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The Ocean Between D.C. and L.A. | This is a tale of two cities. Each is the seat of an empire, one built around political power, the other around entertainment. The 'tologist can tell you all about it because he's just back from L.A., which gives him the opportunity to say, repeatedly, "I just flew in from the Coast." (Of course no one on the Coast actually calls it the Coast. You have to not be on the Coast, or have any real knowledge of the Coast, to call it the Coast. Same with Frisco and the Big Apple.)</br></br>If cities have an organic quality then Washington is a flower, the District a monumental pistil, heavily dusted with the pollen of modern city life, the Potomac a stem from which everything rises, the suburbs arrayed like petals, simple and lovely if somewhat repetitive.</br></br>This is not to insult Los Angeles. In fact it can be a beautiful, mesmerizing place, which is one reason why upward of 10 million people live there. Los Angeles has big mountains, palm trees, good-looking people, beaches. One day I drove up to Point Dume and walked along the bluffs, the Santa Monica Mountains tumbling into the sea, seals swimming in the clear blue water, sea birds soaring on the updrafts. Someone was surfcasting, barefoot on the beach. Hardly anyone else was around. It was a Saturday morning; if you were in Washington and had gone to Sugarloaf Mountain on a sunny day like this you'd have found hundreds of people, acres of children scrambling around - mall meets mountain. But in Los Angeles there are mountain ranges in every direction, there's even a range right in town, the Hollywood Hills, and so people are spoiled. Their attitude toward nature is like that of a Washingtonian who sees the Lincoln Memorial every day but never goes there.</br></br>So, yes, Los Angeles and its surroundings can be lovely, but they can also feel post-apocalyptic. Washington is still basically pre-apocalyptic, except for Democratic Hill staffers. Washington never has serious recessions, because government is incapable of doing anything but grow, and we don't have natural disasters, which happen in Los Angeles continually to the point where everyone walks around in this Death Is My Companion daze. Insanely they have built a city atop a piece of the Earth's crust that is fractured like a broken windshield. It's hard for anyone to be deeply serious about anything in Los Angeles, since they know that in a couple of hours they'll fall into a jagged crevice in the Earth's surface, never to be seen again. The typical Washington disaster? It snows some. That and term limits.</br></br>Washington has history, a deep sense of its place in the creation of a nation. It's been here at least since the late 1800s, if memory serves. But in Los Angeles everything is new, disposable, with the texture of things not meant to age. Half a century ago Raymond Chandler wrote great stories about a private eye tooling around town finding bodies and getting beat up. If Chandler were still alive he'd have to have entire chapters about Philip Marlowe getting stuck in traffic. You can imagine the prose: "I was headed for Bay City to eyeball a stiff. I turned off Melrose and took the 101 to the Harbor Freeway. It was a parking lot. The world had stopped. I put my feet up on the dash and read the funny pages. Something caught the corner of my eye, a flash of white in the HOV lane. Teeth. A blonde in a purring red Porsche. Her lipstick was the color of aortic blood. She smiled hugely. Her mouth was more than flesh and bone, it was a geological formation. She gave me a look I could feel in my hip beeper. I put the car in neutral and pressed down on the gas. She got the message." | no | 0 |
Short Interest In Nasdaq Stocks Hits New High --- Increase Is 13th in a Row, Comes Amid Fed Boost In Short-Term Rates | NEW YORK -- For the 13th consecutive month, short interest on the Nasdaq Stock Market set a record, jumping 2.8% to 701.8 million shares in mid-February from mid-January's 682.4 million.</br></br>The continued climb this month in uncovered short positions, a generally bearish indicator, comes partly in the wake of the Federal Reserve Board's Feb. 4 short-term interest rate boost that so unsettled markets.</br></br>For the previous 12 months, investors had placed growing bets that Nasdaq stocks -- many of them with rich price-earnings multiples -- were set for a fall. Now that the Fed's rate rise has ushered in a correction in the stock market, investors seem to be saying that they expect share prices to retreat further, market professionals believe.</br></br>"It's not a surprise to me mthat Nasdaq short interest hit another record in {February} because there are more stocks today that are overvalued than there were a month ago," said Stan Trilling, senior vice president with PaineWebber in Los Angeles.</br></br>A short sale is a bet that a stock will tumble. An investor sells borrowed shares, knowing that they must eventually be replaced for return to the lender. If the replacement shares cost less than those sold earlier, the short seller makes a profit. Short interest is the total of shares sold short at any given time and not yet covered. | no | 0 |
What CPI Means: Consumer | When you hear the latest report on how much the ÛÏConsumer Price Index" has risen you probably figure itÛªs a visible measure of how your own cost of living keeps gobbling more income.</br></br>But the CPI, as itÛªs called, is not a cost-of-living index. It reflects price changes for 400 items monitored on a month-by-month basis.</br></br>The 400 products and services make up a market basket of things an average urban worker might buy. Food is a big item. Rents, clothing costs, transportation are all major items. But the "basketÛ contains more than bare necessities.</br></br>Prices are also checked for bowling fees, popular paperback books, textbooks, funeral services and prenatal care.</br></br>The reason this intricate monitor of price changes is not really a cost-of-living index is that a rise in certain prices does not necessarily mean a rise in the cost of living for everyone. | no | 0 |
