Is another recession starting now?

Is another recession starting now?

WASHINGTON

It’s starting to feel like another recession.

Businesses are ordering fewer goods. Home sales are the slowest in decades. Jobs are scarce, and unemployment claims are rising. Perhaps most worrisome, manufacturing activity, which had been one of the economy’s few bright spots, is faltering.

On Wednesday, the government offered the latest dose of grim news about the economic recovery: Companies cut back last month on their investments in equipment and machines. And Americans bought new homes at the weakest pace in nearly half a century.

Earlier this week came news that sales of previously occupied homes fell last month to the lowest level in 15 years.

Unemployment remains near double digits because job growth in the private sector has slowed.

Economists are predicting the government will announce Friday that the economy grew from April to June even more slowly than previously thought, at an annual rate below 2 percent — weak for normal times and especially anemic right after a recession.

Stocks make gains in low-volume day

NEW YORK

It was shaping up to be another crummy day on the stock market Wednesday until investors decided to start looking for beaten-down shares after four straight days of declines.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 102 points in the first hour of trading after the latest batch of weak reports renewed fears that the economy was slowing down. Sales of new homes fell to their lowest pace on record in July, and durable goods orders were also weak.

But after four-straight days of avoiding risk, traders began edging out of safe assets such as Treasurys and back into stocks. The Dow ended with a gain of 19.61 points, or 0.2 percent, at 10,060.06.

The back-and-forth trading pattern has been typical of the volatility seen on the market in recent weeks, which has been exacerbated by very low trading volumes as investors take summer vacations.

About three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a relatively low 4.4 billion shares, versus 4.5 billion shares the day before.

AAA: More will travel on Labor Day

DENVER

More Americans will get away for the Labor Day weekend this year, yet stick closer to home as they try to get the most for their money, AAA said Wednesday.

The auto club expects 34.4 million people to travel at least 50 miles from home between Sept. 2 and 6. That’s up nearly 10 percent from 2009 — one of the lowest Labor Day volumes in AAA’s record keeping history — and below the 45 million who traveled during the Labor Day weekend in 2008.

During the holiday, most Americans will stay near home, driving mostly to visit relatives or friends. The average round trip — by air, car and other means — is expected to be about 635 miles, compared with 645 miles in 2009.

Associated Press