Leading indicators rise 0.6% in July

Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:01:37 -0400

Leading indicators rise 0.6% in July

An economic recovery may begin soon, and the recession is bottoming
out, the. Conference Board says.

MORTGAGE DELINQUENCIES BREAK ANOTHER RECORD: MBA

Residential mortgages either in foreclosure or with at least one
payment past. due hit 13.16% in the second quarter, the highest
percentage ever recorded by
the Mortgage Bankers Association, the industry group reports.

RATES ON FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES AT LOWEST SINCE MAY

Interest rates on mortgages hit their lowest levels in
months, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 5.12% this week, Freddie
Mac reported on Thursday.

INITIAL U.S. JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE BY 15,000

First-time filings for state unemployment benefits increase by 15,000
to a seasonally adjusted 576,000, showing it's still very tough to
keep or find a
job.

PHILLY FED RISES TO HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE NOV. 2007

Manufacturing firms in the Philadelphia region say business was
improving in August, the first increase in nearly a year and the
highest reading since
November 2007, according to the Philly Fed index.