Friday News Snippets

Click graph to enlarge.

It is not much, but this is definitely a positive report.

This graph shows the saving rate starting in 1959 (using a three month centered average for smoothing).

Although this data may be revised significantly, this does suggest households are saving substantially more than during the last few years (when they saving rate was close to zero). This is a necessary but painful step ... and a rising saving rate will repair balance sheets, but also keep downward pressure on personal consumption.
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Mortgage applications surge 30%.

U.S. mortgage applications jumped last week as record low interest rates spurred a surge in demand for home refinancing loan.

Refinancing accounted for 78.5% of all applications.

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Commercial loan losses starting to escalate.

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Economy

Americans' Spending Slows, Confidence Remains Near Low as Job Losses Mount American consumers’ spending slowed in February and their confidence remained near a three-decade low this month, reflecting the toll of a deteriorating job market.

Jobless Rate Climbs Above 10% in Three More U.S. States as Slump Spreads The number of U.S. states with a jobless rate exceeding 10 percent almost doubled in February as the worst employment slump in the postwar era spread.