NEW YORK – The U.S. economy showed more signs of weakness today, as The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators fell 0.7 percent in July, more than three times the decline forecast by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
“The economy has really shown one sign after another of weakening,” Martin Feldstein, a Harvard University economist, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Making reference to the credit crunch and the continuing questions about the solvency of Fannie Mae and Freddie Max, Feldstein said he is even more pessimistic about the U.S. economy than he was a year ago.
Feldstein was joined in his assessment of the economy by Target Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel. The head of the nation’s second-largest discount retailer told participants in a conference call this week that “we do not see any indication of meaningful near-term improvement.”
Five of the 10 indicators that make up the leading indicators fell, led by declines in building permits – which fell 18 percent in July to the lowest level in 17 years READ MORE – and stock prices, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for the month fell 6.26 percent.
The Conference Board is a nonpartisan, nonprofit business membership and research organization with offices in New York City, Chicago and abroad. Additional information, including this month’s full Leading Economic Indicators report, is available at www.Conference-Board.org.
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