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Major indexes were lower Thursday following worse than expected reports on repaired domicile sales, initial jobless claims, and durable pious orders

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U.S. stocks were mercantile lower Thursday afternoon surrounded by a fresh batch of weak relating to housekeeping data. Energy and financial issues among the biggest losers on the session.

Traders contended with some dismal reports on the U.S. economy Thursday. New home sales plunged 14.7% to a 331,000 annual rate from 388,000 in November, Weekly initial jobless claims rose 3,000 to 588,000, while December durable goods orders pitiless by a more than expected 2.6%. The premises suggest that Friday’s expected decline in fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is carrying over into the first quarter.

On Wednesday night, the House passed President Obama’s spur bill despite Republican opposition. The neb has moved to the Senate.

There is “a great quantity debate over whether Obama’s House-passed economic plan is a stimulant or a pork gift,” according to S&P MarketScope.

At 12:10 p.brawl. ET Thursday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average was lower by 154.04 points at 8,221.41. The broad S&P 500 index was off 20.87 points at 853.22. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq complex index malicious 36.94 points to 1,521.40.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 23 stocks were trading sink in price for every five that advanced. Nasdaq breadth was 18-6 negative. Trading was moderate.

Treasuries were off before an auction of 5-year notes later on Thursday, with the yield on the 10-year note up at 2.71%. The dollar index was higher at 85.25. Gold futures were lower at $894.50 per ounce and oil futures were lower at $41.36 per barrel in New York trading.

In addition to the closely watched GDP report Friday, the market will also be eying updates on busy state costs, the Chicago purchasing managers’ index, and consumer courage.

Stock indexes, that rallied Wednesday as the Federal Reserve uttered it was ready to buy Treasuries, and that it would perform its all to boost the U.S. economy, looked set to consolidate the gains of the previous four sessions on Thursday. “The major equity indexes have finally taken out some key pieces of overhead resistance,” says Standard & Poor’s chief technical analyst Mark Arbeter. “We think to be true this could lead to further gains in the intimate term, although we dress in’t see prices moving up steadily in the manner that there are multiple levels of resistance above.”

The House passed an $819 billion tax-and-spending bill in a recession-fighting struggle that would extend the reach of the federal conduct athwart the U.S. thrift by reshaping policy on energy, education, health care and social programs. The House bill is one of the largest single incitement packages in history, not quite equal to the entire require to be paid of yearly publication federal spending under Congress’s carefulness. A parallel Senate measure, which is expected to come to a vote next week, is now valued at almost $900 billion. Either bill, if enacted, would push the federal debt docile levels not seen since the next to the first World War.

In economic news Thursday, U.S. new close sales dropped 14.7% to a 331,000 unit year-book pace in December, from a downwardly revised 388,000 in November (from 407,000 previously). October’s 419,000 pace was revised to 406,000. And net revisions transversely the prior manifold months were -40,000. Declines were posted in aggregate four regions. The months’ invest of homes climbed to 12.9 from a revised 12.5 (was 11.5 previously). There were 357,000 homes for sale, against 397,000 in November (revised from 374,000). The middle price declined to $206,500 from $219,700 (revised from $220,400). That’s down 9.3%, year-over-year.

The data are much worse than expected and will pressure public securities lower and give a boost to Treasuries, according to Action Economics.

U.S. jobless claims rose 3,000 to 588,000 for the week ended January 24, and stronger than the 570,000 expected by the agency of markets. Continuing claims surged 159,000 to 4,776,000 in the week ended January 17, and are the highest on record. This pushed the adjusted insured unemployment standard up 0.2% to 3.6%. The 4-week persuading average rose to 524,500, from 518,250. The report continues to indicate that the take pains place of traffic remains in poor condition.

Orders for durable manufactured goods fell 2.6% in December, the fifth following in a series monthly decline. The globule was even worse than the negative 1.8% expected by the consensus. The decline follows a 3.7% November drop. Aircraft orders plunged 43.6%, after a 46.3% November drop, reflecting production difficulties at Boeing. Defense aircraft orders were up 16.4%, however. Excluding the 32.9% rise in defense orders, orders fell 4.9%. Shipments, a more stable indicator, ferocious 0.7% in December after a 4.2% November drop.

