Economic News

[Fivetears]

America’s trade deficit widens in May
Imported oil price rises by largest amount in some 16 years
A record jump in the price of imported oil pushed the trade deficit to $63.8 billion in May, offsetting robust overseas sales gains by American companies. On Wall Street, stocks dropped sharply after a separate report showed that weekly oil inventories fell to their lowest level since early March. That raised the prospect that the U.S. will have to import even more oil. The price of foreign oil jumped by the largest amount since the run-up to the first U.S.-Iraq war in 1990, and America’s trade imbalance rose 0.8 percent from a revised April deficit of $63.3 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The trade deficit is running at an annual rate of $763 billion, 6.5 percent higher than last year’s record of $716.7 billion. President Bush’s critics blame the dwelling deficits on unfair trade practices in China and elsewhere, and say they have contributed to the loss of nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs since Bush took office.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13826182/

 

[Fivetears]

Experts Say High Gasoline Prices May Dent Economic Growth, but Not Consumers' Fuel Appetite
High gasoline prices may dent economic growth, but consumers' fuel appetite is still strong. Those trends are likely to persist, experts said, as average nationwide pump prices approach $3 a gallon -- a threshold once feared to be disastrous for motorists and potentially the economy. Economists say neither gasoline demand nor the economy have cratered in the face of soaring fuel prices because energy costs are only a small percentage of the average U.S. household budget. Consumers have been helped by relatively low interest rates and low core inflation, though both of these indicators are rising -- trends that could augur further weakness in the economy.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060712/gas_prices.html?.v=8

 

[Fivetears]

Chinese Company Intends to Build MG’s in Oklahoma
That’s the bet by Nanjing Automobile Group, which plans to resurrect the fabled MG marque in a tricontinental demonstration of how truly global the automotive industry has become. Nanjing, which purchased the assets of the bankrupt MG Rover Group last year, aims to be the first Chinese carmaker to open a factory in the United States. The company has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday in Oklahoma to announce plans to build a newly designed MG TF Coupe there, starting in 2008. It said the coupe would compete with cars like the Mazda Miata, which sells for $20,000 to $25,000. It also will assemble a convertible TF Roadster version at MG’s now-shuttered factory in Longbridge, England, and three sedan models in China. American and European operations for MG Motors will be based in Oklahoma City, 90 miles north of the new factory in Ardmore, Okla.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/12/b...1451beee2c4d&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

 

[Fivetears]

GM delays shutdown of Portugal van factory.
General Motors rejected appeals from government and trade unions to save its Portuguese van factory but delayed the shutdown by three months as a sop to workers who mounted angry protests across Europe against the US carmaker. GM said on Tuesday its plant at Azambuja, north of Lisbon, would close in December, in spite of a last-minute plea by José Sócrates, Portugal's prime minister.

The factory employs 1,100 people and made 73,800 vans last year.

The closure has raised fears that GM is joining other carmakers in shifting production from western Europe to the east and to Asia, something it denies.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=FT&Date=20060711&ID=5858588

 

[Fivetears]

July 12 12:50 AM EST - US Army to End Halliburton Deal
The U.S. Army will discontinue its multi-billion dollar contract with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Halliburton, formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney, has drawn scrutiny for its work in Iraq from auditors, congressional Democrats and the Justice Department, which is investigating potential overcharges for fuel, dining and laundry services. Texas-based Halliburton is the world's second-largest oil services company and the U.S. military's biggest contractor in Iraq. The logistical support is performed by Halliburton engineering and construction unit Kellogg Brown & Root. Last year, the Army paid the company more than $7 billion under the contract, the Post said. Army officials defended the company's performance but said Pentagon leaders decided multiple contractors would give them better prices, more accountability and greater protection if a one contractor fails to perform, the newspaper said.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=OBR&Date=20060712&ID=5859749

 

[Fivetears]

Small Business Optimism Waning
Owners of small business are losing faith in the U.S. economy as they scale back plans to hire workers and make capital expenditures, a small business survey released on Tuesday showed. The National Federation of Independent Business index of small business optimism fell 1.8 points in June to 96.7 on the back of weaker job creation plans, declining inventories and fading hopes for the expansion. "Sixty percent of the decline from the May reading came from souring expectations for real sales growth and confidence that the current period is a good time to expand substantially," said William Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist. A cutback in hiring plans accounted for another 25 percent and a reduction in plans to add to inventories another 15 percent, NFIB said. Small business owners expect job growth to slow in the months ahead on expectations the economy will slow during the second half of 2006, the survey said. Just 13 percent of small business owners polled expect higher real sales in the coming months, down from 20 percent in the prior survey. Meanwhile, none of the firms surveyed plan to boost inventories, consistent with views of slowing sales in the latter half of this year, NFIB said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202907,00.html?sPage=business.foxnews/economy

 

[Fivetears]

11:14 pm ET Delphi Posts $2.4 Billion Loss for 2005
Delphi Corp., General Motors Corp.'s largest parts supplier, reported a $2.4 billion loss for 2005 in a delayed annual report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060711/earns_delphi.html?.v=10

 

[Fivetears]

You've voiced many important points here Birchtree. A shift in our trade balance - increased exports, lower imports and more spending on goods and services produced in the U.S. would be the perfect solution. With absolutely no disrespect intended Sir, the only problem I view with this solution being viable, is the US has too many greedy CEO's and corporate associate investors cashing out of the US business community, by selling out (exporting) US born business ventures to the third world, and its workers. The US Economy is being taken to the Pawn Shop. You are so very correct in your assessment of the required direction of the US dollar; it must deflate (decline) to compete and survive. If it were not for the US jobs and equipment leaving US soil, we wouldn't have to deal with the "slowing growth" issue.

