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Recession looms as sales sink, foreclosures climb

Rocky Wire Reports

Published March 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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February retail sales dropped, foreclosures soared and import prices and inventories rose in more worrisome signs that the country could be falling into a recession.

* Consumers, battered by plunging home prices and a credit crunch, stayed away from the malls in February, pushing retail sales down by 0.6 percent last month, far worse than the 0.2 percent increase that analysts had been expecting.

The weakness was widespread with sales of autos, furniture and appliances all down, according to a Commerce Department report.

Sales had fallen by an even bigger 0.7 percent in December, the largest drop in six months, as the nation's retailers suffered through a dismal holiday shopping season. Sales posted a modest 0.4 percent gain in January.

* Nearly 60 percent more U.S. homes faced foreclosure in February than in the same month last year. Colorado was fifth.

A total of 223,651 homes across the nation received at least one notice from lenders last month related to overdue payments, up 59.8 percent from 139,922 a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

In Colorado, one in every 305 households received a foreclosure filing in February. The rate was up nearly 27 percent from February 2007.

The overall U.S. foreclosure rate last month was one filing for every 557 homes.

* U.S. import prices rose last month by 0.2 percent after jumping an even larger 1.6 percent in January.

Compared with a year ago, import prices rose a sharp 13.6 percent, reflecting the fact that petroleum prices are up 60.9 percent over the past year.

* Inventories held by businesses on shelves and back lots shot up 0.8 percent in January, the largest amount in nearly two years.

Comments

  • March 14, 2008

    1:30 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Diff writes:

    Good point Gene - I Truly do believe that in part this recession is being brought on my the economic fears.Fears fed in large part by all the bad news...
    The Press grabs and puts up big and sensational headlines in the last 3 months of any negative economic news! Therefore fanning the flames!
    I think we were head toward a down turn by the start of the forth Q last year - and I have held out hope that we will not be in a full blown or long term recession as well - but those hope are fading some of late!
    Engergy cost are taking a bigger bite of the money that the ffed realized and I question it 18 months ago when they started raising rates ...
    The $3 gas and 100+ a barrel for oil it plus the real estate and mortgage situation are most to blame! And I can find no solid reasoning for the high cost of gas other that BIG OIL taking us to the cleaners - I guess last years record profits for them were not enough - Oil supplies and gasoline stocks are up and usage is down - how else can you explain the high prices?