More Evidence the Recession May be Ending

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In our last post about a month ago, we asked whether we were seeing signs that the recession was waning, and we listed 6 signs that it may be. This month, we bring you additional evidence that the recession may be ending.

Durable goods orders are up
According to the Commerce Department, orders for durable goods – big ticket items, such as appliances, heavy machinery, and aircraft – posted their biggest one month gain in 16 months and has risen 2 of the last 3 months after 6 straight months of declines.

Home sales are up
Sales of new homes were up in April and according to one economist “the new home sales numbers seem to confirm that the market for new single family homes may have hit bottom in January” and be on the way back up, albeit slowly.

Likewise, sales of existing homes, a far larger part of the market, were up almost 3 percent in April.

Jobless claims are down
Not only was the number of people on the unemployment rolls down for the first time in 20 weeks, but the number of new jobless claims also decreased. The decline in the total jobless benefit rolls (this measures all of the people who are claiming jobless benefits regardless of when they began receiving them) was the first drop since January. In addition, Wal-Mart said it expects to hire 22,000 people for new positions this year.

Economists think the recession will end this year
A recent survey of the National Association of Business Economists (NABE) predicts an end to the recession this year. The NABE is an organization dedicated to analyzing economic trends. Specifically, 74% of NABE Economists surveyed believe the recession will end in the 3rd quarter, while another 19% (93% total) think the recession will end by year end.

What does this mean for business owners and restaurateurs in particular? Maybe it’s time to turn that defensive posture around and invest in your business. Coming out of the recession, businesses that are positioned for growth will be better able to absorb the market share left up for grabs by the companies that didn’t survive. Is your business one that is positioned to grab that extra market share?

If you are a restaurateur thinking about increasing marketing, making capital expenditures, or otherwise investing in your business and looking for a restaurant loan, try Advance Restaurant Finance, LLC (ARF). ARF has been making short term business loans to restaurants for almost a decade. Despite the economy, ARF never stopped making business loans to restaurants, and ARF makes restaurant loans up to $1,000,000 per location. If you are looking for a restaurant loan, ARF is one of the first calls you should make.