Economic trends.

Many people are paying more attention to economic trends than they did before the credit meltdown. The GFOA's new Long-Term Financial Planning blog provides frequent updates on important issues and topics of interest, including a monthly summary of relevant statistics. Government Finance Review is reprinting an excerpt of those statistics to help GFOA members keep track of the overall economic picture. To access the Long-Term Financial Planning blog, go to ltfp.gfoa.org.

Confidence Indictor Result Source Consumer Fell to 52.9 in June, Confidence Board Confidence from 62.7 in May Consumer Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Confidence Board Consumer Research Center, said: Commentary "Consumer confidence, which had posted three consecutive monthly gains and appeared to be gaining some traction, retreated sharply in June. Increasing uncertainty and apprehension about the future state of the economy and labor market, no doubt a result of the recent slowdown in job growth, are the primary reasons for the sharp reversal in confidence. Until the pace of job. growth picks up, consumer confidence is not likely to pick up." Economic Growth Indictor Result Source ISM 56.2 for June Institute for Supply Manufacturing from 59.7 in May Management Index ISM Service 53.8 for June Institute for Supply Index from 55.4 in May Management Capacity Up 1.0 percent in May Federal Reserve Utilization from April Housing & Real Estate Indictor Result Source Case-Schiller "Other housing data confirm the large Commentary impact, and likely near future pullback, of the federal program. Recently released data for May 2010 show sharp declines in existing and new home sales and housing starts. Inventory data and foreclosure activity have not shown any signs of improvement. Consistent and sustained boosts to economic growth from housing may have to wait to next year." Future...