U.S. stocks looked set for another rocky session Friday as investors remained wary of the slowing economy and crude prices pulled back further.Less than three hours before the start of trading, Nasdaq and S&P futures were mixed, with a comparison to fair value suggesting a flat to positive start for Wall Street.Stocks sank Thursday after a report on regional manufacturing from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve and the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators both showed weakness that stirred recession fears.Investors may remain uneasy Friday, especially with no major economic readings or corporate earnings due out.Oil prices rose back towards the $100 a barrel mark in early trading. A barrel of light, sweet crude for April delivery gained $1.12 to $99.35 in early electronic trading.In global trade, Asian markets on worries about a U.S. recession. The cabinet office in Japan also cut its assessment of that nation's economic outlook for the first time in more than a year, c
Bearish outlook for the US consumer remains one of the driving forces behind a similarly pessimistic view for the domestic economy. Given worsening trends in labor data and uninspiring Retail Sales...
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A series of bleak economic reports on Friday showed the mood of American consumers deteriorating in February to a point that has always signaled recession, while factory activity in New York state...
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Of our four indicators measuring economic weakness only real manufacturing and trade sales exhibit upside momentum. The other three indicators suggest weakness consistent with a significant slowdown...
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Four economic series provide the measure of recession: real personal income, real business sales, industrial production and employment. Currently, two of these indicators suggest caution on the part...
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The New York Times reported the following today...By virtually every indicator, 2007 was a dismal year for American workers. Job growth slowed, unemployment jumped and wages lost what little ground they had gained against inflation since 2003. There is one sliver of good news: the percentage of American workers who belong to a union rose for the first time in three decades.The Labor Department reported that the number of workers belonging to a union grew by 311,000 to 15.7 million. That means union members increased from 12 percent of the American work force in 2006 to 12.1 percent last year. In the private sector, unions’ share of workers inched ahead from 7.4 percent to 7.46 percent. While the rebound is tiny, and might yet prove to be a statistical mirage, it is the first recorded increase in organized labor’s ranks since the 1970s, when almost one in four workers belonged to a union.There is little doubt that American workers need unions. Wages today are almost 10 percent lower
No matter what kind of vehicle you drive, you can probably make a way to save some gas. This can help with the mileage on your vehicle and dampen the reality of gas prices when they increase. Using more than one of these tips can help increase your gas mileage significantly. Take It Easy And Slow Down The more you accelerate, the more gas you use. Ten or more miles over will cause you to use more gas. To save gas, you should drive at the speed limit. You'll be using less gas that can be used for future trips. If people think you're going too slow driving the speed limit, let them pass you up. Make sure your driving on the right side of the road, which is considered the slow lane. Be Careful How You Accelerate You waste gas when you engage in a start-stop acceleration mode. If you're on the road and you can see vehicles slowing ahead of you, then start slowing down. It's not good to accelerate and have to brake suddenly. You can lose of lot of gas this way. With manual transmission vehi
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell below $90 a barrel on Monday as poor U.S. home sales data added to recession concerns in the world's top consumer. U.S. crude traded down 79 cents to $89.92 a barrel by 1711 GMT, after falling as low as $88.78 earlier. London Brent crude slipped 27 cents to $90.63 a barrel after hitting $89.33 in earlier activity. New single-family U.S. home sales fell 4.7 percent in December to the lowest rate in nearly 13 years while the median sales price dropped sharply, according to a government report. The report added to concerns about the health of the world economy which have weighed on oil prices by dimming the outlook for fuel demand and helped send global stocks lower in early Monday activity. U.S. stocks later rebounded on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates again this week. "For the most part the latest home sales data was bad, but on the other hand, that has led to thinking that the Fed will make an aggressive rate
Crude oil for March delivery rose as much as 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $89.89 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $89.75 at 7:37 a.m. in Singapore.Yesterday the contract jumped $2.42, or 2.8 percent
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is departing on Wednesday for Davos (Switzerland) on a three-day working visit to take part in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, the president’s press service reported.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
Yushchenko will take part in two session of the WEF that will focus on “Pipeline Politics” and “Human Rights on the Global
By Caren Bohan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will offer ideas on Friday for shoring up the fragile U.S. economy, as he and the Democratic-led Congress move forward with talks on a plan to avert a recession. A consensus has emerged on the need for a rescue plan for an economy hit hard by a housing crisis, credit crunch and surge in oil prices. But the details have yet to be worked out. A package totaling up to $150 billion is under discussion between the White House and Capitol Hill, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Under consideration are tax breaks for families and companies and spending to help low-income people weather the downturn. Bush is to speak in only general terms about what type of fiscal stimulus package he would like to see, as he makes remarks at the White House on the economy on Friday at 11:50 a.m. EST (1650 GMT). In a sign the Bush administration is trying to show how focused it is on the issu
Economic Outlook Assessed:
By Tameka Lundy -
Nassau, Bahamas:
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham sees a resilience that spurs job-creating growth. The World Bank predicts a global slowdown. The Central Bank of The Bahamas forecasts a relatively positive outcome.