We are being sold out Birchtree; sold out. The saddest thing about it; Corporate Pride, Greed, Sloth and Envy will blind us from any chance of an American short term recovery. :worried:

What can take the place of the lower consumer spending to maintain overall aggregate demand? The key to maintaining aggregate demand, i.e., the key to our continued expansion if consumer spending slows, must be a shift in our trade balance - increases exports, lower imports and more spending on goods and services produced in the U.S. For this, the dollar must decline to make U.S. goods and services more attractive. We're getting to the point in the cycle where slowing growth takes over as the main concern. The primary reason for wanting the dollar to become more competitive in the near future is that we may need an improved trade-balance over the next few years to sustain the economy's expansion. A sharp slowdown in consumer spending could cause an economic downturn - exports to the rescue.

 

[Birchtree]

What can take the place of the lower consumer spending to maintain overall aggregate demand? The key to maintaining aggregate demand, i.e., the key to our continued expansion if consumer spending slows, must be a shift in our trade balance - increases exports, lower imports and more spending on goods and services produced in the U.S. For this, the dollar must decline to make U.S. goods and services more attractive. We're getting to the point in the cycle where slowing growth takes over as the main concern. The primary reason for wanting the dollar to become more competitive in the near future is that we may need an improved trade-balance over the next few years to sustain the economy's expansion. A sharp slowdown in consumer spending could cause an economic downturn - exports to the rescue.

 

[Fivetears]

Retailers post lackluster June sales
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other top U.S. retailers posted disappointing June sales on Thursday as soaring energy prices and record-breaking rains in the Northeast curbed consumer spending.
http://news.yahoo.com/i/580

 

[Fivetears]

I don't know Tech, I'm going at a full speed run though the I Fund pit tomorro at 0900EST; providing my IFT found its way between my PC... and TSP @ 1058CST.

You know the saying "As goes GM, so goes the country"...or something of the sort......I wouldn't want to be in the market after the 4th.....

Got ole Trigger saddled up and ready.....

 

[The_Technician]

GM US June sales down 25.9 percent
General Motors Corp. said its U.S. sales fell 25.9 percent in June, a sharp decline from last year's incentive-boosted results and in line with the company's cautionary forecast.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060703/bs_nm/autos_gm_sales_dc_2

You know the saying "As goes GM, so goes the country"...or something of the sort......I wouldn't want to be in the market after the 4th.....

Got ole Trigger saddled up and ready.....

 

[Fivetears]

GM US June sales down 25.9 percent
General Motors Corp. said its U.S. sales fell 25.9 percent in June, a sharp decline from last year's incentive-boosted results and in line with the company's cautionary forecast.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060703/bs_nm/autos_gm_sales_dc_2

 

[Fivetears]

Ford, Chrysler June auto sales down; Toyota up 14%
Ford Motor Co. and Daimler Chrysler reported lower June sales, citing high gasoline prices and slower sales of trucks and sport utility vehicles, signaling a weak start to the summer season. Sales for Toyota Motor Corp, which has eclipsed DaimlerChrysler to become the third-largest player in the U.S. auto market, shot up 14 percent.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060703/bs_nm/auto_sales_dc_1

 

[mlk_man]

At 9:15 a.m. ET come reports on capacity utilization and industrial production in May, with economists looking for little change in activity at the nation's factories.

Both lightly down. Might help offset a little bit.

 

[Pilgrim]

Marketwatch 6/15


The Empire State Index rose to 29.0 in June from a 12.9 reading in May. The New York Fed's report on manufacturing activity in its territory is one of the most current readings on economic activity. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast the index would slip to 11.0.


Weekly initial jobless claims fell to 295,000 the week ending June 10, from a revised 303,000 level the previous week, when economists had expected it to climb to 320,000.


The stronger economic readings could be a bit of a negative for the markets, as a weaker economy could constrain the Fed from hiking rates further after its June 29 meeting.


At 9:15 a.m. ET come reports on capacity utilization and industrial production in May, with economists looking for little change in activity at the nation's factories.

 

[Birchtree]

We have a potential new Treasury Secretary on the way that admires the benefits of a weak dollar. Like myself - where are the dollar bashers today anyway? I see where this month exports jumped 13.8% to $76.5 billion in March, compared with a year ago. April's drop in capital goods orders of 4.8% was largely as payback for the large jump in March. Overall, capital spending remains on anm upward trend. In this year's first four months, core capital goods orders were up 9.7% over the same period last year. If you smooth out the vagaries of month to month flows, what emerges is a pattern that is wholly consistent with the Fed's belief of how the economy is going to unfold this year. Foreign producers now have to invest to boost capacity, and they're also boosting demand - and prices - for the kind of capital goods that the U.S. makes. Gotta be bullish.

 

[Pilgrim]

Some new views that is interesting....isn't options due this Friday......if so, this could make a favorable mix to the market results this week.....

I have never been able to figure out (in advance, always easy in hindsight) how important these things are, e.g. options expirations. It seems in general, that if everything else were quiet these cyclic sort of things would drive the market, but in practice they are usually overwhelmed by news and economic reports.

Barring a major news event (such as terrorism, etc,) Friday will be dominated by the employment report - little else will have as big an impact.

 

[The_Technician]

Some new views that is interesting....isn't options due this Friday......if so, this could make a favorable mix to the market results this week.....

http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/EconodayFrame.asp

 

[nnuut]

Very Intresting!

Q&A: Turmoil on world markets; Inflationary pressures have caused market turbulence worldwide



Stock markets around the World have been falling sharply, as fears grow over the prospect of higher US interest rates.

The market upheaval has also pushed down the price of commodities such as oil and gold. Some analysts fear the volatility could be a forerunner to more serious turmoil, with a sharp turnaround in expectations about the future course of inflation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4993292.stm