Washington Post article by Neil Irwin

 

The economy is slowing across the nation, the home-building sector is tanking more than even the pessimists could have imagined a few months ago and prices keep rising at an uncomfortably high rate.

Those are the unpleasant conclusions of several government reports released yesterday that, together, offer a picture of a U.S. economy being squeezed from all directions.

"Today's news confirms a lot of what we've been hearing and how people have been feeling about the economy," said Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wachovia. "There is a clear case that the economy is lousy, but not a clear case that the economy is in recession."

The bad news was in line with economists' expectations and did not restrain a rally on Wall Street.

Economic conditions have weakened almost across the board in the past six weeks, according to the "beige book," a compilation of anecdotal reports about business conditions from around the United States prepared by the Federal Reserve.

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