WASHINGTON --- For the super-rich and everyone else, the economic recovery is taking place in two very different gears.
A British company is betting there's a market in North America for a $200,000 sports car built with Formula One race technology, announcing Thursday that it will unveil the very expensive new toy late next year.
"Following any recession, there's a resurgence," said Ron Dennis, the chairman of McLaren Automotive. "We intend to catch that wave."
For most people, though, the economy is still a clunker. A new Labor Department report said more than 11 million Americans are getting unemployment benefits. The number of first-time claims for unemployment fell last week for the third time in a row. But claims remain above levels that would signal the economy is actually generating new jobs.
There are other signs of the economic split:
- Luxury clothing stores outpaced others last month. At Nordstrom, sales at stores open at least a year surged 10.4 percent. Sales only rose 2.4 percent at Target, and 1.2 percent at J.C. Penney.
- Business at high-end hotels is coming back much faster than at mid-price or budget hotels, says Patrick Scholes, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. Revenue at luxury hotels was up 7.7 percent last week from a year ago. At less fancy hotels, revenue fell.
- While overall U.S. auto sales were up 13 percent for February, luxury brands did even better. Revenue rose 32 percent for General Motors' Cadillac brand, nearly 14 percent for BMW and 17 percent for Honda's Acura. Sales of the Lexus were up 5 percent while overall sales at Toyota fell because of widespread recalls.
Confidence in the economy has risen most among wealthier Americans, said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse.
One reason for the rebound in upscale corners of the economy is that Americans with jobs now worry less about losing them. Layoffs have slowed, and the jobless rate, now at 9.7 percent, appears to be leveling off.
Lynnae McCoy, who runs a money-saving blog called beingfrugal.net, said she has noticed a difference in sentiment between readers who have jobs and those who don't. Those out of work are still taking extreme steps, such as making their own detergent. But those who still have jobs aren't as interested in clipping coupons.
McLaren, meanwhile, is banking on renewed spending to bolster demand for its MP4-12C sports car, which will go on sale in late 2011 with a price of up to $228,000 at today's rates.
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