Companies Cut Back On Hiring, Poll Finds; 7 Percent Expect To Lay Off Workers | Howard County companies, along with those in the rest of the Baltimore region, have sharply curtailed hiring plans for the third quarter because of the shaky economy, according to a new employment survey.</br></br>Fewer employers in the Baltimore region, including the City of Baltimore, portions of Baltimore County and Howard, expect to hire more workers during the next three months, compared with the second quarter, Manpower Inc., a Milwaukee staffing company that tracks hiring trends, reported Tuesday.</br></br>From July to September, 16 percent of companies interviewed, including 23 in Howard, said they plan to hire more employees, down from 40 percent the previous quarter. Seven percent expect to lay off workers, and 66 percent do not expect to change their staffing. Eleven percent said they are unsure of their hiring plans.</br></br>Deborah Provencher, Manpower's Howard County branch manager in Columbia, said that although the county has many technical and health care companies, such as Magellan Health Services in Columbia Gateway, many do not plan to expand their staffs.</br></br>"There's a lot of technical companies located off Gateway Drive, [but] most of them are being conservative in hiring, if they're hiring at all," Provencher said. "My sense from them is that they're being extremely cautious." | no | 0 |
McDonald's Helps Push the Dow to 2-Year Highs | NEW YORK -- The consumer sector led U.S. stocks to fresh 2<frac12>-year highs after McDonald's reported strong January sales.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 71.52 points, or 0.6%, to 12233.15, the highest close since June 16, 2008. It was the seventh increase in a row, the longest win streak since one that ended in July 2010.</br></br>McDonald's jumped $1.91, or 2.6%, to $75.36, after the fast-food chain said sales at stores open more than a year rose 5.3% in January from a year earlier, topping the 3.1% rise expected. It cited the diversity of its menu and the addition of oatmeal to it.</br></br>The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13.06, or 0.5%, to 2797.05, the highest close since Nov. 6, 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 5.52, or 0.4%, to 1324.57, the highest close since June 19, 2008.</br></br>The consumer sector was the best-performing category in the S&P 500, with McDonald's giving a boost and Urban Outfitters also strong. Shares of the teen retailer leapt 1.95, or 5.6%, to 37.06, after Citigroup raised its stock rating to "hold" from "sell," noting inventory and sales growth are getting more in sync. | yes | 1 |
Crude Oil Dips Below $80 --- Economic Fears Send Crude Lower; Watching Stock Market | Global demand worries pummeled oil prices in early Asia trading on Tuesday, with light, sweet crude for September delivery falling nearly 5% to a 11-month low of $76.56 a barrel, 33% off its April 29 high, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.</br></br>This followed a drop of $5.57, or 6.4%, to $81.31 a barrel in New York on Monday, a reaction to Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt on Friday.</br></br>Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange on Monday settled down $5.63, or 5.2%, to $103.74.</br></br>The declines mark a steep drop from levels reached earlier this year. Benchmark crude in the U.S. shot to nearly $115 a barrel in May.</br></br>At the time, the U.S. economic recovery appeared more stable, while the civil conflict in Libya spurred fears of widespread supply disruptions among major oil exporters. | no | 0 |
House Panel Offers New Tax Cut Plan: Tax Proposal Rejected | Rejecting the plan put forward two weeks ago by President Ford, the House Ways and Means Committee voted yesterday to extend this year's anti-recession tax</br></br>Rejecting the plan put forward two weeks ago by President Ford, the House Ways and Means Committee voted yesterday to extend this year's anti-recession tax be materially changed. yc;fi: Or taaxd lyetill hb <a iw bailee most taxpayers would end up only eight monthsÛÓthe bill did not take effect until May 1ÛÓwhile next yearÛªs cut would run for 12.</br></br>No oneÛªs total taxes next, year would be cut more than about $'200 under theÛªcommittee bill. Most peopleÛªs would be cut much less.</br></br>Because of the way the bill is written, the greatest cuts would generally go to single individuals and to smaller families of four or fewer with incomes in the $10,0G0-to-$25,000 range.</br></br>The plan the committee approved. 21 to 16, was proposed by Chairman A1 t.MIman (D-Ore.). Four Democrats, including former Chairman Wilbur D. Mills (D-Ark. >. joined all 12 committee Republicans in opposition. | no | 0 |
Job-Sabotaging Gestures | "Ah-hmmmmm." Near the end, her long and unself-conscious sighs would fill several seconds of almost every hour. They were loud and could no longer be ignored by co-workers too polite to tell her.</br></br>"Ah-hmmmmm." Things hadn't gone so well for her, it was true. She'd moved to Washington for what seemed to be a promising job, a major career move. But, after a year, she realized that no promotions were likely for her, that her talents and skills weren't being fully utilized or appreciated, that her friendships in the office seemed tenuous and increasingly strained. On top of that was the recession that added uncertainty to the job.</br></br>"It was driving me crazy," confides her boss, usually an open-door type of employer who had started closing his office door to shut out the sighs. "Every time she sighed, it was like letting air out of a balloon," he says, "only the balloon was the morale around the office. My morale." "Ah-hmmmmm." He fired her. Officially, the R-word was blamed. In tough times, corporations cut back. That she hadn't quite worked out as expected was mentioned, too. But it was the sighing that ultimately cost her the job. "The sighing had to go," concluded the boss.</br></br>"People aren't aware that they're doing it, and this is very dangerous in terms of the job," says Julius Fast, an expert at what might be called reading between the lines of daily communication. He believes our anatomy and unconscious gestures say the darndest things. "You certainly don't want to send out the subtext of being unhappy, depressed or ill-equipped to handle the job."</br></br>Two decades ago, Fast introduced many Americans to the concept of the body's subtle intimations in his book, "Body Language." Since then, the prolific author and researcher has focused at least four other books on the messages that subtle posturing and physical positions can bring to our interaction with others. Now, in his latest book, "Subtext" (Viking, $19.95), to be released next week, he has undertaken physical communiques on the job. | no | 0 |
