Jason Palliser is a Mortgage Guru based out of St. Louis, but he travels the country giving presentations to some of the biggest names in real estate.   Here is his Economic Update:

Last Week in the News

The Commerce Department reported factory orders rose a solid 1.8% in February, reversing six straight monthly declines. The report was considerably better than the 1.1% decline economists had expected.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that its pending home sales index, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, rose 2.1% to 82.1 in February. The reading is 1.4% below February 2008 when it was 83.3.

NAR’s housing affordability index rose 0.9% to a record high of 173.5 in February from an upwardly revised index of 172.6 in January. The index is 36.3% higher than a year ago and is the most favorable since tracking began in 1970.

The Institute for Supply Management reported the monthly index of manufacturing activity rose in March to 36.3 from 35.8 in February. Though any reading below 50 signals contraction, it was the third consecutive monthly increase from a record low of 32.9 in December. The group’s gauge of new orders rose significantly to 41.2 in March from 33.1 in February. The reading – the first time the indicator has been above 40 in seven months – points to further improvement in durable goods orders.

The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index rose slightly to 26 in March from an upwardly revised 25.3 in February. The index was benchmarked at 100 in 1985, a year chosen because it was neither a peak nor a trough in consumer confidence.

The Commerce Department reported total construction spending fell 0.9% in February. It was the fifth consecutive monthly decline but much less than the 1.8% decrease economists had anticipated.

On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the nation’s unemployment rate increased to 8.5% in March from 8.1% in February. Businesses cut 663,000 jobs in March. This is the nation’s highest unemployment rate since November of 1983.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on consumer credit on April 7, wholesale trade on April 8 and international trade on April 9.