Free Republic

Economy Zips Ahead at a 5.6 Percent Pace Jun 29 8:45 AM US/Eastern Email this story By JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON The economy sprang out of a year-end rut and zipped ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.6 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years and even stronger than previously thought. The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading _ based on more complete information _ matched economists' forecasts. The stronger GDP...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - News) fell below the psychologically key 11,000 level for the first time in three months as U.S. stocks extended their fall amid worries that the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates. Investors fear that higher rates would slow the economy and hurt corporate profits. A break below 11,000, which was a key near-term support level, could trigger additional weakness in the index, according to technical analysts. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - News) was down 49.22 points, or 0.45 percent, at 10,999.50. The Standard & Poor's 500...

On August 1, 2003, Nancy Pelosi asked a question: “Where are the jobs Mr. President?”. Of course you have to have had selective amnesia to make such a statement. The Market Crash of 2000, The Clinton Recession, The 9-11 Attacks, and the Cost of Waging a War on Terror all affected the job market. Nancy Pelosi Press Release on August 1, 2003. Where Are the Jobs, Mr. President? Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' announcement that 470,000 people abandoned their job searches in July and that 3.2...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy shot forward at an upwardly revised 5.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the fastest growth in 2-1/2 years, as companies built up inventories and exports strengthened, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed. First-quarter growth in gross domestic product was more than triple the 1.7 percent annual rate recorded in last year's fourth quarter, though still slightly below Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 5.7 percent pace.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Emerging from a year-end rut, the economy dashed ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.3 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years. The new snapshot showed gross domestic product was even stronger during the January-to-March period than the 4.8 percent annual rate first estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness. The upgraded reading on GDP, based on more complete information, mostly reflected stronger...

Consumers, spurred by a late Easter and warmer than usual weather, pushed retail sales up by a solid amount in April although soaring gasoline prices kept the increase below expectations. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in April following a 0.6 percent advance in March. The slight slowdown was seen as an indication that the big jump in gasoline prices since early March was depressing demand for other consumer products. Wall Street analysts had been forecasting a more robust 0.8 percent advance in retail sales, a forecast that was based on reports of strong demand during...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A surge in consumer spending helped corporate America achieve its 16th straight quarter of double digit earnings growth, and even the return of $3-per-gallon gasoline hasn't deterred companies from issuing upbeat forecasts for future quarters. As of Friday morning, with 423 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index reporting earnings for the first quarter, 285, or 67 percent, beat Wall Street forecasts. Another 66 companies, or 16 percent, matched expectations, while 72 companies, or 17 percent, failed to meet analysts' estimates. The results extended a corporate winning streak: Over the past eight quarters, 66 percent...

NEW YORK May 4, 2006 (AP)— Consumers seemingly unfazed by rising gasoline prices spent enthusiastically during April, giving retailers their best performance in two years. Warmer weather, a late Easter and hot fashion trends helped entice shoppers, but merchants remained wary about the possibility that expensive gas and higher interest rates could still curb consumers' appetites. As major retailers reported their sales figures Thursday, many including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Nordstrom Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. and Limited Brands Inc. had better-than-expected results. Even Gap Inc., which has disappointed Wall Street for months, posted a smaller sales decline than...

CNBC and Marketwatch.com report that the DOW was up 38.58 points today at 11,438.86, a new six year closing high. According to historical charts on Yahoo Finance, the previous highest close was 11,489.36, on 1/19/2000. Today's close was within 285 points of the all time closing high of 11,722.98, on 1/14/2000.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activity in both the vast U.S. services sector and at factories accelerated more than expected, according to data on Wednesday that pointed to fresh economic vigor and the possibility of more interest rate hikes. Most economists are expecting economic growth to slow from a torrid first-quarter pace of 4.8 percent, yet the latest figures showed no hints of slowing and appeared likely to keep the Federal Reserve leaning toward further hikes in interest rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week a pause in the rate-hike cycle was possible. The Institute for Supply Management's services...

