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Some Stories You Might Have Missed

The Wall Street Journal had several good stories last week that fit some of the long-term themes we’ve been discussing in this blog.  We’d like to pass some of these along here:

“Waiting for the Next McMansion to Drop”

The Wall Street Journal’s quarterly survey of housing-market data in 28 major metro areas shows sharp drops in the number of homes listed for sale across the country. But the potential supply of homes is far larger because banks are likely to acquire significant numbers of foreclosed homes in some areas, notably Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix, Miami and other parts of Florida, and Sacramento, Calif., over the next few years.

“Signs of Recovery Don’t Extend to Jobs”

U.S. states and regions continue to see their economies slowly improve, but employers across the country remain skittish about hiring, according to two government reports released Wednesday.

 

Even as manufacturing output and the housing market stabilize, the unemployment rate tops 10% in more than a quarter of the states, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

“Wall Street Soars Above Main Street”

Wall Street is back. The stock market is up 50% from its March lows.…  But Main Street isn’t enjoying much of a recovery. Employers are still shedding jobs, producing profits by cutting costs rather than increasing sales. The official unemployment rate is at 9.8% and widely expected to cross 10% before turning down. Raises are scarce for those with jobs.