OMINOUS ECONOMIC WARNING SIGNS FOR YELM

1. The Olympian’s Rolf Boone reports:
Home sales plunge from ’09Single-family: 26% decrease comes with 13% jump in number of residences for sale in county

“Lingering concerns about the economy and the lack of a federal tax incentive program sent Thurston County home sales spiraling downward in August, falling 26 percent from August 2009, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

South Sound real estate professionals attributed the downturn in home sales to the expiration of a federal tax incentive program in April and to insecurity among prospective buyers about the economy and their jobs.”

2. The Pierce County Business Examiner reports:
Economic outlook weakens significantly
“The Washington Economic & Revenue Forecast Council’s outlook is significantly weaker than it was during June. The economic recovery has “slowed to an agonizing crawl,” according to the council’s latest report.

The report says job growth remains anemic; housing is looking for a new bottom; and, despite some easing in credit conditions, small businesses continue to face a challenging credit environment. There is still considerable drag in the economy, little lift and increased uncertainty.”

CLICK HERE for the report of the Economic Review Meeting, September 3, 2010 of the Washington State Economic Review & Forecast Council.

3. Derek Thompson & Daniel Indiviglio of The Atlantic report:
“It’s been a brutal summer for the economy. The housing sector, like a balloon batted in the air one last time by the government credit, resumed its inevitable fall. Economic growth slowed to a lead-footed 1.6 percent, and job growth is even more anemic. Meanwhile, consumers are cranky, the trade gap is gaping.

Most signs point to a slow and steady recovery, but what if the pessimists are right, again? What if the United States isn’t in the slow-lane to recovery, but rather on the precipice of another decline — a double dip?
To see where this re-recession might begin, my colleague Dan Indiviglio and I imagined five financial earthquakes, each with a single epicenter: housing, consumers, toxic assets, Europe, and the debt. The following five scenarios are listed in order of likelihood.”

CLICK HERE for more on their report.

UPDATE: September 9, 2010
“Two-thirds of Americans expecting double-dip recession”
quoting the Pierce County Business Examiner.