Obama, Brewer face off on tarmac GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she meant no disrespect when she pointed a finger at President Barack Obama during an intense discussion on an airport tarmac. But the Republican governor
Obama, Brewer face off on tarmac
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she meant no disrespect when she pointed a finger at President Barack Obama during an intense discussion on an airport tarmac. But the Republican governor says the Democratic president showed disrespect for her by abruptly ending their conversation.
The brief encounter — out of earshot of observers but captured on camera — was a highly visible demonstration of the verbal and legal skirmishing that has regularly occurred between Brewer and Obama’s administration over illegal immigration and other issues.
Brewer said that during their talk, she invited Obama to visit Arizona to hear about her administration’s achievements and to visit the U.S.-Mexico border.
Obama then said Brewer’s recently published book mischaracterized a 2011 White House meeting between them.
Brewer said Thursday that she talks a lot with her hands and that her pointing a finger at Obama during their conversation wasn’t disrespectful.
“I respect the office of the president,” she said. “I was there to welcome him.”
But she said she was “taken aback by his comments” when he said he wasn’t happy with how her book described their White House meeting.
Her book said Obama lectured Brewer in the Oval Office and that she felt he was condescending.
“It is what it is. I proceeded to say that to him, and he chose to walk away from me,” she said.
More are seeking jobless benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, up from a nearly four-year low the previous week. But the longer-term trend is pointing to a healthier job market.
Applications have trended down over the past few months. The four-week average has declined to 377,500. When applications fall consistently below 375,000, it tends to signal that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
Some economists say the figures suggest further job gains ahead.The nation has added at least 100,000 jobs for six straight months. And the unemployment rate has declined to 8.5 percent, its lowest in almost three years. Business sentiment “is now rebounding and with better bank credit availability now supporting rather than hindering businesses, claims will fall further,” Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a note to clients.
Separately, orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose as companies spent more on computers, machinery and other equipment.
2011 worst for new home sales
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people bought new homes in December. The decline made 2011 the worst year for new homes sales on records dating back nearly half a century.
The Commerce Department said Thursday new-home sales fell 2.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 307,000. The pace is less than half the 700,000 that economists say must be sold in a healthy economy.
About 302,000 new homes were sold last year. That’s less than the 323,000 sold in 2010, making last year’s sales the worst on records dating back to 1963. And it coincides with a report last week that said 2011 was the weakest year for single-family home construction on record.
The median sales prices for new homes dropped in December to $210,300. Builders continued to slash prices to stay competitive in the depressed market.
Still, sales of new homes rose in the final quarter of 2011, supporting other signs of a slow turnaround that began at the end of the year.
Sales of previously occupied homes rose in December for a third straight month. Mortgage rates have never been lower.
Homebuilders are slightly more hopeful because more people are saying they might consider buying this year. And home construction picked up in the final quarter of last year.
“Although this decline was unexpected, it does not change the story that housing has likely bottomed,” said Jennifer H. Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said easier lending requirements, historically low mortgage rates and improved hiring all point to consistent, albeit slow, rises in sales in the coming months.
“A sustained rise in new home sales is imminent,” he said. “Homebuilders say so too, and they should know.”
Hiring is critical to a housing rebound. The unemployment rate fell in December to its lowest level in nearly three years after the sixth straight month of solid job growth.
Economists caution that housing is a long way from fully recovering. Builders have stopped working on many projects because it’s been hard for them to get financing or to compete with cheaper resale homes. For many Americans, buying a home remains too big a risk more than four years after the housing bubble burst.
Though new-home sales represent less than 10 percent of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