The dawn of a new year has brought with it various expectations and predictions about how the economy will perform in 2008 and to what extent outside factors will impact that performance.
Despite the upheaval in the US housing market, dragging momentum in the US economy and continued high and increasing oil prices, the Governor of the Central Bank Wendy Craigg offered a glimmer of hope in her economic outlook.
"I do believe that the prospect for the Bahamian economy for 2008 is, on balance, positive and this is because of the numerous foreign investment projects that are slated to commence during the course of this year," she said.
However, over the course of 2007, there were undeniably some developments that caused ripple
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer Subprime Mortgage Meltdown, Unemployment, Wall Street Losses Threaten to Trigger Recession WASHINGTON (AP) -- The unemployment rate leaps to a two-year high, record numbers of people are forced from their homes and Wall Street nose-dives again. Such is the fallout from a housing meltdown that threatens to slingshot the country into a recession.The big economic question these days is whether the weakening economy will survive the strains or collapse under them.The odds have grown that the economy will slip into a recession. At the beginning of last year, many economists put that chance at less than 1-in-3; now an increasing number says it has climbed to around 50-50. Goldman Sachs, the biggest investment bank on Wall Street even thinks a recession is inevitable this year.Hopeful it can be avoided, President Bush and the Democrat-controlled Congress are exploring economic rescue measures, including possible tax rebates. Federal Reserve Chairman Be
Could a small shock push the economy over the edge?By Rex Nutting, MarketWatchWASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Everyone knows the U.S. economy is teetering on the edge of recession in the next year, but no one knows if it will tip. Will troubles in the housing market and financial markets spill over enough to halt the economy's growth? Or will the strength of consumer spending and export manufacturing keep the economy above water?The U.S. economy is now in the danger zone," wrote Nariman Behravesh, chief economist for Global Insight. "Even a small shock will push the economy over the edge." Behravesh is not alone. The Blue Chip consensus forecast of 51 economists sees a 40% chance of a recession in 2008, with growth of just 2.1% between now and the beginning of 2009. Anyone can make predictions. But instead of giving you a bunch of he-said, she-said predictions, MarketWatch thought it would be more useful to help you to watch the economy's vital signs
The newly name Realtors Association of Edmonton held its annual economic forecast seminar for the 20th year on Wednesday. I was delighted to get up at 5am after arriving the day before in Edmonton after 15 hours of travel, with...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished sharply lower on Wednesday, the first trading day of 2008, after data showed a surprise contraction in manufacturing and oil surged to $100 a barrel, heightening concerns about the economy's outlook. Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 220.86 points, or 1.67 percent, to close unofficially at 13,043.96. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index unofficially finished off 21.19 points, or 1.44 percent, at 1,447.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 42.65 points, or 1.61 percent, for an unofficial finish at 2,609.63.
by Ben Stein"It's all relative." You've probably heard this before, and it's true of everything except right and wrong.But it's especially true of economics, and it's doubly true of all the recent scare-talk about the economy.Simply put, the media and the short-sellers on Wall Street are trying to scare us into having a recession. Since the nice people who read this have some interest in facts and figures, here are a few reasons why things aren't so bad.Heavy LaborFirst, the housing correction.Now, it's true that we're having a very large housing correction. It may be the sharpest fall-off in housing starts as a percentage of the prior peak that there's ever been in the postwar era.But housing is only about 5 percent of the economy at most. If it falls by half or a third, that's a big drop. In an economy like ours, though, where there was a severe labor shortage before the housing correction, the labor shortfall can be readily absorbed by other sectors, and it is.Real unemployment has
As firms look to focus on core business processes, software-as-a-service (SaaS) provides an increasingly attractive alternative. Companies of all sizes are weighing advantages of SaaS which has emerged as an important deployment option in customer relationship management (CRM) but is...
Lots of discussion on the economy these days. Where is it at and where is it going? Plenty of uncertainty for the States and more discussion continues on the potential ramifications for Canada. For what it's worth there are a...
As firms look to focus on core business processes, software-as-a-service (SaaS) provides an increasingly attractive alternative. Companies of all sizes are weighing advantages of SaaS which has emerged as an important deployment option in customer relationship management (CRM) but is...