South Korea Bond Deal Snapped Up By Investors | South Korea's efforts to engineer an economic recovery received a shot in the arm yesterday when global investors turned out in droves to participate in the country's landmark $4 billion bond sale.</br></br>In addition to paving the way for more South Korean corporate bonds, the sale is expected to set the stage for billions of dollars in Asian bonds in the months ahead.</br></br>Searching for high-yielding bonds in an age of near-record-low bond yields, investors from around the globe showed strong demand for yesterday's two-part deal. Seoul sold $1 billion of five-year notes at a yield of 8.953%, or 3.45 percentage points above comparable U.S. Treasurys. Some $3 billion of 10-year securities were sold at a yield of 9.084%, or 3.55 percentage points above Treasurys.</br></br>Seoul was able to sell the bonds at a yield just below the level expected several days ago, underscoring strong demand for the bonds despite last week's downgrade of Japan's debt outlook by Moody's Investors Service Inc.</br></br>The bond sale was underwritten by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney Inc. | no | 0 |
Edwards Visits Mill Town In N.C. Hit by Flooding | John Edwards toured this flood-ravaged mill town in his home state Sunday, meeting with local leaders and business owners and workers hit by last week's flooding from Hurricane Frances.</br></br>The visit was recently added to Edwards's campaign schedule, and was the sixth campaign trip Edwards has made here since Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) chose him in July as the Democratic vice presidential nominee.</br></br>Kerry and Edwards hope to put North Carolina's 15 electoral votes in the Democratic column in November even though the state has voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1976, when Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford.</br></br>The senator toured the town's main commercial district, within sight of the Blue Ridge Paper Products mill, which employs many residents. Damaged by flooding on the Pigeon River, the mill is closed, and officials said it may not open for some time.</br></br>Edwards shook hands with workers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and volunteers helping to dig the town out of flooding damage that left hundreds of roads closed, many businesses shut down and crops ruined. With rolled-up shirt-sleeves, Edwards walked through the muddied main street with Mayor Pat Smathers and Jerry Walker, mayor of nearby Clyde. The area, in the mountainous western part of the state, received nearly 18 inches of rain last week. | no | 0 |
Stocks Rise Sharply as Volume Slumps: Widest Gain in 3 Months | NEW YORK, Aug. 30 WÛÓWall' Street handed itself a surprise today in slow pre-Labor Day trading as the stock market quietly staged its widest gains on average since May 29, 1956.</br></br>At best, a slight recovery was expected from yesterdayÛªs decline but the advance completely wiped out the weekÛªs losses and put the market well ahead of its position last Friday.</br></br>The advance, however, had none of the brisk trading and excitement of typical rallies similar to it in scope. In fact, volume was the lightest of the week as it dwindled to 1,600,000 shares from 1,630,000 yesterday.</br></br>It was the narrowest market in nearly seven months, with only 1091 issues traded of which 769 rose and 144 fell.</br></br>Reasons for the rise, analysis said, in-, eluded a tendency to rebound from yesterdayÛªs drop and a considerable amount of short covering in view of the long weekend ahead and the international uncertainties. They noted that most of the pre-weekend liquidation of speculative positions took place yesterday. The Thursday rise of aircrafts, missile-makers and other defense stocks because of RussiaÛªs attitude -toward disarmament was 'resumed today. Further bullish sentiment was generated by reports in financial quarters of an upturn in steel orders for the 1958 auto models. | no | 0 |
Some on Wall Street See Slower Growth --- Asian Turmoil, Concern On Consumer Spending Cited | A number of prominent Wall Street economists are cutting their estimates for U.S. economic growth in 1998, in part because of the turmoil in Southeast Asia but also due to some domestic concerns.</br></br>The new estimates -- most still predicting moderate growth, yet trimming the growth rate by 0.5 percentage point or even more -- are based on a growing belief that U.S. exports to Asia will decline as economic growth there slows. In addition, there's a concern that U.S. consumer spending is weakening even as corporations and retailers continue to expand. Most of the revisions have come in the past week, following a sharp decline in many world markets, and despite a sharp rebound on Wall Street and elsewhere.</br></br>The downward revisions to gross domestic product-the government's primary barometer of economic growthcame from economists at Chase Manhattan Bank Corp., Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp., Aubrey G. Lanston & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., ISI Group and several others. The size of their revisions were unusually large, even for market-oriented economists who react quickly to changing economic news.</br></br>Chase Manhattan, the nation's largest banking concern, raised eyebrows when it told clients Tuesday that it revised its 1998 forecast to between 1% and 1.5% from 1.5% to 2%. The bank's chief economist, John Lipsky, began his special report, "Reassessing Risks to the 1998 Outlook," by saying even though "relative calm has returned to global financial markets," he felt it would be "premature to presume that this chapter is closed."</br></br>Although Mr. Lipsky's sentiments were echoed by many other economists on Wall Street, academic and corporate economists are taking a more sanguine view of the economy. The monthly consensus forecast due next week from Blue Chip Economic Indicators, an Alexandria, Va., firm that collects the forecasts of about 50 economists and calculates a consensus, is not likely to show much change, if any, from its early October consensus. The Blue Chip consensus forecast published last month called for growth of 2.5% in 1998, down from an expected 3.6% in 1997. Mr. Lipsky, ISI Group, DLJ and many other Wall Street firms don't participate in the Blue Chip survey. | yes | 1 |
Productivity Falls 1.7 Percent, Its Biggest Decline Since 1981 | Business productivity in the second quarter deteriorated at a rate unequalled since 1981, the government reported yesterday, prompting some analysts to predict major troubles ahead for the economy's competitive vigor.</br></br>The efficiency of nonfarm businesses in producing goods and services declined 1.7 percent in April through June, its first decrease since 1986 and the biggest decline since 1981, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said.</br></br>Productivity had risen at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the first three months of 1988, and had been improving at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent annually in the previous three years.</br></br>Reflecting the strong economic expansion, output of goods and services by those businesses responsible for three-fourths of U.S. economic activity rose 4.7 percent in the second quarter.</br></br>But to achieve that growth, companies increased work hours by 6.5 percent, hiring hundreds of thousands of people to send the unemployment rate to a 14-year low of 5.3 percent. | no | 0 |
