Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer down -1.6%
For the week ending December 27, 2008, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer sank -1.6 percent, following a downward revised increase of +1.3 percent in the prior week. A terrible winter storm in which the nation’s snowfall was 143 percent above normal (according to Weather Trends International) descended upon the Northeast in the final shopping days before Christmas, which played a role in pushing inflation-adjusted chain store sales down by -1.5 percent. Business activity, as measured by railroad freight carloadings, also fell off sharply by -21.1 percent. In 2008, the barometer declined by -1.6 percent on top of -1.0 percent in 2007, and has not dropped that sharply in one year since posting a decline of -1.8 percent in 2001. Further, the barometer has not posted back-to-back annual declines since 1990-91.
Posted: January 8, 2009 Thursday 10:01 AM