-May 15,2019-
Fed reports slowing economic growth
Reuters reports that U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in April as households cut back on purchases of motor vehicles and a range of other goods, pointing to a slowdown in economic growth after a temporary boost from exports and inventories in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said.
In a separate report, the Fed said industrial production fell 0.5% in April after rising 0.2% in March. The third drop in production this year was led by manufacturing.
Lumber prices way down
Wall Street Journal says that a combination of factors have pushed down lumber prices in the past year. “Lumber prices typically rise in the spring as builders stock up for construction season. But this year, they are being hit hard by bad weather and a decline in home building.” The futures price has declined by almost half from last Spring, down to about $328 per thousand board feet from well over $600 year ago when it was at record levels.
LAX international travelers down
International passengers arriving at LAX during the first three months of this year are down 1.6% compared to a year earlier. In March they were down 2.8%.