{"id":13132,"date":"2024-04-29T13:37:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T13:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/?p=13132"},"modified":"2024-04-29T13:37:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-29T13:37:53","slug":"mixed-signals-in-u-s-housing-u-s-and-europe-economies-retail-sales-show-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/mixed-signals-in-u-s-housing-u-s-and-europe-economies-retail-sales-show-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed Signals In U.S. Housing, U.S. And Europe Economies, Retail Sales Show Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this week’s Steady Investor, we explore current market news that we believe investors should keep on their radar, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Mixed signals in the U.S. housing market
\u2022 The current status of the U.S. and Europe\u2019s economic activity
\u2022 Strong U.S. retail sales<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixed Signals in the U.S. Housing Market<\/strong> \u2013 In early April, we wrote that a housing rebound could be underway in the U.S. For the first time in over two years, home sales increased month-over-month for two consecutive months (January and February), with sales of existing homes jumping 9.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million. Economists had expected a 1.3% decline<\/em>. Things were looking up. But then March happened. Mortgage rates started to creep higher in February as the Federal Reserve dialed back expectations for rate cuts, and by last week had crossed back over 7% \u2013 its highest level since late 2023. Existing and prospective homebuyers also appear to be confused by rules that determine how agents get paid, which underwent a historic shakeup earlier this year following a lawsuit filed against the National Association of Realtors. This confluence of forces, combined of course with near-record home prices, caused existing home sales to decline 4.3% month-over-month in March, the largest percentage drop since November 2022.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While it’s challenging to accurately anticipate market fluctuations, you can strategically position your investments to navigate potential changes ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing your net worth is a great place to start as it is critical to your financial well-being and can help you prepare for what\u2019s ahead. So today, we\u2019re offering our free guide Measuring Your Net Worth2<\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong>, which helps answer important financial questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 How do I correctly calculate my net worth?
\u2022 How does my net worth compare to other households?
\u2022 What strategies can help me grow my net worth over time?
\u2022 What are the risks and factors that can help me grow my net worth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have $500,000 or more to invest and want to understand how to measure your net worth, click on the link below to get your copy today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Existing Home Sales Declined Sharply in March<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis3<\/sup><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The outlook from here is a bit cloudy. Investors and homeowners alike now expect fewer rate cuts in 2024\u2014if any rate cuts come at all\u2014which could filter through to higher-for-longer mortgage rates and delay both buying and selling decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. and Europe\u2019s Economic Engines Move in Opposite Directions<\/strong> \u2013 When dividing economic activity into services vs. manufacturing, the services component contributes far more to total output. That is true here in the U.S. and across much of Europe, save for Germany which has an export-heavy manufacturing economy. In March, the U.S. and Europe moved in opposite directions, with U.S. services activity decelerating while Europe\u2019s picked up. S&P Global\u2019s U.S. Composite Purchasing Managers\u2019 index dropped from 52.1 in March to 50.9 in April (preliminary reading), which still signals expansion but marks a slowdown from Q1 activity. Of note were falling new orders, which can factor as a leading indicator and should be watched going forward. Meanwhile, in Europe, the HCOB\u2019s composite eurozone PMI rose to 51.4 from March\u2019s 50.3, signaling healthier overall activity and notably an acceleration in the services component. The overarching takeaway, in our view, is a positive one: for the time being, both the U.S. and Europe are in growth mode.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Retail Sales Stronger than Expected, Again<\/strong> \u2013 Despite inflation pressures and many fears from pundits about the U.S. consumer losing steam, Americans keep spending. In March, retail sales rose by 0.7%, more than double economists\u2019 expectations and largely in line with February\u2019s spending data. These data are not adjusted for inflation, which according to the CPI measure rose by 0.4% in March. The takeaway here is that consumer spending outpaced inflation for the month, which is a good overall sign that economic growth continues apace so far in 2024.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know Your Net Worth to Determine Your Financial Future<\/strong> \u2013 The current media stories above prove that the market is forever changing \u2013 this is why becoming more familiar with your net worth can be critical to your financial well-being and help prepare you for what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calculating your net worth may also give you a better idea of where you stand in terms of your long-term investment goals. If you do not currently know your net worth, we recommend reading our free guide, Measuring Your Net Worth.5<\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll get answers to important financial questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 How do I correctly calculate my net worth?
\u2022 How does my net worth compare to other households?
\u2022 What strategies can help me grow my net worth over time?
\u2022 What are the risks and factors that can help me grow my net worth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have $500,000 or more to invest, simply click on the link below to get your copy today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2024 sees home sales rise\u2014then drop, U.S. and European economies move in opposite directions, but both still growing, U.S. retail sales stronger than expected in March. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-private-client-group","category-steady-investors-week"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13132"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13135,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13132\/revisions\/13135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}