Oil futures gave up earlier gains and settled lower today as concerns about the economy overrode forecasts that OPEC oil shipments were falling.In particular, energy investors were shaken by today's Conference Board report that its index of leading indicators dropped 0.4 percent in November to the lowest level in more than two years, said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group in Tampa, Fla. Declines in the index tend to precede economic slowdowns or recessions."That is basically fulfilling what people are fearing," Cordier said.Energy traders worry that a slowing economy will mean reduced demand for oil and gasoline.Earlier in the day prices jumped $1 a barrel after Dow Jones Newswires reported that Oil Movements, a British tanker tracking firm, said it expects crude shipments from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will fall by 230,000 barrels a day to 24.2 million barrels a day during the four weeks ending Jan. 5. The report reversed earlier Oil Movements f
By Viorel Urma, AP Business Writer 2008: Global Economy to Grow at a Slower Pace, Beset by Credit Crisis and High Oil Prices NEW YORK (AP) -- The world economy, buffeted by the credit crisis gripping financial markets, is expected to keep expanding in 2008 -- albeit at a slower pace -- with little fear of recession. But unlike past economic upswings driven by the U.S., Japan and Western Europe, the main engines of growth this time are predicted to be China, India and other emerging economies.In its latest World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund projected that global economy would grow by 5.2 percent this year and moderate to 4.8 percent in 2008, compared with last year's 5.4 percent growth. The 2008 forecast was downgraded by nearly one-half percentage point from the summer outlook, reflecting the turbulent conditions in financial markets."Risks to the outlook, however, are firmly on the downside, centered around the concern that financial market strains could deepen a
India launched the process of modernization and development in 1950s with the launch of new economic planning. Fifty years hence, a new era of modernization
MANILA (AFP) - - Economic growth among the developing economies of East Asia will ease to a still robust eight percent next year, but the downside risks are rising, the Asian Development Bank said Thursday.The forecast is half a percentage point below the bank's 8.5 percent economic growth forecast for emerging East Asia for this year.The moderating factors are the projected slower expansion of key industrialised nations owing to volatile financial markets and rising oil prices, the Philippines-based lender said in a report.Risks are tilted more to the downside than before on expectations of a sharper slowdown in the U.S. economy, further tightening of global credit, an abrupt adjustment in exchange rates and a continued rise in oil and commodity prices, says the December issue of the bank's Asia Economic Monitor.It said gross domestic product (GDP) growth in China, the region's growth engine, would slow to 10.5 percent in 2008 compared to a forecast 11.4 percent this year if governmen
In what is being termed as an unprecedented move, the British Government has directly accused China of involvement in web-based espionage on some vital parts
Short version
There’s a greater than 50 percent probability that the financial system “will come to a grinding halt” because of losses from mortgages, Gregory Peters, head of credit strategy at Morgan Stanley, said.
Long version - from The Oil Drum, a comprehensive look at the credit crisis and the dominoes about to fall next, specifically bond [...]
Sounds official doesn't it? Sounds like I spent hours crunching numbers coming up with something earth shattering. Nope...I did get an automatic email I just signed up for from Economic Development Edmonton...Since no one probably reads or gets their e-letters...
The Economist mentions the “R” word while a noted economist says the landing will be hard, not soft.
If you have financial hatches that can be battened down, I suggest you do so now.
Commenting on the propaganda against the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that the deal will not hurt the country's
Crude oil fell more than $1 a barrel on forecasts for reduced U.S. consumer spending and as the dollar rose against the euro and pound. Rising fuel costs may have slowed retail...
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Gasoline prices are increasing, nestle prices are increasing, wan ton mee prices at hawker centre are increasing, even xuet char (Chinese tea ice) prices also increasing. Today read on some news regarding US Central Bank chief saying that they are expecting the economy to slow down soon. At the other hand, the billionaire investor George Soros added that there will be more serious economic slowdown than what we can expect.I’m not a pro in business and finance area, but as a tiny citizen, I can start feeling inflation burden is becoming more and more serious. Everything is increasing, but not salary, haha~ Some reports saying that yearly inflation in Klang Valley is around 9% - 11%, try to compare with your salary increment %, how many more part-time you need to do to cover your expenses? You see la, after election, toll prices la, petrol prices la, will definitely surprise you!By the way, I now label this post under “Interesting News” category, isn’t it interesting? Haha, add o
When supermodel Giselle Bundchen said that she wants to be paid in euros instead of dollars, that tells me that tremors through the NYSE can’t be far behind.And sure enough…
Turkey’s National Security Council is recommending applying economic sanctions against northern Iraq in an effort to apply pressure on groups aiding the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party. Many observers warn such action might turn out to have the opposite effect. According to Turkish political analyst Ilter Turan, “any sanctions could b ring about unexpected results; they [...]
