ECRI Weekly Leading Index indicator rises sharply for a third week but remains deep in recession territory

The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) from the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) rose sharply by +1.13% vs. +0.51% last week, and its annualized growth rate rose moderately to -28.7 vs. -29.2 last week, but is still near its record low for its 60-year history of data of -30.3 for the week ended December 12, 2008, which is well below the flat line, suggesting that the economy will be struggling in the months ahead.

According to ECRI, "Despite a three-week uptick, WLI growth remains close to its all-time low seen in early December, which tells us that the recession will persist for the time being."

The bottom line is that the ECRI WLI remains "flashing red." Alas, even the ECRI WLI is not a guaranteed, fool-proof economic indicator, especially when the data is mixed and there some amount of stimulus as well as potential problems in the pipeline.

My personal outlook is that: The recession of the U.S. economy that started in December 2007 and sharply accelerated in August is currently shows no sign of an imminent end, but the decline may be starting to flatten out a little.

Although the current economic reports show significant weakness, there is also a vast amount of potential stimulus in the pipeline that could kick-start the economy within the next couple of months.

-- Jack Krupansky