Bond prices surge as report of weak retail sales for May renews concerns about economy | Weaker than expected retail sales figures for May blew the scent of recession back into the bond market yesterday, a worry that sparked one of the bigger one-day rallies of the past year.</br></br>The price of the 30-year Treasury bond rose nearly 2 1/4 points to 114 1/32, or about $22.50 for every $1,000 bond. The yield, which moves in the opposite direction of the price, fell to 6.54%.</br></br>Movement in the Treasury's two year note was even more dramatic. Its price which is roughly six times more sensitive to movements than the 30-year bond, rose nearly 5/8 of a point, while its yield fell 31 hundredths of a percentage point to 5.61%, its biggest one-day move in five years.</br></br>Traders, investors and economists said the weak retail sales figures for May -- a 0.2% gain compared with expectations of 0.6% -- confirmed suspicions about the economy's weakness. Moreover, they said once again Federal Reserve Board policy makers are under pressure to cut short-term rates soon.</br></br>"The fundamentals are now more positive [for a cut in rates] than when we had the weak unemployment numbers [on June 2]," said Lee Quaintance, head of government bond trading at CS First Boston. | yes | 1 |
THE WASHINGTON POST Thurmlay. Mny 27, 1982 | Notable in todayÛªs activity was the sale by International HarvesterÛªs pension, fimd of up to $300 million worth of issues from its portfolio for higher-yielding bonds. Goldman Sachs confirmed that it had handled the "portfolio restructuring for a major U.S. institutionÛ that "involves the sale of a broad list of U.S. securities with an aggregate value of $250 million to $300 million.Û</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average, which * fell 1.81 points Tuesday, skidded 5.80 points to 828.77, the lo!west level since it finished at 822.77 on March 31.</br></br>creased 33 cents. Standard & PoorÛªs 500-stock index shed 1.29 points to 113.11. Declines routed advances 1,158 to 322 among the 1,885 issues traded.</br></br>Big Board volume, overwhelmingly on the sell side, totaled 51.25 million shares, up from the 44.01 million traded Tuesday. Composite volume of NYSE issues listed on all U.S. exchanges and over the counter totaled 60.32 million shares compared with 51.66 million traded Tuesday.</br></br>The American Stock Exchange index dropped 2.21 points to 266.40 and the price of a share fell 10 cents. Declines topped advances by 439 to 139 among the 769 issues traded. Composite volume totaled 4.52 million shares compared with 3.93 million traded Tuesday. | no | 0 |
Producer Prices Up 0.5%; Jitters Over Inflation Ease | Two government reports helped calm inflation jitters yesterday, sending long-term interest rates down in bond market trading and taking pressure off top Federal Reserve policy makers to launch another preemptive strike on inflation when they meet next week.</br></br>The Labor Department reported that the prices for finished goods charged by manufacturers and other producers increased a modest 0.1 percent in February, excluding volatile energy and food prices. A sharp rise in energy prices drove the overall producer price index up 0.5 percent.</br></br>At the same time, the Fed reported that while the output of auto-related plants surged in February, bad weather helped keep growth at a tame 0.1 percent in the rest of the industrial sector.</br></br>"In terms of inflation, there is not much to worry about," said Joel Prakken of Laurence Meyer & Associates of St. Louis, reflecting the general reaction among economists.</br></br>Laura D'Andrea Tyson, chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers, said the "inflation fundamentals remain good." | no | 0 |
Asia-Pacific Economies Gird for Turbulence | Asia-Pacific authorities braced for financial turbulence out of crisis-stricken Europe, with Indonesia's central bank slashing interest rates and New Zealand putting off plans to tighten bank capital rules as stock markets and currencies in the region fell sharply.</br></br>Officials from Australia warned about the potential damage from Europe's debt crisis, which intensified as Italy's bond yields soared to levels that have pushed other euro-zone countries to accept bailouts.</br></br>The deepening crisis and continued sluggishness in the U.S. economy pose a major threat to the still-robust Asia-Pacific region, where exporters depend heavily on demand from more-developed economies.</br></br>"There's not an economy here that hasn't felt the chill wind of events in Europe and the U.S.," said Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Hawaii.</br></br>Bank Indonesia surprised markets by cutting its key rate half a percentage point, moving aggressively to shield Southeast Asia's biggest economy from the increasingly hostile external environment. The rate, now at 6%, is the lowest since it was introduced in 2005, underscoring the central bank's focus on supporting economic growth while taming inflation. | no | 0 |
The Economy: Fed Officials Assure the Public Tools Exist to Spur Economy | WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve officials are taking pains to assure the public that if its key interest rate keeps dropping all the way to zero, there will still be plenty of ways to boost the economy.</br></br>Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has said the central bank can buy bonds, thereby driving down long-term interest rates. Yesterday, Fed Governor Ben Bernanke said if that didn't work, the Fed could lend directly to banks or help finance a tax cut.</br></br>Two weeks ago, the Fed cut its target for the federal-funds rate, charged on one-day loans between banks, to a 41-year low of 1.25%, from 1.75%. The move fueled talk that the central bank might be running out of ammunition in its fight to keep the economy growing, and spurred a related fear that inflation might give way to deflation, or generally declining prices. Since interest rates can't go below zero, deflation would cause the real, or price-adjusted, cost of borrowing to rise.</br></br>Mr. Bernanke said yesterday that with the funds rate at zero, the Fed would lose "its traditional means" of stimulating spending, but it "has most definitely not run out of ammunition."</br></br>It isn't assured that the steps Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Greenspan outlined would be effective if the U.S. were in a deep recession marked by deflation and the unwillingness of businesses and consumers to borrow at any interest rate. | no | 0 |