“The declare is worse than expected, with declines in virtually every nondefense rank,” says S&P more advanced economist Beth Ann Bovino. “The manufacturing sector continues to deteriorate.”

European Central Bank President President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB could take more unusual measures to fight the global relating to housekeeping slowdown and could cut rates below 2%. Meanwhile, German unemployment rose by 56,000 on the month in January, its third unswerving rise and biggest increase in nearly four years.

Original text: http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jan2009/pi20090129_406268.htm?campaign_id=rss_null

Again!

January 28, 2009 05:51 PM

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Be the change you want to give attention to - Gandhi!

Can Lou Dobbs reveal his investing. porfolio? I would be surprised if he doesn’t own shares in companies which outsource or hire people of visas!

Well, CNN hires people on visas did he do a check if they are paid the ‘wage’ he talks in regard to? Or am shabby, can’cheek by jowl he find every American to do the job at CNN which the immigrant is currently doing?

Did he ever check to see if the microphone he speaks into or the clothes he wears is made? Or the raw materials in the food he eats is not touched by illegal immigrants?

Whoa talk nearly hipocracy!

Original text: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/globespotting/archives/2009/01/lou_dobbs_has_g.html

anon

January 29, 2009 09:37 AM

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what is GTS processes?

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Now you know why major economic crises in the 19th century were called panics. Almost every day brings a fresh clash. On Wednesday, it was greater amount of layoffs at Boeing and a stunning announcement of 6,700 cuts at Starbucks. This is any anxious city in a nervous nation.

But it’s not 1929, despite eerie parallels in the financial system and threat of global deflation. We now have government security nets that would cushion the Great Depression’s massive suffering and a federal commonwealth with a greater ability to prop up the economy by countercyclical expenditure.

It’session not the early 1980s, either, when the prime regard rate hit 20.5 percent and self-conceit topped 14 percent.

This is new and divergent. Anybody who tells you what happens next will also sell you more WaMu subprime mortgages for empty homily houses in Arizona. The heavyweights at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, have no more clue than the Boeing workers in Everett

It’s global and fueled by dint of. lack of credit. Bank lending and means of approach to other capital has been severely curtailed, hammering companies across the Puget Sound region and around the planet. Because it’s worldwide, almost all markets and sectors are suffering at once. The biggest intuitional faculty for Boeing’s somber outlook is that demand for its planes is weakening and financing is uncertain.

It’s a standard work banking collapse, made besides unsafe by the size of the institutions and the complexity of the believe to be guilty securities on their books. It took down Washington Mutual, with horrible consequences for Seattle. Now even Bank of America and Citigroup are teetering. With portfolios tanking, Tacoma’s Russell Investments is not immune, each, announcing 420 layoffs this week.

It’s mauling average Americans, the people behind that vaunted consumer spending that eased recent recessions. The Conference Board’session consumer-confidence index hit 37.7 in December. In the depths of the tech bust, it never dropped below the low 60s. No wonder: House values have plummeted along with 401(k)s. People also are now each losing their jobs or preparing for the worst.

This carries thorough implications during retailers such as Starbucks.

It has divers wild cards: What happens to China? What about America’s historic level of debt, including nearly $1 trillion in unpaid credit-card balances? What more can the Federal Reserve do when its rates essentially are naught (dress in’t expect a fresh bubble to save us this confinement)? Perhaps the biggest is how bragging bequeath unemployment rise?

At 7.1 percent, Washington’s unemployment rate increased 2.5 percent from 2007 to 2008. Oregon, at 9 percent, and Idaho, at 6.4 percent, saw equal larger increases last year. It could be worse: Michigan unemployment is 10.6 percent. But December’s jobless noise indicated troubling trends. For example, the increase in unemployment was the largest one-month jump since 1976.

Yep, all this before the consequences of layoffs at Boeing, Starbucks, Russell and hundreds of smaller companies equable entered the pipeline.

Rightly done, a significant stimulus is essential. But rebuilding will be lingering and difficult.

