Glimmer on the horizon?

Glimmer on the horizon? Greg Patton, CEO of Sierra Vista Bank The President of the Unites States indicates that there may be a glimmer on the horizon when it comes to the economy. Fed Chair Bernake thinks the downward slope may be slowing. The GDP projections are generally showing less contraction in Q2 and slightly positive growth for Q3 & Q4. My personal observations: It’s hard to find a really good parking place at the mall. I couldn’t book a timeshare in Palm Springs for Spring Break. “It’s a 25 minute wait” at most of the good restaurants I failed to get reservations for in advance. The word is that car sales last month were pretty good compared to past months. Houses under $400,000 seem to be selling pretty quickly. “American Idol” is still getting 36 million votes a week (Danny G. is my personal choice). This leads me to believe that people still are shopping, vacationing, eating out, buying stuff and have phones and leisure time sufficient to follow pop culture. There is still plenty of pain and economic distress to go around but I have to agree with the President that I, too, have seen some glimmers of hope on the horizon. What do we do now? It is still a ‘back to basics’ exercise for me and for all those who would ask me that question. Are you controlling costs? Are you cautiously doing more with less? This applies for households as well as businesses. “Do we need …” is the leading question of this quest for survival. Consumer confidence will not spring from unnecessary or reckless spending. As everyone executes a well though out business/personal spending plan, I think the horizon gets a bit closer. Don’t put on rose colored glasses to prevent the glare. There are still areas of great softness or segments that are still very subject to this market’s correction. I don’t expect that we will get great news from employment or housing values until sometime later. And I am well aware of the concerns over inflation overtaking the stimulus. I don’t run with scissors and I’m not going proclaim all is healed. I do like the feel of the current trends and sympathies. It could be a mirage. It could be swamp gas. It could be wishful thinking. But I’m going to keep the sunglasses nearby.

Labels: economy