National Economic News
The three main stock market gauges finished 2004 up for the year and at their highest levels in over three years. Stock mutual funds had a solid performance for the year, with small cap equity funds and real estate funds scoring some of the biggest returns. (The Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 1, 2005).
Nationwide job creation in 2004 was at its highest pace in five years. (The Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 8, 2005).
Wholesale prices fell in December by the largest amount in 20 months. Industrial outputs also rose strongly and factories experienced their first annual increase since 2000. (The Daily Camera, Jan. 15, 2005).
Nationwide housing starts surged in December, rising 11 percent for their best year since 1978. (The Denver Post, Jan. 20, 2005)
Regional Economic News
Gasco Energy was the top Colorado stock performer, returning 232.8 percent in 2004. (The Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 1, 2005)
Foreclosures in the Denver area rose 30 percent in 2004 as compared to the previous year, reaching their highest level since the oil and gas bust of 1988. (The Denver Post, Jan. 4, 2005).
The Front Range Purchasing Managers Index rose over ten points in December, indicating that the weaker dollar has increased demand from abroad for Colorado goods. (The Denver Post, Jan. 4, 2005).
Area home sales in Boulder and Broomfield rose almost 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, as compared to 2003. Median home prices in Boulder reached $498,500, while those in Lafayette declined to $269,500. Those in Longmont declined to $236,200. (The Boulder Daily Camera, Jan. 15, 2005).
Metro Denver home buyers put 3,492 homes under contract in January, breaking the previous record of 1999. Prices stayed flat. (The Denver Post, Jan. 25, 2005).
The Colorado economy ended the year with its first job increase in three years, up 0.6 percent from 2003. (The Denver Post, Jan. 26, 2005).
The corporate economists for Vectra Bank predicted that up to 65,000 jobs could be added to the Colorado economy in 2005, as the state catches up in the economic recovery. (The Denver Post, Jan. 27, 2005).
