HALLOWEEN AFTERMATH!

Well with bellies bulging and teeth aching from too much candy this Halloween, it’s time to refocus on the year to come. 2010 is looming as the beginning of the recovery: job increases, housing market improvement, new construction starts, steel mills opening (ok well maybe not on that one). Regardless of the validity of current conjecture, some things are worth mentioning.

As far as The Fed is concerned, according to their statement today, the economy is beginning a slow recovery period, with inflation at bay, even with a severely weakened dollar, and major support still stemming from the government to support lower interest rates.

“Conditions in financial markets were roughly unchanged, on balance, over the intermeeting period. Activity in the housing sector has increased over recent months. Household spending appears to be expanding but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, sluggish income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Businesses are still cutting back on fixed investment and staffing, though at a slower pace; they continue to make progress in bringing inventory stocks into better alignment with sales.” (FOMC, Nov 09)

Well it could be worse, the tentative words and lack of any descriptions of future plans left investors and people alike, feeling, well status quo? Is that a good thing? Can we buy into this recovery? Ask the person next door who has not worked in over a year, the couple who planned on retiring this year, now postponed indefinitely, or the single mother who lost her health insurance benefits.

Recovery is just a word, albeit a positive word and a drastic improvement from its counterpart, recession; but when can we truly see the results of the recovery? In this humble opinion, in the small things: the local coffee shop whose doors seem just a little more full, the week that passes where you do not hear of someone losing a job, maybe even a person actually getting a job. These subtle signs of improvement continue to increase the so desired forward momentum this economy craves.

So enjoy another piece of Halloween candy, that innately evil candy lasting until New Years; just in time, of course to adamantly refuse the gluttonous indulgence ever again! Instead, take a minute to notice the subtleties of recovery and just maybe it will become reality.