It’s not 1929. It is an event we’ll rehearse our grandchildren about, and for a during the time that our warnings about running an economy built on a house of cards may stick.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jontalton/2008683363_biztaltoncol29.html?syndication=rss

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All that penny-pinching advice relating to cutting back in continuance your $3-a-day latte habit finally got through to the caffeine-addicted masses, who acquire pulled back so dramatically that they sent Starbucks into a tailspin.

The Seattle-based coffee company is closing stores anew and slashing significantly else jobs than expected to stem eroding profits.

Starbucks surprised workers and Wall Street on Wednesday with plans to close 300 more supplies, eliminating 6,000 store positions by fall. The immovable will lay right side 700 more workers in the next couple of weeks, including 350 tribe or about 11 percent of its Seattle headquarters.

The cuts came as Starbucks announced a 69 percent drop in profit to $64.3 million, or 9 cents a share, in quest of the first quarter ended Dec. 28. Results included $75.5 million in pretax restructuring charges.

“There is an acute understanding of the situation,” CEO Howard Schultz assured Wall Street analysts during a conference call Wednesday. “We’re making significant steps, courageous steps to ensure Starbucks not only weathers the storm but maintains our leadership position.”

Starbucks’ latest tightening comes as companies nationwide divide prolix workers in hopes of preserving meager profits. The coffee chain reported a 9 percent drop

The trend is grim compared to last be uttered carelessly, at the time Schultz told investors that “our year of transition and transformation is over” and “October may consider represented a bottoming-out milestone for our corporation.”

Altogether, the cutbacks are meant to save the company $500 million this year.

The closures include 200 U.S. stores and come onward top of 616 U.S. shop closures begun remain year. From the initial group, Starbucks has relocated 70 percent of the employees to other locations, spokeswoman Deb Trevino said.

Starbucks announced several other changes Wednesday and hinted at more to get to:

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Senior officials in the Islamic group Hamas are indicating a willingness to negotiate a long-term truce with Israel as long as the borders of Gaza are opened to the rest of the world.

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“We want to be part of the international community,” Hamas chief Ghazi Hamad told The Associated Press at the Gaza-Egypt border, where he was coordinating Arab aid shipments. “I determine Hamas has no interest now to increase the number of crises in Gaza or to challenge the world.”

Hamas is wearisome hard to flex its muscles in the aftermath of Israel’s punishing onslaught in the Gaza Strip, doling out cash, vowing revenge and declaring conquest past Zionist aggression. But AP interviews with Hamad and two other Hamas leaders in the war-ravaged territory they rule refer to some of that might be more bluster than reality - and the group may be ready for some serious deal making.

That raises the question of whether Hamas, which receives much of its funding and weapons from Tehran, be possible to be coaxed out of Iran’s cavity of the eye. That discussion looks less monstrous than it did before President Barack Obama began extending olive branches to the Muslim terraqueous globe and Israel’s Gaza offensive reshuffled Mideast politics.

Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas primeval minister in Gaza, said in comments aired Thursday that the Palestinians grape-juice remedy their internal rifts and he welcomed aid for Gaza from any source. He also seemed to leave a entrance open as far as concerns better relations with the U.S.

“I think it is not in America’s interest to stay in conflict with the Arab and Muslim world, considering its interests in the region,” Haniyeh, who remains in hiding posterior Israel’sitting onslaught, said on Al-Jazeera television. “We faith that the new American President revises all the policies of his predecessor.”

The militants appear to be in the throes of an internal power struggle between hard-liners and pragmatists. Which dispose comes out on reach the summit of will likely depend on who is able to garner the most benefits in postwar Gaza.

With hawks urging more injury, the window of opportunity to boost the voices of relative moderation is likely to be short.

“We won this war,” related Hamas statesman Mushir Al-Masri. “Why should we give in to pressure from anyone?”

Al-Masri spoke to the AP while standing next to a chair that used to work as his fix in the Palestinian parliament, now reduced to rubble by the agency of Israeli bombing. Surrounding him were cracked cement, spent bricks, shattered glass and microphones covered in ash.

Yet even Al-Masri, a staunch hard-liner, sounded a conciliatory note.

“We have our hands disclose to any country … to open a colloquy free from conditions,” he reported - clarifying that does not comprise Israel.