THE ORDINARY NERVOUSNESS of investors and market watchers has been converted into advanced paranoia by the business media's preference for bad news. Consider this headline in the Wall Street Journal: "Economy's Surge Stirs Questions About When Slowdown May Come".Share prices are driven to a six-year high by rising corporate profits and commentators trot out stories about bubbles and irrational exuberance, the latter a phrase used by then-chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan to describe share prices--after which they doubled. Germany and Japan finally shake off their decades-long economic lethargy and show signs of recovery, and all talk is...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew at its strongest rate in 2-1/2 years during the first three months of this year, snapping back from a lackluster fourth quarter on a surge in spending and investment, a Commerce Department report on Friday showed. Gross domestic product grew at a 4.8 percent annual rate in the January-March first quarter, more than twice the 1.7 percent rate in the fourth quarter and the strongest for any three months since 7.2 percent in the third quarter of 2003. The first-quarter figure was only slightly below the 4.9 percent rate that Wall Street economists...

Without much fanfare, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is closing in on its all-time high, set at the beginning of 2000 before Americans became disenchanted with stocks and turned to real estate. Despite soaring oil prices, the Dow, watched as a barometer of the economy and Main Street, has regained more than 4,000 points that slipped away after the dotcom bust and the 2001 recession. Now, the average is closer than it's ever been to its Jan. 14, 2000, high of 11,723 - a number that brings back memories of taxi drivers talking about their stock portfolios and a book...

This should be a list of who is planning to close their business on Monday, May 1 in response of the Great American Boycott. We should compile it and boycott them ourselves if possible! Remember to go shopping or work overtime on May 1!

Public expects Booming Economy to get even worse The U.S. economy grew at its strongest rate in 2-1/2 years during the first three months of this year, a Commerce Department report on Friday showed. Gross domestic product grew at a 4.8 percent annual rate in the January-March first quarter. Senators Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Friday the economy was too strong for the little guy to catch up. When it comes to public perception regarding the state of the economy, the perception couldn't be much gloomier. So says "right-wing" Fox News Channel, citing its latest...

Growth returned in spades to the U.S. economy last quarter, with the Commerce Department's first reading on gross domestic product showing a 4.8% expansion, roughly matching estimates. The gain was the largest in two years but was largely in line with expectations and shouldn't radically alter perceptions about the future of interest-rate policy. The first-quarter reading follows growth of 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2005. A warm weather-fueled rebound in consumer spending, rebuilding in the hurricane-ravaged South, burgeoning business investment and steady progress on the services side of the economy helped pace the first-quarter pop. On average, economists expected...

Factory Orders Jump 6.1 Percent in March; Sales of New Homes Rise 13.8 Percent in Same Period WASHINGTON (AP) -- A jump in demand for commercial aircraft pushed orders for big-ticket manufactured goods higher in March while sales of new homes shot up at the fastest pace in 13 years, reflecting a rebound from bad weather in February. ADVERTISEMENT click here Both reports depicted an economy continuing to expand at a healthy pace, a view supported by a new survey of business conditions around the country released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve. The Fed's 12 regional banks used words such...

WASHINGTON - Employers feeling upbeat about the economy boosted hiring by 211,000 in a springtime burst that pushed the unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent, matching its lowest point in 4 1/2 years. The employment picture for March, released by the Labor Department on Friday, suggested that a strengthening economic expansion is putting companies in the hiring mood and brightening prospects for job seekers. Hiring gains were fairly widespread. Construction, retailers, financial activities, education and health care, and government were among the sectors posting payroll gains. That helped to blunt job losses in manufacturing and in the transportation industries. "I...

Dow Ends Up 82 at 11,317, Nasdaq Ends Up 9 at 2,303 on Patent Settlement by Bristol-Myers Squibb NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose Wednesday on upbeat news from big companies: a patent settlement by Bristol-Myers Squibb, strong earnings from Morgan Stanley and a cost-cutting deal between General Motors Corp., Delphi Corp. and the United Auto Workers. The gains were enough to push the Dow Jones industrial average to a new five-year high. With scant economic data available, the market was driven by news from large-cap stocks. Bristol-Myers jumped 11 percent after the drug maker and its partner, Sanofi-Aventis SA,...

