DOWNTURN IN FORTUNES BELIES OTHER GOOD NEWS.Byline: Daily News As the economic engine struggles toward high gear, reality keeps stomping down on the brakes. Both nationally and in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , the economic picture looks muddled mud·dle v. mud·dled, mud·dling, mud·dles v.tr. 1. To make turbid or muddy. 2. To mix confusedly; jumble. 3. To confuse or befuddle (the mind), as with alcohol. . Gasoline prices of $3.399 per gallon hover near record levels in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . Inflation in Southern California has climbed at a faster rate than the national number over the previous year. Even the once-bulletproof housing market, the source of so much prosperity for everyday people in recent years, now looks weak. On Wednesday, the stock market tanked, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. plunging 214.28 points to close at 11,205.61, the biggest single-day loss in three years. A trade group released data showing a continued slowdown in the housing market. The Consumer Price Index leapt up 0.6 percent, its biggest increase in three months. Oddly, all this comes at the same time the economy looks great. Job seekers find a market with nearly full employment, gross domestic product zoomed forward 4.8 percent in the first quarter and, prior to its recent plunge, the Dow neared its all-time high last week. While appraising the situation, economist Jack Kyser borrowed a line from Charles Dickens and proclaimed ``it was the best of times Recorded in London at the Royal Albert Hall during the It's About Time tour in September 1997. Track listing Disc 1
``There's a lot of good news here, but we keep getting jabbed in the ribs,'' said Kyser, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. ``The gas prices, the housing news, national worries, it's always something.'' |
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