Authorised economic operator ("AEO"). Are you involved in the international supply chain? If so, you may be becoming increasingly aware of the new AEO status due to be introduced on 1 January 2008.
I have spoken on this topic before, and it is unfortunate that I need to talk about it again.
As a devout capitalist, it may seem contrary that I would speak against economic globalization. After all, it’s all about making money, right? Well, yes and no. It’s also about maintaining capital here at home, which means [...]
This post is a continuation of my last post, in which I debate with someone the issues of universal healthcare, worthiness, free markets, taxation, smart economic growth, problems with healthcare insurance today, and more. As always, I welcome your feedback.In this round of the debate, he began by referencing the following statement I made in a previous post: “The best kind of Capitalism fosters 'smart economic growth' through the right combination of small company entrepreneurial (technological) innovation and big- firm market capabilities, without restrictions on free trade, brings about a higher standard of living for just about everyone in that country.”He then said: This is essentially what I have been espousing, with the state keeping the corporations from manipulating a free market, and leaving the rest alone. Incentives for productive entrepreneurship being profit, and the disincentive for unproductive entrepreneurship being hunger, no further incentive is required.Next, he
One of the odd things that I’ve noticed since I’ve started doing the paid posts on a more serious basis is that there are quite a number of pretty much insignificant websites which are trying to promote themselves via paid posts.
Where on earth are they getting the money to do it? We’re not talking websites [...]
PARIS, France -- The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development issued a highly critical report on Ukraine's economy for 2007, saying economic reforms are lagging behind its neighbours and the growth of recent years is threatened.
Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD
In particular a lack of reform is discouraging foreign investment in the ex-Soviet republic, the report said.
Before we impulsively jump into it, we have to consider some important points on the floated idea of restricting the migration of doctors, as shown in a Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) news report posted to the Internet, from which I quote, as follows:"DoH: Gov’t can stop doctors from leaving;it is the lawBy Nikko DizonInquirer08/03/2007http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view_article.php?article_id=80319"MANILA, Philippines — Filipino doctors would be barred from migrating and working abroad to avert a possible shortage of medical practitioners, if Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had his way."You don't expect Indians and Cambodians to treat Filipinos, Duque Thursday told reporters on the sidelines of his meeting with provincial governors and his counterpart in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao....“While we’re out there treating other people, the irony is we don’t have anyone to treat our own people. Of course, the authorities will not allow it. Political
Author: Haim Ofek Paperback: 262 pagesPublisher: Cambridge University Press (November 2001)Language: EnglishISBN: 0521625343(R)This book spans two million years of human evolution and explores the impact of economics on human evolution and natural history. The theory of evolution by natural selection has always relied in part on progress in areas of science outside of biology. By applying economic principles at the borderlines of biology, Haim Ofek shows how some of the outstanding issues in human evolution, such as the increase in human brain size and the expansion of the environmental niche humans occupied, can be answered. He identifies distinct economic forces at work, beginning with the transition from the feed-as-you-go strategy of primates, through hunter-gathering and the domestication of fire to the development of agriculture. This highly readable book will inform and intrigue general readers and those in fields such as evolutionary biology and psycholog
Author: Jeff Biddle, John Bryan DavisPaperback: 736 pagesPublisher: Blackwell Publishing Limited (June 1, 2003)Language: EnglishISBN: 0631225730(R)Assembling contributions from top thinkers in the field, this Companion offers a comprehensive and sophisticated exploration of the history of economic thought. The volume has a threefold focus: the history of economic thought, the history of economics as a discipline, and the historiography of economic thought. The essays in the first part focus on the history of economic ideas, with topics ranging from ancient, medieval, and Islamic thought, to Marxian, Utopian, and postwar thought. The second part explores important historiographical topics, including the sociology of economics, methodology, exegesis, and textuality.Each essay serves as a complex introduction to the chosen topic, and gathered together they provide an extensive synthesis of the field as a whole. The volume is an essential resource for anyone research
