As a new year dawns, we already have great news to report: Mortgage rates are at historic lows. The news on the economic front may continue to be dismal, but this is actually great news for homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance.
The big financial headline for the first business day of the year was the release of the ISM Manufacturing index, a key economic indicator.
Numbers released today showed that the performance of manufacturing activity fell even more than expected in December. In fact, the index fell from 36.2 points in November to 32.4, its lowest level since 1980.
So what is the ISM index?
ISM stands for the Institute for Supply Management, and these numbers are released on the first business day of the month, with data from the prior month. It takes into consideration new orders, employment, inventories, production and five other indicators. And number less than 50 indicates contraction. For the entire article click here.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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