Two more signs that the worst is over for the U.S. economy:
— Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared Friday that the U.S. economy is on the verge of a long-awaited recovery after enduring a brutal recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," the Associated Press writes.
The chairman's remarks, at an annual Kansas City Fed conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., are posted here. He concludes that:
"Since we last met here, the world has been through the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. The crisis in turn sparked a deep global recession, from which we are only now beginning to emerge."
— Sales of so-called existing homes rose 7.2% in July from June, the National Association of Realtors says, to an annual rate of 5.24 million units.
They've now risen four straight months — the first time that's happened since mid-2004, NAR says. In a statement, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says "the housing market has decisively turned for the better."
But, as the AP notes:
Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about a third of all transactions last month, down from nearly half earlier this year. In places like San Diego and Orlando, buyers are snapping up foreclosed properties at deep discounts, and real estate agents are pressing banks to release more foreclosures onto the market.
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