Foreign Investment Curbs Are Eased: Balance of Payments Move ... | President Nixon and the ; Federal Reserve Board yesterday eased restrictions on the outflow of American capital going abroad in a move that has political and international as well as economic implications.</br></br>The President said in a statement that he had approved a Commerce Department recommendation that gives companies investing abroad more freedom to plan larger investments overseas.</br></br>The President also signed an executive order reducing the effective rate of the Interest Equalization Tax, which applies to Americans buying foreign securities. But he said he would ask Congress to extend the tax for 18 months after its scheduled expiration in July.</br></br>At the same time, the Fed announced that it has revised credit restraints on banks and other financial institutions to allow them to make foreign loans and to finance U.S. exports more flexibly.</br></br>The President's statement said that ÛÏthese are prudent and limited steps that recognize the realities of our present balance of payments situation.Û | no | 0 |
Junk-Bond Funds Absorb Big Hits --- High-Yield Sector Declines Along With Stocks, Creating Possible Buying Scenarios | The past two months have been punishing ones for investors in "high yield," or junk-bond, funds.</br></br>After a few years in which these funds outstripped most other types of bond funds, they have recently fallen hard, in step with the stock market. Some other bond funds, by contrast, have eked out recent gains that partly offset investors' stock-market pain.</br></br>The recent performance of junk bonds shouldn't be any surprise to investors familiar with the odd hybrid nature of below-investment-grade bonds. "Sometimes these securities trade with the general bond market and sometimes they trade with the stock market," says Earl McEvoy, manager of Vanguard Fixed-Income Securities High-Yield Fund. Lately, it's been much closer to the stock market.</br></br>But "too often," Mr. McEvoy says, investors assume a high-yield fund is simply that -- "just another bond fund with a higher yield." In a period like the past several weeks -- when stock prices tumbled but government-bond prices rose -- he says investors may assume mistakenly that their junk-bond funds are comfortably holding their ground.</br></br>That certainly hasn't been the case. Since the stock-market peak on July 17, Lipper Analytical Services Inc.'s high-yield fund index has posted a negative 9.0% return. That's not as bad as the performance of most stock funds, such as the 15.7% decline for the Lipper Growth Fund Index. But it is sharply worse than the positive 3.1% return on a Lipper index of government-bond funds and a positive 2.0% return on its index of funds holding high-quality (A-rated) corporate bonds. | yes | 1 |
r G2 Wednesday, Aprii.9,1986 Û¢Û¢Û¢åÇ | NEW YORK, April 8ÛÓThe stock market roared ahead today, emerging from a steep slump, as interest rates and oil prices resumed their descent.</br></br>The Dow Jones average of 30 industrial stocks surged 34.25 points to 1,769.76, the lOth-biggest daily increase ever and its best gain since March 14, when it jumped 39.03 points.</br></br>The strong showing allowed Wall Street's best-known indicator to recover about one-third of the loss suffered since the industrial average reached a record closing peak of 1,821.72 on March 27.</br></br>Stocks drew strength from a powerful bond market rally. When trading came to a close, the bellwether 30-year Treasury bond sported a gain of nearly $30 for each $1,000 in face amount. The bondÛªs yield tumbled to 7.38 percent from 7.59 percent late Monday.</br></br>Interest-rate reductions announced today in Belgium and Britain stirred fresh optimism about the chances for further declines in U.S. interest rates, analysts said. | no | 0 |
Circuit City, Oracle Fall on Earnings; Electronics Chain Drops 18% On Loss, Low Sales Forecast; Morgan Stanley Climbs 1.7% | The Dow Jones Industrial Average took what was shaping up as a down day and turned it into a triumph, climbing to its highest closing level on record.</br></br>The advance came as Circuit City Stores was pounded after issuing earnings, Oracle faltered on its results, but Morgan Stanley rose after posting a record profit.</br></br>The Dow industrials rose 30.05 points, or 0.24%, to 12471.32, its third record close in four sessions. The industrials had been off nearly 44 points and then mounted a midafternoon comeback.</br></br>The Nasdaq Composite Index, affected by software maker Oracle and semiconductor softness, dropped 6.02, or 0.25%, to 2429.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 3.07, or 0.22%, to 1425.55.</br></br>The market still has an upward bias, said David Klaskin, chief investment officer at Oak Ridge Investments. "A lot of investment managers are still sitting on a relatively high level of cash and are using signs of weakness as an opportunity to buy." | no | 0 |
Redskins Notebook; Husted Survives A Trying Debut | Place kicker Michael Husted clearly had breathed a healthy sigh of relief when the gun sounded to signal the end of the Redskins' 16-6 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday night. He knew full well that missing an extra point and 30-yard field goal in the second half could have led to disaster for his new team, not to mention swift NFL unemployment.</br></br>For now, Husted has job security for at least another week, according to team sources, but the Redskins are planning to bring in free agent Jaret Holmes for a look this week, just in case Husted has further problems. Holmes, 24, has had practice-squad stints with the Bears and Giants, played in the NFL's European league this past season and was in Chicago's training camp last summer before being cut prior to the season.</br></br>Husted, an eight-year NFL veteran, was added to the Redskins' roster the same day as the team's Monday night loss to the Cowboys last week. He signed when regular kicker Brett Conway continued to have problems with a quadriceps injury in his kicking leg.</br></br>Husted said he did not want to make excuses for his two misses against the Giants and, that after looking at film, he said he had "come in too tight to the ball and kept my hips open. I don't think I was consciously worried about the footing, but I'm sure the footing had something to do with it."</br></br>New turf was installed last week at Giants Stadium, and a number of players reported having problems on the grass surface. | no | 0 |
