The third quarter of 2009 has started on a very bad note for the US economy with the unemployment rates remaining near all time high, and also the consumer spending crashing by 1% year on year. And if you exclude the automobile sales out of the consumer spending, then the actual crash is 8% year on year, which is a dangerous signal.
This only shows that the US citizens are spending less due to insecure feeling and they might continue to spend less in the coming months, if the interest rates start moving up.
And the housing sector continues to falter, although at a lower pace, which is also not a good sign for the near term prospects. So let us hope that the US economy will not produce any shocking performance in the third quarter of 2009.