Light at the end of the tunnel?

The signs have been slight but they have been there recently and they hint at the possibility that, just perhaps, the recession may have bottomed out and the long climb back is about to begin.
According to the Commerce Department, spending on U.S. construction projects rose in March for the first time in six months as increases in commercial and government projects overshadowed an ongoing drop in home building. The 0.3 percent gain to $969 billion followed a revised 1 percent drop the prior month, led by building of power plants, hotels and factories.
Additionally, spending on infrastructure projects is expected to increase in the coming months as state and local governments use funds from the $787 billion fiscal stimulus package. Meanwhile, historically low mortgage rates may support sales of new homes, helping the economy begin to recover later this year.
Pending sales of existing homes rose in March for the second-straight month, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. It marked the first back-to-back gains in that index in nearly a year, and the latest hopeful sign for the beleaguered housing market. Pending sales serve as a leading gauge, as they are based on contracts signed but not yet closed, a process that typically takes a month or two.
"Federal stimulus dollars may continue to support public construction activity despite weak state and local government funding," said Steven Wood, president of Insight Economics LLC in Danville, CA.
Gains in state and local government spending - perhaps spurred in part by the first of the government's infrastructure stimulus expenditures - supported public construction, which rose 1.1 percent.
Source: www.bloomberg.com