Two major cyclical indicators, construction (as pictured by housing starts and permits in the first chart below) and industrial production (chart 2 below) are giving very different signals about the direction of the U.S. economy. What is the reality?
Numbers of housing starts and permits are climbing rapidly to levels not seen since before the housing bust. Meanwhile industrial production reports indicate flagging demand. The question is, which indicator is the better picture of reality.
In any case, caution is the best approach for investors like you and me.