by Calculated Risk on 4/03/2007 03:39:00 PM

From MarketWatch: Ford March U.S. sales drop 9%, GM, DaimlerChrysler post 4% declines as Toyota gains ground

Nothing new here. The auto industry is in a recession. Housing is in a depression. Capital spending is soft. But the U.S. consumer continues to borrow (more and more on their credit cards) and spend.

No wonder Tim Duy writes: Fed Still Looking Through the Slowdown – Should You?

Much of the recent data are weak, no doubt about it. Growth has slowed, plain and simple. And any optimism I see in the yield curve could be dissipated with Friday’s labor report. Or, as another Fed watcher once put it, it could be a case of Stockholm Syndrome, in which following the Fed forces you to think like them. But in any event, Bernanke & Co. are sticking to their guns, still looking through the downturn and downplaying the risk of recession. With so many ready to call the Fed wrong, it is worth thinking about the possibility that they are right.