New & Existing Home Sales, Durable Orders, Consumer Confidence

$11 Billion 5 yr TIPS auction, indirect bidders 26%, down from the 39% average at previous auctions, bonds suffered.

Consumer confidence at 109.6 vs prior 107.5, a four year high.

After 5 months of declines, existing home sales rose for the 2nd month +0.3%. A surge of last minute buyers trying to get a low rate and sellers dropping their prices helped.

Inventory rose 7% to its highest level since June 98. The median price rose YOY 7.4% the smallest increase gain since Jan 2004.

New Home Sales up 13.8%. Trumpeted by the "happy daze" media as the largest increase in 13 years. Thats because last month -10.8%.

However, inventory +2.8% while median prices fell 2.2%, the 1st fall since Sept 03.

Continued increases in Existing & New Home Sales could keep the housing based economy going along further than the Fed expects and cause additional inflation and rate hikes.

Meanwhile, Durable Goods +6.1% on aircraft orders +71%. "The U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders right now, and there is little to no slack left in the economy," said David Watt, an economist for BMO Nesbitt Burns.

Durable goods +12.2% this year. Core capital equipment goods - the best indication of business investment plans - +3% in March after falling 0.8% in February.

Core capital goods shipments +1.6% while unfilled orders, a sign of future production, +2.8% after rising 1% in February.

The current trend in durable goods reports indicates that Q106 GDP will come in at the 4.5 - 5 area.

This almost guarantees that the Fed will raise twice more to 5.25%, and we still maintain that 5.5% is not out of the question.

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