HARDER EVIDENCE OF A SOFTER ECONOMY

摘要

With Washington's data spigots back on, economy watch- ers finally have new numbers to quench their thirst for information. Already, the horizon is coming into focus. The fresh data don't change the main theme of the outlook―that growth slowed at yearend and that the softness is continuing into 1996. In fact, they go a long way toward confirming it. Reports reveal that consumers scaled back their spending in the fourth quarter and that builders were selling fewer new houses. And in December, weaker demand caused companies to slow their hiring and cut back on work time, as businesses continued to wrestle with too much inventory. As a result, industrial production managed only a small advance in December.