More data pointing to slowdown

Yesterday's US data provided more signs of slower growth. From Reuters:

Sales of new U.S. homes and orders for durable goods both fell more than expected in July, providing further evidence of slowing U.S. economic growth...

New homes sales fell 4.3 percent last month, the biggest drop since an 11.5 percent plunge in February and the lowest annualized rate since February as well, the Commerce Department said...

The supply of homes available for sale at the current sales pace rose to 6.5 months, the highest level since a 6.8-month supply in November 1995...

The median sales price of a new home slipped to $230,000, but was still above the median $229,200 price in July 2005...

Other government reports on Thursday showed overall new orders for U.S.-made durable goods fell 2.4 percent last month, much more than expected, as civilian aircraft and car orders tumbled...

However, excluding transportation, durable goods orders rose a stronger-than-expected 0.5 percent, as motor vehicle and parts orders dropped 7 percent and civilian aircraft orders slid 10 percent...

When defense orders were stripped out, durable goods orders unexpectedly fell 1.9 percent, as defense aircraft and parts orders rose 9 percent...

[N]on-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, rose a much larger-than-expected 1.5 percent...

A separate report showed the number of workers seeking first-time jobless aid fell by 1,000 last week, signaling a steady job market.

Meanwhile, Germany may also see economic growth slow from the robust pace so far this year. From Bloomberg:

German business confidence fell for a second month in August, a sign that higher taxes and interest rates will cool the fastest economic expansion in five years.

The Ifo research institute in Munich said today its index of executive sentiment slid to 105 from 105.6 in July. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expected a decline to 104.8, the median of 43 forecasts showed. The index reached a 15-year high of 106.8 in June...

Growth outpaced the U.S. for the first time in five years during the second quarter when the biggest surge in construction spending in a decade helped the economy expand 0.9 percent from the first three months of the year.

The IMF today raised its forecast for Germany and now projects growth of around 2 percent this year and about 1.5 percent in 2007, the Handelsblatt newspaper said. That compares with previous forecasts of 1.3 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

And the Conference Board announced yesterday that the leading index for Germany declined 0.3 percent in June while the coincident index increased 0.3 percent.