Double Dip, anyone ?

The following note comes to us courtesy of Chad Starliper, the CIO at Rather & Kittrell:

“The 13-week annualized rate of the WLI is now at -23.46%, something that usually only happens in, or prior to, recessions. This is very ominous economic momentum. I haven’t seen anyone look at it this way, I suppose because the ECRI publishes their own smoothed growth rate.”

And from David Rosenberg :

“For the week ending June 11th, the ECRI leading index (growth rate) slipped for the sixth week in a row, to -5.7% from -3.7%.  Only once in the past – in 1987, but the Fed could cut rates then – did this fail to signal a recession.  But a -5.7% print accurately signaled a recession in the lead-up to all of the past seven downturns.”

It seems that with the double dip in housing being inminent, the Economy will have a tough end of the year !!!