by Calculated Risk on 3/05/2007 10:36:00 AM

Bloomberg reports: U.S. ISM Services Index Falls More Than Forecast

Service industries in the U.S. expanded at the slowest pace almost four years last month, suggesting the housing slump may be filtering through to other parts of the economy.
...
``The downtrend in home prices threatens consumer borrowing and consumer spending as a whole,'' Avery Shenfeld, a senior economist at CIBC World Markets Inc. in Toronto, said before the report. ``People recognize now that housing is not yet stabilizing.''

Service industries are still expanding, but the pace has slowed. And yes, Wall Street housing forecasts are "no longer operative"!