Despite the doldrums that have descended upon Detroit, it looks like some automobile manufacturers have cash to burn. Early on Monday, Toyota announced that it would build 100,000 Camrys per year at a Subaru assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana, and that it might share its hybrid technology with Subaru. Toyota became a major shareholder in Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, after Fuji and General Motors parted company late in 2005. The Subaru facility in Indiana had previously been operated as a joint venture with Isuzu, but when that Japanese truck builder halted production of the Axiom and Rodeo sport...

The Dubai Ports World deal is waking Americans up to a painful reality [...] we've abandoned the principles of tariff-based trade that built American industry and kept us strong for over 200 years. The old concept was that if there was a dollar's worth of labor in a pair of shoes made in the USA, and somebody wanted to import shoes from China where there may only be ten cents worth of labor in those shoes, we'd level the playing field for labor by putting a 90-cent import tariff on each pair of shoes. Companies could choose to make their...

Is something funny here? See if you notice that the larger fonts are used for "bad news" and the smaller font announces the "good news". And then try to figure out how the headline depicts the true nature of the "real news" in the story, which is GOOD! (/rant over)... Here's the link: CBS MarketWatch.com"The four-week average of seasonally adjusted new claims fell to 276,500, the lowest since April 2000. The average number of new claims is nearly 50,000 lower than it was for most of 2005." "The low pace of jobless claims suggests that the labor market is expanding...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans grew more optimistic about the job market in January, sending a widely followed measure of consumer confidence to its highest level in three and a half years. The report Tuesday from the Conference Board showed, however, that consumers are still uneasy about the future. The private research group said its consumer confidence index rose to 106.3, the highest level since June 2002, when the reading was also 106.3. The latest measure was up from a revised 103.8 in December, and continued a rebound that began in November following the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Analysts had expected...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Economic worries have decreased over the last six months as the American public has shifted its concern more to the war in Iraq and problems faced by political leaders, AP-Ipsos polling found. The economy has been showing signs of strength in recent months. But the violence in Iraq has continued, before and after the latest round of elections in mid-December. And high-profile politicians in this country have been ensnared by scandal. When people were asked in an open-ended question to name the nation's top problem, 25 percent named war, close to the level in October, but up...

WASHINGTON - Consumer borrowing fell in November for a second straight month, the first time that has occurred in more than 13 years. The Federal Reserve reported Monday that borrowing declined at an annual rate of $648.8 million in November following a record rate of decline of $8.4 billion in October. The weakness in November caught analysts by surprise. They had been expecting a rebound in borrowing based on the fact that consumer spending and consumer confidence both revived in November, reflecting a drop in gasoline prices. The $8.4 billion rate of decline in borrowing in October was a record...

NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 11,000 Monday for the first time since before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, buoyed by a New Year's rally that has sent stock prices soaring. Wall Street's best known stock indicator rose to 11,001.26 shortly after 1 p.m. EST, the first time since June 13, 2001, that the index of 30 blue chip stocks traded above that milestone. It last closed above 11,000 on June 7, 2001, when it stood at 11,090.74.

The number of U.S. workers seeking new jobless benefits fell last week to its lowest in over five years, the government reported on Thursday and a private group said the services sector grew last month, boding well for the economic outlook. The strong data came one day before the closely watched Labor Department report on employment. Economists expect a solid 200,000 gain in nonfarm payrolls in December, with the jobless rate holding steady at 5 percent. In other data, major U.S. retailers on Thursday reported that deep discounts lured holiday shoppers last month and pushed sales slightly ahead of modest...

You may or may not believe in Santa Claus, but we suspect you don't think it was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer who delivered that 8.7% rise in holiday sales over last year, as reported this week by MasterCard. Though the economy has grown steadily through the year, the Democrats have tried to throw soot on the growth story by constantly saying that median incomes are falling. Judging by these holiday sales, somebody must have money. We suspect it is not possible for "the rich" by themselves to cause sales of flat-screen TVs, laptop computers, digital cameras and other electronics to...

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy's recent strength, with plentiful new jobs and little inflation, has legitimized the Bush administration's economic approach, Treasury Secretary John Snow on Wednesday. The White House strategy to cut taxes on labor and capital and spur entrepreneurial activity has triggered an economic recovery resilient enough to endure a series of Gulf Coast hurricanes, and it is likely to continue, Snow said. "Along with sound monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, these policies are delivering results and proving the pessimists and naysayers wrong," he said in prepared remarks for a joint press conference with...

