Housing Starts Jump -- January, 2019 Data --March 9, 2019

Link here.

U.S. housing starts jumped 18.6 percent in January, as builders ramped up construction of single-family houses to the fastest pace in eight months.

The Commerce Department said Friday that January groundbreakings occurred at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million. Home construction rebounded sharply from December, when the annual rate was just 1.04 million.

The rebound after December’s plunge fueled optimism among economists that new-home sales will improve in 2019. The low 3.8 percent unemployment rate has provided a stable economy that has increased interest from would-be buyers, but affordability challenges from high prices and tight inventories have restricted sales. Analysts see the possibility for new construction to ease these pressures and increase sales.

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Tesla Pick-Up

Link here. "Fun" article to read. The mystery will be solved when Tesla rolls out the pickup.

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Wrong Again

I was 1,000% sure that Biden would announce and that he would easily move to the front of the parade:

• in the polls; and,
• in fundraising.

But apparently I may be wrong. An AP story out yesterday suggests it won't be all that easy. I think people forget that had it not been for Barack Obama tapping him for VP, Biden would have simply been another political hack who had trouble writing his own speeches. Does anyone see Joe Biden generating arena-excitement like Trump, or even crazy Bernie or Pocahontas?

Biden is clearly the sentimental favorite but how far does sentimentality carry one these days?

By the way, there are rumblings that crazy Bernie, an independent, may not qualify for the democratic nomination. I'm not sure how that plays out but something tells me the DNC will step in to clarify the rules on party affiliation if it looks like Bernie gets close to grabbing the brass ring.

By the way, the linked AP article reminds us how difficult it is for under-financed campaigns to put together the necessary organizations in all 57 states.

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Notes To The Granddaughters