A lot could go wrong. And it may not feel like a day at the beach to most Americans. But for your average globetrotting Fortune 500 CEO, right now is about as good as it gets, says Fortune's Rik Kirkland.(Fortune Magazine) -- Just how red-hot is the current worldwide expansion? "This is far and away the strongest global economy I've seen in my business lifetime," U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson declared on a recent visit to Fortune's offices. That may come as news to many Americans, whose boom-time memories are stuck in the 1990s, when Silicon Valley was the epicenter of our growth fantasies. But the fellow now occupying Paulson's old office at 85 Broad Street in downtown Manhattan shares that upbeat view. Just returned from a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Middle East, Goldman Sachs (Charts, Fortune 500) CEO Lloyd Blankfein waves out toward the East River as he explains how the rise of the "BRICs" has altered his strategy and his travel schedule. (BRIC is an acronym Goldman c
Author: Warren J. SamuelsPaperback: 243 pagesPublisher: JAI Press (July 31, 2006)Language: EnglishISBN: 0762313552(R)This volume publishes a wide variety of documents. Included are Notes taken by Henry R. Seager in 1890; Robert Hoxie's Introductory Lecture on the nature of the history of political economy (1916) coupled with an internet discussion on the history of economic thought as the history of error (2005); two law school student papers on John R. Commons' work on law and economics (1926); Edwin R. A. Seligman's Autobiography (1929); Glenn Johnson's notes on Frank H. Knight's University of Chicago course on economic theory (1947) and documents pertaining to Johnson's Michigan State University course on methodology (1947); and the the conclusion of notes from Edwin E. Witte's University of Wisconsin course on government and labor (1955). Zip Password: T0sT@rN@
Author: Thomas Carson, Mary BonkPaperback: Publisher: Thomson Gale; 2 Volume Set edition (December 1999) Language: EnglishISBN: 0787638889 Targeting a high school and first- and second-year college audience, this easy-to-read work aims at supporting American history textbooks and providing a one- stop-shopping resource on all that comprises U.S. economic history--people, businesses, industries, events, movements, and trends--with a special emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. A similar specialized encyclopedia, Glenn Porter's Encyclopedia of American Economic History (Scribner, 1980), now dated, presents lengthier essays on movements and ideas only and is intended for more educated lay readers. In contrast, the Gale source consists of a unique array of 1,003 distinctive entries, somewhat confusing in their sheer variety, alphabetically arranged and of various lengths. Half are brief economic terms and historical and geographical definitions, and the other half are era overv
SINGAPORE : It is a Goldilocks global economy now — not too hot, not too cold, but just right — according to some economists, and the bears have not come home, yet.On Tuesday, Dr Tony Tan named three dark clouds — or bears — on the horizon that have caught the attention of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).First, the economy might get hot if the price of oil, now $70 per barrel, reaches $100 per barrel as some have predicted. "What this will do to inflation is a worry," said Dr Tan, who is the GIC deputy chairman and executive director.Secondly, the economy could cool if a tightening of credit is caused by the crisis in the United States sub-prime market, where up to 2.2 million people are at risk of forfeiting their homes."If that's the case, the sea of liquidity, which is a rising tide lifting up the prices of all assets, may be dampened," said Dr Tan, speaking to reporters after a GIC event.The third risk is that of an external shock, such as a lar
IRNA - Iran and Mexico reached an agreement to set up a joint economic commission next year.
In a meeting between Iran’s new Ambassador to Mexico Mohammad Hassan Qadiri-Abyaneh with Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Lurdes de Aranda the agreement was achieved.
Qadiri also invited Mexico to attend the Non-Aligned Movement foreign ministers meeting in Tehran on human rights and cultural diversities.
Iran’s plenipotentiary and extraordinary ambassador to Mexico expounded on Tehran stances on regional issues, especially Iraq and the results of Iran-USA negotiations about Iraq security and said Islamic Republic of Iran policy is to support national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq.
Mexico deputy FM, for her part, said her country’s policy is to support peace, security and independence of the countries and has always defended negotiation and dialogue as a way to solve disputes between the countries.
The Mexican senior diplomat also expressed her co
Author: Ariel RubinsteinPaperback: 160 pagesPublisher: Princeton University Press (January 2, 2006)Language: EnglishISBN: 0691120307Lecture Notes in Microeconomic Theory is the first publication of Ariel Rubinstein's lecture notes from the first part of his well-known course in microeconomic theory, which he has taught for fifteen years to first-year graduate students at Tel Aviv, Princeton, and New York universities. The book will be an invaluable supplement to primary textbooks in microeconomic theory. Conveying the style and method of Rubinstein's lectures, it will benefit teachers and research economists as well as students. The book focuses on and provides a critical assessment of models of rational economic agents, and it contains a large number of original problems.Rubinstein, one of the world's most-respected economics theorists, has made substantial contributions to several fields in economics, particularly game theory. His work is characterized by an
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