The strong data on jobs, growth, and even house prices belie the naysayersTo paraphrase Bob Dylan, you don't need a Wall Street economist to know which way the economy is blowing. For weeks, the experts have worked themselves into a cold sweat worrying about inflation, aftereffects of the killer hurricanes, oil prices, avian flu, and the prospect of the red-hot housing market turning white cold. Rest easy. Things are nowhere near as bad as the worrywarts would have you believe, if recent bountiful economic data are any indication. Indeed, firms add-ed a rock-solid 215,000 jobs in November, the government reported...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Orders to U.S. factories posted a solid increase in October while worker productivity jumped by the largest amount in two years, the government reported Tuesday. It was the latest evidence that the economy is rebounding from the Gulf Coast hurricanes and a spike in energy prices, leading analysts to predict the economy will turn in a solid performance in coming months. "The momentum of growth has been very strong," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at Global Insight in Lexington, Mass. "This suggests that growth in the fourth quarter of this year and early next year will remain...

Could hit 11,000 today if "euphoria" takes hold.

December 06, 2005, 8:49 a.m. Here We Go Again? Next year’s economy could be a repeat. The 2005 year-end equity rally, like the one in 2004, makes sense based on steady economic growth, consumer resilience, solid corporate profits, and the realization that rate hikes are reducing the inflation threat without slowing the economy. It also looks like 2006, in economic terms, might be a repeat of 2005 and 2004: steady growth (despite talk of slowdowns), falling unemployment, strong growth abroad, and more Fed hikes than suggested by interest-rate futures. The current scenario reminds me of the movie Ground Hog Day,...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Productivity of the U.S. nonfarm business sector surged at a 4.7% annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest rate in two years, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The fresh numbers are a revision to month-old numbers that showed productivity rose at a 4.1% pace. Unit labor costs - a gauge of wage-push inflationary pressures - fell at 1% annual pace in the quarter, revised down from a 0.5% decrease. Economists expected productivity to be revised to a 4.5% annual pace, based on revisions to output and hours worked already reported. Productivity has increased 3.1% in the...

Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post thinks we have a "bauble economy" -- its all just a "giant Ponzi scheme." The facts just keep contradicting him. Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that "employment grew by 215,000 in November." On Wednesday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis revised our national GDP for the 3rd quarter upwards to 4.3% from an initial estimate of 3.8% On the astonishing job creation, from CNNMoney.com: "This is another affirmation that we've gotten over the shock of the hurricanes and the economy is back on track to where it was before," said Mark Vitner, senior...

Signs point to a strong economy By LARRY KUDLOW Columnist Posted on Thu, Dec. 01, 2005 Here are a few things IÂ’ve learned recently: â–  The boat-building business is booming, with big backlogs for orders in the $80,000 to $300,000 price range. Why is this important? Prosperity. People buy luxury items when theyÂ’ve got the money to do so. This is a very positive economic-growth indicator. â–  A midsized U.S. insurance company has been issuing a record number of group employee-benefit packages for disability, accident and other coverage to small companies. This is a sign of new- and small-business formation,...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's payrolls snapped out of a two-month hurricane-induced funk in November and grew by 215,000, the most since July. The unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent. The fresh snapshot of the jobs situation by the Labor Department on Friday suggested that employers were feeling better about hiring now that energy prices have retreated from record highs and the energy supply and transportation disruptions from the trio of Gulf Coast hurricanes are easing. The pickup in employment in November came after two dreary months where hiring turned lethargic because of the devastating storms. In October, payrolls grew...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Personal spending edged up modestly in October although retailers are hoping that higher consumer confidence and lower energy prices will yield bigger gains during the holiday shopping season. The Commerce Department reported that personal spending rose by 0.2 percent in October, a slowdown from a 0.5 percent increase in September but better than the 0.5 percent decrease recorded in August. Spending for the past three months has slowed considerably after sizable gains in June and July as consumers rushed to take advantage of attractive discounts that automakers were offering to boost car sales. Incomes were up 0.4...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth was much stronger last quarter than first thought as spending rose more than estimated, while divergent price data on Wednesday left economists puzzled over inflation pressures. Gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced within U.S. borders, grew at a revised 4.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace since the first three months of 2004, the Commerce Department said. Growth had initially been reported at 3.8 percent. The report also showed inflation was milder than first thought. A price gauge favored by the Federal Reserve -- personal...