Unemployment Biggest Worry in Md.: Joblessness Biggest Worry In Maryland | Marylanders believe that unemployment is by far the stateÛªs number one problem, according to a poll to be released today by the University of Maryland survey research center*</br></br>The poll shows that 53 percent of state residents surveyed rated unemployment first among the stateÛªs problems; 13 percent felt crime was the most pressing problem, and another 13 percent listed ÛÏother economic problems.Û that parallels a dramatic rise in nationwide unemployment, which stood at 10.8 percent last month. In Maryland, the 8 percent unemployment rate in October, the latest month for which statistics are available, was</br></br>John P. Robinson, director of the survey research center, noted that the concern about joblessness has spread more evenly t hroughout the state than was noted in a 1981 poll, in which 22 percent of Marylanders ranked unemployment as the stateÛªs top problem.</br></br>ÛÏIn previous Maryland polls, concern about unemployment was highest in Baltimore and in more rural parts of the state,"</br></br>Robinson said. ÛÏHowever, increasingly this issue is mentioned in all areas of the state in similar proportions, although still highest in Baltimore City.Û | yes | 1 |
Canada Isn't Natural-Gas Panacea for U.S. --- Doubts Are Growing About Region's Ability to Boost Exports | CALGARY, Alberta -- Think Canadian natural gas will easily and cheaply cover a U.S. supply shortfall? Think again.</br></br>With U.S. gas producers finding it tough to boost output, Americans are looking north to help satisfy demand. Canada supplies about 16% of the natural-gas consumed by its southern neighbor, up from 11% in 1995. But with its own productive capacity peaking, Canada isn't likely to provide a sustained fix for U.S. gas consumers, specialists here caution.</br></br>That could lead to a supply crunch when a U.S. economic recovery takes hold. According to most analysts, U.S. demand for natural gas probably will expand steadily in the long term, due mainly to the fuel's increasing use in electricity generation, while domestic supply stays flat. Even in its latest short-term forecast for natural-gas demand -- revised to reflect economic fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects domestic demand rebounding by 3.9% in 2002 after falling 2% this year.</br></br>To address anticipated demand growth, U.S. energy companies have been snapping up natural-gas companies and assets in Canada, made cheaper by low natural-gas prices and the strong U.S. dollar. In October, for example, Burlington Resources Inc., Houston, offered $2.1 billion for Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd., Calgary.</br></br>But doubts are growing about Canada's ability to keep boosting its gas exports in the long run. | no | 0 |
Stocks Head Lower as Fed Spooks Investors | Wall Street ended an uneasy session mostly lower and bond prices tumbled Wednesday after the Federal Reserve suggested it might not be through raising interest rates if more increases are needed to fight inflation caused by soaring energy and commodities prices.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.88, or 0.02 percent, to 11,642.65. The Dow is less than 80 points from its highest-ever close. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 2.29, or 0.2 percent, to 1322.85, and the Nasdaq composite index sank 17.51, or 0.7 percent, to 2320.74.</br></br>The Fed's decision to boost a key short-term lending rate to 5 percent was widely anticipated. But investors were rattled by the central bank's accompanying statement, which said more policy firming -- or rate increases -- could be necessary to contain inflation.</br></br>Bonds sold off their earlier gains after the Fed's statement. And the chance for more interest rate increases weighed on the dollar, which fell against the Japanese yen. Meanwhile, gold futures climbed past a 25-year high of $700 an ounce.</br></br>Crude oil futures rebounded Wednesday as worries about overseas supply cutoffs countered a weekly government report showing increased oil and gasoline reserves and greater refinery output. | no | 0 |
Taking stock of a race: Iowa Computer Network allow 'investing' in Va. senate battle | Do you have a taste for politics and a desire to diversify your portfolio? How about a small investment in Ollie North?</br></br>Economists at the University of Iowa have combined two of the bigger gambling passions in American life -- the stock market and politics -- to create a computerized bazaar where investors can buy and sell shares in the outcome of the Virginia campaign, the nation's hottest political race.</br></br>Since Jan. 31 traders around the world have been able to invest in the political fortunes of GOP hopeful Oliver L. North, Democratic incumbent Charles S. Robb and other candidates. It won't make anybody a millionaire -- there's a $500 limit on how much one can speculate. There's also no payoff until election day, when the "shares" are redeemed according to the candidates' percentage of the vote.</br></br>But the race already has drawn lots of attention, and organizers say they may soon open trading on the Maryland governor's race.</br></br>"We're currently looking at 120 traders just from around Virginia," said Robert Forsythe, an experimental economist at Iowa. Virtually all of them are affiliated with one of the state's colleges or universities, though the market is open to anyone with a personal computer and a modem. | yes | 1 |
The Naked Truth About The Budget | President Clinton and Republican leaders are locked in a bitter debate over whether the federal budget should be balanced in 10 years (Clinton) or seven years (the GOP). A political train wreck looms, commentators warn, when Congress reconvenes in September.</br></br>If this were a fable, a small boy would cry out about now that the emperors have no clothes. But this is Washington: Mum's the word as our political leaders parade by, clad in see-through promises of balancing budgets by dates certain, creating millions of new high-wage jobs and cutting middle-class taxes.</br></br>These things can be done, but not through the low-growth and fiscally timid policies the current crop of emperors pursue. They have been cowed into damage-control economics by their rapacious financial markets, their overstimulated electorates and the swift change in global trade and investment patterns. They stand naked and hope nobody notices.</br></br>But the U.S. debate over the pace of budget deficit reduction exposes a basic change in the international political economy. Even the once endlessly optimistic Americans have scaled down their own expectations about how much growth their economic policies can -- and should -- deliver.</br></br>They are prepared to settle for less because stock and bond markets have spooked the world's political leaders and central bankers into a collective inflation phobia. | no | 0 |
