Research >> Economics
DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer increased 0.1%
For the week ending May 7, 2011, the DJ-BTMU U.S. Business Barometer was up +0.1% following a negative reading in prior week. Inflation-adjusted chain store sales reversed the course in the latest week, increasing by +0.5% after the prior week’s -0.8% loss. Electric output decreased two weeks in a row, and Box office receipts fell by -4.0%, which was partially offset by strong home sales activity.
On a year-over-year basis, the barometer was +1.8 percent in the week ending May 7, 2011, which compares to an average -3.3 percent decline over the Great Recession (determined to have ended in June 2009 according to the NBER). After flat lining in 2006, and declining from 2007 through 2009, the barometer bounced back in 2010 to rise by +3.4 percent, which was the strongest increase since 1994 (+4.0%), but not so impressive when you compare it to an -8.0 percent drop in 2009.
Posted: May 19, 2011 Thursday 10:00 AM