1. ‘Dismal’ April for housing starts
Despite complaints that home construction has fallen steeply, it remains at levels that were considered sensational as recently as 2005. In March, housing starts gained unexpectedly to a level of 1.52 million units annually. Fresh numbers roll out Wednesday, and Chicago economist Paul Kasriel is looking for a dip of 4.6 percent, to a rate of 1.45 million. “The weather was inclement, and April was a dismal month for housing, which remains in a recession. There is a lot of excess supply,” said Kasriel, of Northern Trust Co. He is not looking for much improvement, he said, “at least not before this year’s fourth quarter.”
2. Motorola’s edgy gadget
Fresh from a battle with billionaire investor Carl Icahn, cell phone giant Motorola Inc. plans on Tuesday to introduce a device described as having “unbelievable video capabilities.” That was the description offered by Chairman Ed Zander at a conference last week in California. Schaumburg-based Motorola has been reeling from a lack of new products, but this hoped-for blockbuster could give it an edge against a competing iPhone gadget from Apple Inc.
3. Gas guzzling eases
Could it be that Americans are growing weary of paying through the nozzle at the gas pump? A government report last week said that stocks of gasoline in storage grew for the first time in three months. It was seen as evidence that motorists’ pedal-to-the-metal mentality may be waning. Another report shows up Wednesday, and analysts expect more good news. But don’t expect pain at the filling station to ease, at least not until after the Memorial Day travel crunch.
4. Bernanke hitting town
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke comes to town Thursday for a conference on bank structure and competition. The meeting begins at 8:15 a.m. at the Westin Chicago Hotel. It is hosted by Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow, who will be leaving office in August.
5. From Saks to Shanghai
The stock market shuddered last week after retailers said April store sales suffered a chill, tumbling 2.4 percent, their worst performance since tracking began in 1970. The report prompted a one-session 147-point drop in the Dow Jones industrials. Analysts said their biggest fear is that Americans, plagued with debt, no longer are borrowing to tap rising home values. If that trend continues, it could hit stocks all over the world. The biggest fear: A setback for the market in Shanghai, which has leaped by more than 200 percent in 18 months. It is widely viewed as a “bubble.”
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wsluis@tribune.com
