WRAPUP 3-US jobless claims hit record peak, durable orders slide
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – The number of Americans claiming jobless benefits hit a record high in mid-January, while orders for long-lasting factory goods fell for a fifth month in December, according to data on Thursday that showed the economy in steep decline.
Piling on the gloom for an economy mired in recession for more than a year, sales of newly built single-family homes slumped to their lowest levels since records started in 1963.
The batch of bleak data cast doubt on whether the economy would begin to recover in the second half of the year, since stability in the housing market, the root of the worst financial crisis in more than 70 years, may be a prerequisite.
It also underlined the urgency of efforts by the Obama administration to rush a stimulus plan totaling $825 billion or more through Congress.
‘I don’t think we are going to see a recovery until 2010. It’s possible the economy can bottom sometime in the fall or the winter, but it will be pretty rough sailing ahead, especially for the next quarter or two,’ said Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners in Greenwich Connecticut.
The number of people staying on state jobless benefits rolls after drawing an initial week of aid jumped 159,000 to a higher-than-forecast 4.78 million in the week ended Jan. 17, the most recent week for which data is available.