Residential Construction Booms in N.Va. | Fairfax County approved construction of more homes last year than at any time since the last recession, reflecting a robust economy that is expected to continue to grow in 1999 but at a slower pace.</br></br>Residential building permits issued by the county rose 23 percent last year, to 8,342, from 6,774 in 1997, according to figures released this week. The level of activity was the highest since the mid-1980's, when a housing boom added 11,000 to 13,000 new homes a year.</br></br>Last year "was the best year since before the recession in total number of {residential} units," said Stephen S. Fuller, a George Mason University public policy professor who tracks the local economy. "Everybody thought it couldn't go on like this {after a strong 1997}, but it did."</br></br>Fairfax wasn't alone. Neighboring Arlington and Alexandria also reported an increase in both residential and commercial construction as Northern Virginia benefited from lower interest rates and a surge in new jobs. Some 41,000 jobs were added in the region, economists said, as mortgage interest rates dipped to a 30-year low.</br></br>Economists keep a close eye on the number of residential and commercial building permits issued because it provides a leading indicator of the economy's health. Builders construct more new homes and offices if they sense growing demand and curtail activity if they see signs that it's weakening. | no | 0 |
Exxon Mobil Gain Helps Boost Blue Chips to Another Record; Advanced Micro Drops on Forecast; Google Tops $500 | A strong advance from Exxon Mobil helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its second record in as many days, while Google surpassed $500 and helped place the Nasdaq Composite Index at a six- year peak.</br></br>But Advanced Micro Devices was a big decliner after saying it won't produce as much profit as expected, and Cablevision Systems slid as a buyout offer was seen as too light, losing 1.21, or 4.1%, to 28.39.</br></br>The Dow's 41.10-point, or 0.33%, rise Friday to 12556.08 meant that it rose 1.3% on the week. This was its best week, points and percentage-wise, since mid-November.</br></br>The Nasdaq Composite gained 17.97, or 0.72%, to 2502.82, and gained 2.8% for the week. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 6.91, or 0.49%, to 1430.73, and 1.5% for the week.</br></br>"The economic numbers we've seen over the past few days are showing we're not rolling over into a recession, and right now the market is somewhat relieved," said Jay Suskind, director of trading at Ryan Beck & Co. | yes | 1 |
Post Office and Wall Street to Stay Open Dec. 26, Despite U.S. Workers' Day Off | The Postal Service and Wall Street will remain open on Friday, Dec. 26, despite President Clinton's order giving federal workers the day off.</br></br>There's a longstanding tradition of giving federal workers a four-day weekend when Christmas falls on a Thursday. In 1986, the last time it happened, the Postal Service also continued working.</br></br>Other federal employees may also be required to work for reasons of national security, defense or other public need.</br></br>Banks are likely to be open on Dec. 26 as usual, because the Federal Reserve banks around the country will be open, as will their clearing banks, according to the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. The Federal Reserve Board itself, the policy-making entity in Washington, will be closed, said Joseph Clyne, assistant to the board. Mr. Clyne said the Federal Reserve will be issuing the required weekly condition statement regarding federal reserve banks that day.</br></br>The New York Stock Exchange also will continue with its planned operations that day, closing early at 1 p.m. EST, a spokesman said. The Nasdaq Stock Market, which tends to mirror the schedule of the Big Board, also plans a 1 p.m. closing, as does the American Stock Exchange. | no | 0 |
Finding Beauty in 'Abandonings' | With a finicky panorama camera. Maxwell Mackenzie captured such landscapes as ÛÏEverts Township, Homestead II.Û</br></br>With a finicky panorama camera. Maxwell Mackenzie captured such landscapes as ÛÏEverts Township, Homestead II.Û early Ûª92 took a great toll on freelance photographers. Some wound up taking second jobs to pay their bills; some quit photography altogether. Happily for Maxwell MacKenzieÛÓand for the rest of usÛÓ the downturn in his flourishing architectural photography business gave him the chance to pursue a lifeÛªs dream; to document the poignant decay of the farmhouses, barns, churches and schoolhouses of his native Otter Tail County, Minn.</br></br>The body of work he produced over the course of two yearsÛÓa massive archive of abandonmentÛÓhas just been published by Elliott & Clark of Washington. ÛÏAbandonings" ($22.95) is one of the most beautiful and eloquent books of landscape photography I ever have seen. It also is a fascinating look at what a panorama camera can do when used by a master.</br></br>ÛÏAs I drove the hundreds of back roads [of Otter Tail County],Û MacKenzie writes in his preface, ÛÏI felt the need to document some of what</br></br>To me, this landscape and these buildingsÛÓsad, empty, silent houses and falling-down barnsÛÓpossess a profound beauty, not merely for their spare, simple designs and weathered boards, but as monuments to the men and women who, like my own ancestors, made long journeys and endured great hardships to reach this remote part of America and build in it a new home.Û | no | 0 |
Fifth Straight Rise Scored by Market: Holiday Influence | NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (AP)ÛÓThe stock market recovery drive won a lot more credibility for itself among market technicians today as it stretched its string of advances to five straight. Trading was moderate. Volume was 6.15 million shares compared with 6.25 million yesterday.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 8.07 points, or 1 per cent to 814.30, putting it further, above the psychologically important 800 level, which it vaulted so surprisingly on Wednesday. The Dow index now stands 5 per cent above its readiiig of a week ago.</br></br>The question of credibility ÛÓ or just plain belief by enough investors that stock market prices will he going up for a while, anywayÛÓhas boiled down to the numbers in the averages.</br></br>As Robert H. Stovall of E. F. Hutton & Co. put .it: ÛÏStocks are continuing to do well in a reasonably broad and active market, considering the semi-holiday atmosphere (a reference to the Jewish high holy day of Rosh Hashanah). The intermediate uptrend is the 840 to 860 area in the Dow Jones industrials. This is still some distance away and it is doubtful that it will be reached in a straight line advance.Û</br></br>An Indicator Digest put it: ÛÏIf the industrials succeed in landing squarely into the 800s at any dayÛªs close, and if the. rails confirm this by closing at 202 or higher, the new upswing will be clearly established and should then go on to at . least the next supply area between 840 and 860.Û | no | 0 |
