Housing Starts for February were stronger than those produced in January (where we had seen a 10-year low) - the housing market saw a rebound in February of 9%, stronger than expected. On the other hand, building permits indicated ongoing weakness in the industry, as they tumbled for a 12th time in 13 months. On the positive side, this should reduce housing inventories.

The Federal Reserve is currently in a two-day meeting and will announce their verdict on interest rates tomorrow. Over the last five FOMC meetings, rates have been held steady at 5.25%. Investors appear to be betting that the Fed – which is unlikely to cut rates tomorrow according to most economists – will at least keep them steady and may start to shift its emphasis toward potential future rate cuts. Even though recent economic data suggests inflation is not yet fully under control, it is also not seen as being rampant at this point. While a cut is unlikely for now, economists believe the Fed will have to cut later this year.

In notable news from the tech sector, Oracle (a maker of business software and the world’s largest producer of database software) announced quarterly profits and revenues exceeding Wall Street’s expectations. Shares were boosted in after-hours trading.

Key economic data for the week starting March 19, 2007. Numbers shown are consensus estimates (market anticipates this value) and prior value.

Wednesday:
	14:15 FOMC Rate Announcement: 5.25% / 5.25%

Thursday:
	Thu 10:00 Leading Indicators for February: -0.3% / 0.1%

Friday:
	10:00 Existing Home Sales for February: -1.7% / 3.0%

© HGH Associated Press

News Archive (from 1/1/2007 until 3/31/2007)