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: THIRD QUARTER 2005 (PRELIMINARY) CORPORATE PROFITS: THIRD QUARTER 2005 (PRELIMINARY) Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2005, according to preliminary estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.3 percent. The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the advance estimates issued last month. In the advance estimates, the increase in real GDP...

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected consumer confidence data lifted hopes about holiday spending, while a rise in orders for the largest manufactured goods boosted industrial stocks, including aircraft maker Boeing Inc. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Also, the Standard & Poor's index of steel makers was up 4.6 percent, and shares in U.S. Steel Corp. (X.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 7.9 percent to $45.83 on the New York Stock Exchange after J.P. Morgan placed the steel maker's stock on its focus list, saying it was undervalued. [ID:nN29193412] Boeing shares gained 1.4 percent to...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New U.S. home sales hit a new record in October, while durable goods orders rose by 3.4 percent as aircraft demand surged, but non-transportation orders were barely changed, data on Tuesday showed. While consumers may not have splashed out on big-ticket items in October, separate reports showed confidence was almost back to its pre-Katrina levels in November and the first leg of the holiday shopping period got off to a strong start. The data indicated the U.S. economy was still growing at a good clip and suggested that the Federal Reserve was likely to continue its...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street resumed its winning ways Tuesday after two new reports showed a jump in U.S. factory orders and a sharp rebound in consumer confidence. Stocks bounced back from Monday's losses after the Commerce Department said orders for big-ticket manufactured goods grew 3.4 percent in October, with increased demand for military aircraft and parts accounting for more than half of the $7.1 billion gain. Investors also found reassurance when the Conference Board said November consumer confidence rose 13.7 points to 98.9, besting economists' forecast for a reading of 90. A day earlier, the market languished as...

Is the Iraq War the issue for 2006 elections? The old media would have you think so. But, no. That's all part of their agenda. The issue isn't the Iraq war. No, it’s the economy. And it’s booming way bigger than a suicide bomb in Baghdad. The DJIA as today at 10931.62, we are only just under 100 points from topping 11 Thousand. But, you may ask – how can we predict that the economy will be doing well about election time, considering all the unknowns? Well, yes we likely can. Because, with what the nation has already been through...

In scenes reminiscient of the Great Depression, Americans lined up early this morning outside stores across the country as word of shortages of Christmas gifts caused riots when the stores opened. With the price of gasoline and heating oil having hit record highs this year, consumers waited in the freezing cold to be first in line when the doors opened at 5 a.m. to buy laptop computers and other essentials before supplies were exhausted. Riots at stores from Washington, D.C. to Washington state and as far south as Florida were reported. Shocked mothers complained their children were traumatized by the...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks struggled to stay upbeat Wednesday morning, battling investor fatigue after a four-week run up that has pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite to 4-1/2 year highs. The Dow Jones industrial average (up 11.60 to 10,883.03, Charts), the broader S&P 500 (up 0.15 to 1,261.38, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (up 3.57 to 2,257.13, Charts) all hovered above the unchanged line roughly an hour into the session. Stocks gained Tuesday after the release of the minutes from the November Federal Reserve policy meeting, which suggested that the central bank may be nearing the...

US on course for record run of profits By Gary Duncan, Economics Editor CORPORATE America is enjoying a record postwar winning streak. Booming profits have put blue-chip companies on track for their longest run of double-digit quarterly profit rises since at least 1936. Research by David Rosenberg, chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch, shows that US groups in the blue chip S&P 500 index have so far recorded a 16 per cent year-on-year rise in operating earnings per share in the third quarter, with just a few companies left to report results. Merrill’s analysis finds that this bullish performance...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose at the fastest pace in 17 months in October, posting a solid rebound from the devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes. The Federal Reserve reported that industrial output was up a healthy 0.9 percent last month as refineries and oil and natural gas platforms began production again after widespread shutdowns caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Last month's increase followed a 1.5 percent plunge in September, which had been the biggest one-month drop in industrial production in more than two decades.