Warning signal

Leading indicators slip for 1st time in 10 months

Leading indicators drop in April for first time since June 2010, suggests choppy economy

Tali Arbel, AP Business Writer, On Thursday May 19, 2011, 11:29 am EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- A private research group's forecasting gauge suggests some bumps in the economic recovery this summer.
The Conference Board said Thursday its index of leading economic indicators dropped 0.3 percent in April, the first decline since June 2010.
The index had moved sharply higher in four of the past five months as the job market improved and the stock market rallied. Last month's spike in the number of people filing for unemployment assistance -- which many economists viewed as a temporary event -- and a troubled housing market weighed on the indicators. A measure that suggested the resurgence in the manufacturing sector was slackening also hurt.
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Comment: Germany's IFO index also dropped. Outlook isn't rosy for stocks.