Daily News 12/16/14

December 16, 2014

Tuesday – December 16

Groundbreaking for construction of new homes eased from October to November according to the Commerce Department on Tuesday. Housing Starts fell by 1.6% last month from the previous month to an annual rates of 1.03 million units from the 1.05 million recorded in October and below the 1.04 million expected. Within the report it revealed that single-family starts fell 5.4%. Building Permits, a sign of future construction, fell by 5.2% to an annual rate of 1.035 million, the biggest decline since January.

Americans traveling over the holiday season are set to break records in 2014 due to an improving economy, low gas prices and a favorable calendar. AAA predicts that nearly 99 million Americans will travel more 50 miles by air or auto, up 4% from 2013 and the highest since records began in 2001. Gas prices have fallen to $2.52 nationally, the lowest in five years, which puts extra dollars to travel in the pockets of consumer. This year, Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on a Thursday, which will most likely lead to extended weekend travel.

Holiday shopping is well underway and with consumer confidence rebounding coupled with low gas prices, Americans are a bit better off this year financially than in 2013. A few highlights for this year: The average consumer is expected to spend $757.57 compared with $721.96 in 2013. 82% of shoppers plan to make their purchases with either credit cards or via a layaway plan. 59% of shoppers plan to use cash. 37% plan to treat themselves to a major purchase this holiday season.