Post Reply
2141-2160 of 8312
Wow Dow is performing today. Let monitor fr below LIVE Charts.
my boss gng to make back 200 pts per contract very soon...
hehe...
my boss said Green light.... 9.3 BO later.... hehe...
my boss loss 200 pts per contract.... hehe....
US economy shows signs of stabilising: Beige Book
Posted: 30 July 2009 0415 hrs
 |
||||||
 US Federal Reserve Building |
||||||
WASHINGTON - The ailing US economy is showing signs it "has begun to stabilise" at low levels after more than a year and a half of recession, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report Wednesday.
The report, to be used by policymakers at next month's Federal Open Market Committee, said the decline is moderating, although many indicators remain weak and prospects for job creation remained grim.
"Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve districts suggest that economic activity continued to be weak going into the summer, but most districts indicated that the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilise, albeit at a low level," the report said.
Some Fed districts used the words "slow," "subdued," or "weak" to describe activity levels, while others indicated the pace of decline appeared to be moderating. Others pointed to "signs of stabilisation."
The Beige Book noted "sluggish retail activity" in most of the nation, while manufacturing showed some gains in parts of the country.
Residential real estate "stayed soft in most districts, although many noted some signs of improvement," the report added, but commercial real estate markets "weakened further in recent months" in most areas.
The banking sector encountered weaker demand for some categories of loans as the economic slump persisted.
As to job prospects, the Fed noted that conditions remained difficult, highlighting fears that weak hiring could dampen recovery prospects.
"Most districts indicated that labour markets were extremely soft, with minimal wage pressures, and cited the use of various methods of reducing compensation in addition to, or instead of, freezing or cutting wages," the report said.
Earlier Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the economy may be seeing "the beginning of the end of the recession."
"Here is what's true: we have stopped the freefall. The market is up and the financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse," Obama said during a visit to North Carolina.
"So there is no doubt that things have gotten better. We may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession."
The US economy has been in recession since December 2007, according to the economic panel accepted as the arbiter of business cycles.
The economy suffered a 5.5 percent pace of decline in the first quarter, on the heels of a 6.3 percent slide in the fourth quarter of 2008. But many forecasters are expecting growth to resume in the second half of 2009.
The Fed this month raised its outlook for 2009 and 2010 economic output, projecting a rebound in the second half of 2009 that would leave the contraction for the year at between 1.0 and 1.5 percent.
For 2010, the new Fed outlook saw growth in a range of 2.1 to 3.3 percent, slightly better than its forecast from April.
The government's first estimate for gross domestic product in the second quarter to June 30 is to be released Friday. The consensus forecast by private economists is for a 1.5 percent rate of decline.
By Bob Willis
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Orders for U.S. durable goods, excluding automobiles and aircraft, unexpectedly rose in June, signaling manufacturing may expand in the second half of the year.
Excluding transportation equipment, demand for goods meant to last several years climbed 1.1 percent, the most in four months, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Total orders fell 2.5 percent, the first decrease in three months.
The durable-goods figures used to calculate economic growth indicate companies plan to boost investment in coming months, adding to evidence the worst recession in five decades is starting to ease. Caterpillar Inc. is among companies seeing steadier demand as government stimulus plans here and abroad start to kick in, signaling an economic recovery is in sight.
“The manufacturing recovery is happening now,” said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, who predicted a gain in orders excluding transportation. Shipments of durable goods “are likely to grow in the third quarter, and that’s an important reason why we expect the overall economy will begin to grow.”
Stock futures, which fell earlier in the day, remained lower and Treasuries stayed higher. Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index were down 0.7 percent at 969.1 at 9:26 a.m. in New York. Yields on benchmark 10-year notes slipped to 3.62 percent from 3.69 percent late yesterday.
Economists’ Estimates
Economists expected a 0.6 percent drop in orders, according to the median of 73 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey, after a previously reported 1.8 percent gain in May. Estimates ranged from a decline of 2 percent to a gain of 2 percent.
Excluding transportation equipment, orders were forecast to be unchanged, according to the Bloomberg survey. Commerce revised the May figures in this category to show a 0.8 percent gain, down from the 1.1 percent increase previously reported. after an initially reported 1.1 percent gain the prior month.
Orders for transportation equipment were down 13 percent, with commercial aircraft dropping 39 percent. Plane bookings had jumped 60 percent in May.
Automobile demand dropped 1 percent after an 8.7 percent decrease in May, today’s report showed. Factories at General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC were closed for at least part of the month, worsening the slump in bookings for autos and parts.
Military Orders
Orders excluding defense equipment decreased 0.7 percent as bookings for military gear slumped 28 percent.
Bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, which economists consider a proxy for future business investment, rose at a 0.4 percent annual pace in the third quarter after plunging at a 44 percent rate in the first three months of the year.
Shipments of those items, used in calculating gross domestic product, fell at a 16 percent three-month annual rate in June, less than half the decrease in March and signaling that the decline in business investment eased last quarter.
Ongoing inventory drawdown in manufacturing is setting the stage for future growth. Stockpiles fell at an $87 billion annual rate in the first quarter, the biggest drop on record, according to figures from Commerce. Companies cut inventories by 0.9 percent in June, today’s report showed.
The economy will grow at an average 1.5 percent rate in the last six months of the year, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg in the first week of July. That follows a projected 1.5 percent decline in the second quarter and a 5.5 percent rate of contraction in the first three months of 2009.
‘Slowed Significantly’
“The pace of decline appears to have slowed significantly, and final demand and production have shown tentative signs of stabilization,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress last week.
Caterpillar, the biggest maker of earthmoving equipment, posted second-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ highest estimate and raised its full-year forecast, saying stimulus programs are starting to support global demand.
“We are seeing signs of stabilization that we hope will set the foundation for an eventual recovery,” Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens said in a statement July 21. “Fiscal policy and monetary stimulus have been introduced around the world, and we are seeing signs, particularly in China, that they are beginning to work.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg.net Last Updated: July 29, 2009 09:28 EDT
y my boss covered short n go for long leh ???
dun tell u.... dun tell u.... hehe...
my boss is looking at 9.8
idesa168 ( Date: 29-Jul-2009 21:46) Posted:
|