Housing starts continued their upward trajectory in July, with private starts coming in at an annualized rate 896,000 units, a 5.9 percent increase compared with June. And preliminary consumer sentiment for August took a dip compared with the end of July.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose three points from July to an August reading of 59. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.2 percent in July, a meager peak. And stocks fell significantly after two giant companies announced low sales and layoffs.

Outstanding U.S. household debt declined by $78 billion from the previous quarter, due in large part to a decline in housing-related debt. And the Producer Price Index for finished goods was unchanged in July.

Retail sales for July were up 0.2 percent compared with June, and 5.4 percent compared with July 2012. Small business optimism edged up in July, with NFIB’s monthly index increasing more than half a point (0.6) to a reading of 94.1. And there was a nationwide decline in housing inventory of 5.24 percent in July compared with the same month last year.

The recession is seen as the cause for almost half of the population believing that the economy is only “fair.” And the overall trend in the number of births is down for the recession and post-recession periods, having declined steadily from the historic high of 4.3 million in 2007.

The relative size of bank failures has been going down since 2008. The U.S. Energy Information Agency is predicting that the price of oil is going to decline later this year, which might drive the retail price of gasoline down as well. And the Las Vegas residential market, which was a poster child for the impact of the housing bubble, is recovering.

The mortgage delinquency rate dropped 29 basis points from the previous quarter, and 62 basis points from one year ago. Builder confidence in the 55+ housing market for single-family homes showed strong improvement in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period a year ago. And initial unemployment claims increased by 5,000 from the previous week.

Real estate investment shows tepid growth compared to the bubble years. And Freddie Mac reported that its second quarter 2013 net income was $5 billion, compared to $4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2013, the second largest in the company’s history.

The economy created 162,000 jobs, which is a bit slower than the prior 12-month average gain of 189,000 jobs. Manufacturing activity expanded again in July, and the overall economy grew for the 50th consecutive month. And construction spending during June 2013 was 0.6 percent, below the revised May figure.

Real gross domestic product growth was better than expected, an annualized increase of 1.7 percent. According to the central bank, the economy is growing at a “modest” pace. And ADP reported that the private sector added 200,000 jobs in July, more than predicted.