once the interest rates are lowered people are more likely to be able to borrow which will be great for the economy and for large and small businesses. When money is borrowed, it will then be spent, creating a boost in the overall economy. 3. ) Retail sales up 4 percent over last month Retail sales being up is a very positive indicator for the economy. It means that people e are spending money, which means people are making money.

This is also good news for Economic Indicators By Jameson 23 ND large businesses because when sales are higher in small business, more product must be ordered from the larger businesses. 4. ) Business debt down from last year Business debt being lower can be both a good and bad indicator for the economy. It’ s bad because it could mean that businesses are less confident and worried about taking o n more debt. It’s good in the sense that overall, businesses are making enough money to keep the messes out of debt.

This is especially good for small businesses. Less debt can be bad for larger businesses that are involved with debt collection, for obvious reasons. 5. ) Businesses are buying more electronic equipment Businesses buying more electronic equipment could be both a bad and a good indict tort. It’s bad because it is indicating that some businesses are replacing people with electronics or machines which will decrease the need for human labor. When that need is lowered it will shoo decrease in the Job market and ultimately raise unemployment rates.

The buying an d selling of electronic equipment is good because with the higher demand for any type of produce t comes more Jobs for the larger businesses, the manufacturers. It could also be good for boot h larger and small businesses, not Just the retailers but also the tech support and repair business 6. ) Industry Jobs go unfilled as Area Unemployment Rate sinks 3 percent. What is the current unemployment rate? The current unemployment rate is 6. 1 percent. Although the rate is down slightly fro m last year, industry Jobs are still unfilled. The fact that the rates are down is good for the economy