Bill Losey’s Weekly Economic Update for May 31, 2011

CONSUMER SPENDING SLOWS IN APRIL
Personal spending and personal incomes both increased by 0.4% last month – but the inflation-adjusted gains were minimal or non-existent. With inflation factored in, personal spending rose by 0.1% in April while personal incomes were flat. These latest numbers out of the Commerce Department aren’t very inspiring, especially since April’s small gains can be attributed to higher gas and food prices. However, many economists believe things will pick up in coming months, assuming gas prices moderate and more jobs appear.

EXPECTATIONS IMPROVE IN KEY CONFIDENCE POLL
The final May consumer sentiment survey is in from the University of Michigan. At 74.3, it shows a nice rebound from the final 69.8 mark for April. It also surpassed the 72.5 reading forecast by economists polled by MarketWatch. The 2011 high for the survey – 77.5 – was recorded in February before gas prices soared.

MIXED NEWS FROM THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR
The Census Bureau said that new home sales improved by 7.3% in April. (Sales were 23.1% below the tax credit-influenced levels of a year ago.) The National Association of Realtors noted a dip in pending home sales: they fell 11.6% in April.

DEMAND LESSENS FOR HARD GOODS
Durable goods orders fell 3.6% in April, much more than the 2.5% slip anticipated by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Minus the volatile transportation category, hard goods orders still decreased by 1.5%.

INVESTORS LEFT COLD BY TEPID INDICATORS
The latest economic reports suggest that the economy is going through a soft patch. They didn’t exactly trigger a wave of buying on Wall Street. Stocks pulled back for the fourth straight week, as follows: DJIA, -0.56% to 12,441.58; S&P 500, -0.16% to 1,331.11; NASDAQ, -0.23% to 2,796.86. One bright spot to note: the CBOE VIX retreated 8.15% for the week.