Economic Indicators

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks were mixed yesterday as Sears, Roebuck & Co. and other retailers posted lackluster sales gains in May.Trading was slow as investors waited for today's report on May employment for a clearer picture on inflation in the economy.If employment grew more than predicted, the Federal Reserve will be more likely to raise interest rates for the fifth time this year to ward off inflation, traders said. As rates rise, stocks become less attractive relative to fixed-income securities.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks ended mostly higher yesterday, and over-the-counter issues closed at a record high, after investors saw a weekend revolt against Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin fizzle.Investors downplayed the sluggish economy amid conflicting reports that left unclear just how strong the economic recovery might be.The surrender of opponents of Mr. Yeltsin after a weekend revolt heartened investors and proved his ability to stay in power, said Don Hays, director of investment strategy at Wheat First Butcher & Singer in Richmond, Va.If Mr. Yeltsin forms a parliament more receptive to modernizing the economy, "he might be able to go forward a bit," Mr. Hays said.

Making sense of the government's maze of monthly economic indicators is so challenging that many Americans simply tune them out.Is the inflation arrow pointing up? Down? Sideways?What about joblessness? Are more workers being hired, or are huge companies showing them the door?For those on Wall Street who oversee enormous mountains of paper assets, a slight fluctuation in such statistics can mean fortunes gained, or lost.For bond traders, millions of dollars can turn within 15 minutes after the release of a government report.

WASHINGTON -- The government's Index of Leading Economic Indicators soared 1.9 percent in December, its third straight advance and the brightest forecast for growth in nearly 10 years, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.At the same time, the department found that sales of new single-family homes climbed 6.3 percent for the month, a gain even bigger than it appeared because of a sharp upward revision for sales in November.Analysts said the figures represented further confirmation that the U.S. economy was expanding solidly, lacking only strong job gains to put an end to doubts about robust expansion for 1993.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- As more than 300 delegates arrived here for today's opening of President-elect Bill Clinton's economic summit, the conference's organizer said a middle-class tax cut would be included in the new administration's economic program despite signs of economic recovery."

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks closed mixed yesterday despite overhanging concerns about the economic recovery, the earnings outlook and the possible re-emergence of Ross Perot in the presidential election.The Dow Jones industrial average declined 9.46, to 3266.80, but advancing common stocks outnumbered declining issues by a narrow margin on the New York Stock Exchange. The NASDAQ Combined Composite index gained 2.29, to 577.63, Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 0.18, to 416.80 and the NYSE Composite index rose 0.20, to 228.90.

The economies of both Baltimore and Washington deteriorated in the last three months of 1991, the second consecutive quarterly drop for both cities, according to the latest economic index prepared by Grant Thornton, an accounting firm.Baltimore was hurt by a drop in factory hours and decreasing construction permits, according to Morton D. Goldman, managing partner for Grant Thornton's Baltimore office. The Baltimore index, which had been at 108.4 three months earlier and 109 at the end of 1990, dropped to 107.7 at the end of last year.

WASHINGTON -- A key indicator of the nation's economic health slipped 0.3 percent in November, the Department of Commerce reported yesterday, reflecting a sharp decline in consumer confidence, an upswing in job losses and other signs of weakness.The decline in the Index of Leading Economic Indicators was the second in three months and the largest since January, when it fell 0.6 percent in the midst of the Persian Gulf crisis.The drop followed a 0.1 percent upturn in October and a 0.2 percent decline in September.

Like President Bush, who yesterday acknowledged that the nation remains in recession, Maryland officials chimed in with a gloomy portrait of the state's economy in mid-autumn.The monthly report of economic indicators, published by Maryland's Department of Economic and Employment Development (DEED), reinforced the view that Gov. William Donald Schaefer presented to a television and radio audience last night: An end to the state's recession is not on the horizon.A few private industries showed employment gains in October -- most notably health care, with 500 new jobs during the month.