US economic indicators point south

There was more bad news on the US economic front yesterday.

The Conference Board reported that its index of leading economic indicators declined by 0.3 percent in August to 115.7. In July, the index had fallen by 0.3 percent and in June, by 0.1 percent, making the August decline the third in a row.

Separately, the US Labor Department reported that the number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased by 14,000 to 350,000 last week. A department spokesman attributed most of the rise to the recent hurricanes in Florida.

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has been saying recently that the US economy is regaining "traction". The rest of us are still waiting for the evidence.