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Boeing executives painted a rosy picture of the plane maker’s 2009 business prospects Wednesday, even viewed like they announced they’ll cut 10,000 employees, or 6 percent of its labor force, to protect counter to the possibility things will worsen.

The company ended 2008 with a dismal squandering. But Chief Executive Jim McNerney forecast that the year ahead with regard to Boeing’s operations will be stable and profitable. And Boeing says it hopes to maintain course levels of airplane work for “several years.”

Analysts skeptical

Some analysts questioned that picture of extended calm, wondering whether Boeing be possible to expect to keep production

And for this state, there will subsist more without other agency pain.

More than half the 10,000 jobs Boeing will eliminate are in Washington, including the 4,500 job cuts in the commercial-airplanes unit announced earlier this month.

The additional 5,500 do job-work cuts revealed Wednesday

The Machinists union in a statement said it expects scarcely any of its members to be affected.

Boeing employs about 13,000 people in Washington state on the surface the commercial-airplanes division. So proportional 6 percent cuts in the other divisions should mean roughly 800 more jobs lost in the state, bringing the complete cuts here to else than 5,000 jobs.

Focused on upside

Still, on a teleconference announcing the fourth-quarter loss and Boeing’s strategy in the economic crisis, the association leadership focused on good news.

McNerney related the new 787 Dreamliner is on footmark to flee from by the end of June, and he expects all six flight-test airplanes to be in the air within four months of the first flight.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008683358_boeing29.html?syndication=rss

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. The prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he’s proven “a pattern of abuse of power.”

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In his closing argument Thursday, prosecutor David Ellis said the evidence shows Blagojevich knew his conduct was unsuited.

Ellis cited snippets of secretly recorded conversations that federal prosecutors released when they arrested Blagojevich last month. He says they look Blagojevich based all his decisions without interruption that which was best for him personally, politically and legally.

The Democratic governor is scheduled to answer later this morning under the jurisdiction state senators promised on removing him from office. Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing.

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PRESIDENT Obama’s inaugural speech, with its language in regard to peace and solidarity, is an unfulfilled guarantee for Fatima and Frida, Palestinian and Jewish girls on the border between Israel and Gaza. They lost their homes and have been traumatized by thousands of missiles fired on Israel by the agency of the Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas], and subsequent heavy Israeli bombardments and assault of Gaza, which resulted in about 1,300 Palestinian casualties.

The current cease-fire may have being very transient and could escalate into a greater war. Two stories, viewed surpassingly differently by the two sides, desire led to escalated hostilities. One is Israel’s post-1967 colonization of Gaza and trade of the West Bank. The second is Palestinian violence, including suicide bombings and missile attacks targeted in anticipation of innoxious civilians, which has only generated more repression of the Palestinians. Tragically, as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but sides are committing war crimes that inflict damage on innocent civilians.

Gaza was settled in 1948 by 150,000 Palestinian refugees, some escaping the horrors of war and others expelled by the Israeli military in the armed conflict of powers for Israeli independence in 1948, subsequent to the Palestinian rejection of the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan.

The Egyptians controlled Gaza to the time when the 1967 War, but they have neglected it, preserving it as a refugee camp. After 1967, Israel imposed a military occupation and destroyed Gaza’s public institutions, which opposed Israeli control.

Israel’s unilateral abduction from Gaza in 2005 was intended to reduce the number of Palestinians under its governance, disconnecting Gaza from the West Bank and facilitating business with the Palestinian authority put on a two-state solution. Gaza remained besieged and its autonomy was limited by Israel’s army and navy.

Hamas was established in 1987 viewed like a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim movement. It gained electoral majority in the Palestinian parliamentarian elections in 2006 while calling for a war of Jihad aimed at Israel’s destruction. In 2007, Hamas took control excessively Gaza in a military revolt and subsequently was outlawed by the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas leaders did mention several times a possible recognition of Israel at its pre-1967 borders. But such proposals were never adopted by any of Hamas’ affectedly exact institutions. They were mentioned only like part of having a cease-fire for perhaps a decade

The two stories of Gaza’session recent history are not resolvable lacking international intervention that guarantees the safeness and serene coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians. It must include a humanitarian preparation against improving living terms in Gaza; internationalization of the holy places in east Jerusalem based on U.N. resolution 181 from 1947; replete reconciliation along the 1967 borders; and publicly addressing the 1948 refugees issue.

The Obama administration needs to cooperate with the European Union to frame a four-stage solution embedded in international law.

First, the disintegration must enforce a peace treaty between Syria and Israel, which includes Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

Second, with the assistant of repress Arab Muslim states

Third, Israel and Iran sourness establish a mutual regime of nuclear nonproliferation.

Finally, Gaza’s economic prosperity must subsist safeguarded. If this road not taken, the next general war in the Middle East may not be avoided.

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008682441_opinb29gaza.html?syndication=rss

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President Obama wants to make government cool afresh. At a time then the private sector has failed spectacularly, the new Obama administration holds the confidence of shoring up a failed economy, creating millions of new jobs, extending benefits for the unemployed and helping college kids stay in school.

Obama summoned us in his inaugural address to step up as citizens, in a new era of responsibility and independent involvement. Obama urges Americans to build things up, not lacerate them etc.. Upward and onward, not backward and downward.

Back hither in Washington, one of our unintended leaders, inceptive writer Tim Eyman, wants to make sure government remains the opposite of placid. Hated would be good, or at the exceedingly least, distrusted.

For Eyman to remain successful

What a contrast. Eyman begins to sound like bad 1970s music while Obama does the bump and dances a more-modern rhythm.

Obama is the tomorrow guy who envisions a brighter future. Eyman is yesterday, 1990s, early millennial with government as the boogeyman.

Eyman you to dislike the affirm, statesmanship or city where you be nourished because that is the alone way he stays afloat.

If you think about it, these are not grass-roots initiatives ascent from the the common people. These are initiatives, combined with nonstop fundraising at the bottom of every e-mail, designed to keep this odd nature in the game, he says in with equal reason many words

Eyman is running around these days like a chicken sans head because he truly needs a win. His 2008 power to originate, the ditty known as the “Reduce Traffic Congestion Act,” was a little daring for him. It was off his regular division of lower taxes or disgrace car tabs. It had the added gain of workmanship him perhaps the only person in the state who understood his hodgepodge of transportation ideas: Getting rid of red-light cameras and ruining high-occupancy-vehicle lanes were among the highlights.

All but single of our state’s 39 counties told him to forget about it. He is very proud that Pierce County voted for his transportation succotash.

So Eyman is back with a whir of initiatives. Many of his ideas have appeal on paper or in sound bites. Don’t you love $30 or even $25 car tabs? You do. He is bringing that concept back, too. Like I said, he needs a win.

Look no further than the Washington State Ferries, which have never run as well similar to they did before Eyman’session maiden initiative voyage, Initiative 695, the original car-tab measure. No individual be possible to boast wreckage of the ferry system the habitual method Eyman have power to

But I wander. The latest proposal reads, “This measure would condition the growth rate of state, county and city general fund revenue, not including new voter-approved revenue, to inflation and population vegetation. Excess revenue collected too proud for these limits would be used to reduce property taxes.”

The signature-gathering trial began Wednesday. It sounds so great. But we are no longer in the era of no body politic is the best government.

We are in very dire straits and we have learned that deregulation and free-market nonsense can be very painful. Citizens need help with so many things: soundness charge, flood relief, unemployment benefits.

Yes, regulation is massy and unwieldy and makes tons of mistakes. This is in no degree paen to rule.

Government is deplorable, for example, so far unsuccessfully, to get the banks to start lending again, and government is trying to create stimulus packages that will inducement new jobs, including “shovel unhesitating” projects. The success of those endeavors is yet to be determined.

In good times, bloated government have being able to have being the perfect straw man, but not right now. A lot of us simply distress help. Sending to a greater distance arrows into the inner part of systems that are the last possibility to help the least fortunate is irrelevant.

Over the years, with anti-government rhetoric in vogue, we saw what floods and hurricanes and lack of control oversight of financial markets looked of a piece. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww.

As always, Eyman is only as powerful as voters let him be.

Last year, voters saw through his efforts.

Local and state governments, the targets of this year’sitting initiative, may have been bloated in the out of the reach of. But these governments are being cut

; for a podcast Q&A with the originator, go to www.seattletimes.com/edcetera

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