The Backlash Against `Nutrition Hype'; Some People Just Don't Want to Be Bothered | If you're concerned about nutrition, you can stop reading. This column is about the "don't bother me's," the food fatalists, the cocky unconverted. The holiday season can turn any nutritional goody goody into a temporary glutton, but the numbers of consumers who don't care about what they eat the entire year is surprisingly large and possibly growing.</br></br>In fact, while interest in nutrition is still high, some pollsters see a leveling off, if not a slight decline, in the public's concern.</br></br>At the very least, there's still a sizable percentage of the population that isn't getting the nutrition message and doesn't want to be bothered by it, either.</br></br>An American Dietetic Association survey found that more than a third of respondents don't consider nutrition important and aren't interested in changing their eating habits. An additional 38 percent said they "know they should" but admit they aren't doing everything they could to maintain a healthful eating pattern. Only 26 percent said they consider diet and nutrition very important.</br></br>There's a whole group of people who won't change their eating habits to improve the quality of their lives until they're threatened with a health crisis, said Judy Dodd, president-elect of the ADA. | no | 0 |
Quarterly Review of Mutual Funds: Bond Fund Investors Should Note Price Risk | NEW YORK -- Investors searching for higher yields are pouring billions of dollars into bond funds these days, but they may find it was a costly decision if interest rates turn back up.</br></br>Unlike money-market mutual funds, which maintain a fixed $1-a-share net asset value, bond funds fluctuate in value as interest rates rise and fall. When rates go down, the value goes up; but when rates rise, the value declines.</br></br>But most people investing in bond funds "focus only on yield and don't focus on price risk," says S. Timothy Kochis, a San Francisco financial planner. "They think that when they need their money it'll be there."</br></br>It might not be, at least not all of it -- depending on how sensitive the bonds in a particular fund's portfolio are to interest rate moves.</br></br>For instance, if interest rates rise just one percentage point over the next year, an investor who put $10,000 into a Treasury bond fund yielding 7.7% would be left with $9,820, according to calculations by Vanguard Group. | no | 0 |
Restoring Old Havana; Cuba Uses Free-Market Methods to Revive Historic District | When Cuba spiraled into an economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in the early 1990s, an ambitious project to renovate Old Havana, the dilapidated core of this nation's cultural heritage, appeared to be moribund.</br></br>As the government realigned its priorities to salvage a political system that for decades had relied on billions of dollars in aid from its Communist allies, vital restoration of the old Spanish port settlement came to a virtual standstill. Clusters of brittle colonial-era edifices, such as cathedrals and monuments, continued to decay. Some collapsed, particularly during heavy tropical downpours.</br></br>Today, the revitalization of Old Havana is thriving as a largely self-sufficient enterprise that underscores Cuba's ability to attract badly needed hard currency, albeit not without feeling the sting of punitive measures imposed by the United States.</br></br>The success of the reconstruction plan stems from a series of recent economic and political reforms that, among other things, decentralized control of the project, giving the agency that oversees it, the city historian's office, greater independence from the state's inefficient bureaucracy and the ability to raise financing through free market means without having to rely on scarce government resources.</br></br>Administered by a special company established by the historian's office, the funds come mostly from profits earned by restaurants, cafes, hotels and other businesses in the historical quarter that have become part of Cuba's flourishing tourism industry. | no | 0 |
Household-Name Stocks Get Day in Sun | The stock market is starting to perk up, and for a good reason: Stocks are more reasonably priced than at any time in several years, especially shares of some of the economy's leading companies. And this comes at a time when alternatives such as real estate, commodities and riskier types of bonds appear increasingly expensive.</br></br>The best bargains in the stock market, according to some analysts and investors: High-quality, household names such as J.P. Morgan Chase, McDonald's, General Electric, Wal-Mart Stores, Procter & Gamble, J.C. Penney, Dow Chemical and Lockheed Martin.</br></br>These companies, all with commanding market shares, have traditionally fetched higher stock prices in relation to their earnings than many smaller rivals. Not any more. All these stocks are relative bargains, say the bulls, who suggest it may be time for investors to boost their allocation to the bluest of the blue-chip stocks -- some of them titans of industry, others with familiar names that may be found in your pantry, refrigerator, closet, checkbook or medicine cabinet. Of course, these inexpensive stocks could get even cheaper if the economy hits a wall next year.</br></br>"The highest-quality stocks will do the best" in the months ahead, since they are the least expensive and should grow earnings at a better clip as the economy slows and the dollar weakens, says Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago. He has been buying shares of GE and Procter & Gamble for his firm's account. He also recommends an exchange-traded iShares fund that tracks 100 large companies and trades under the symbol OEF.</br></br>One piece of evidence cited by Mr. Ablin: the Standard & Poor's 500- stock index, which tracks the largest 500 stocks, trades at a price just above 15 times next year's expected earnings. The S&P 100, which contains the largest companies, trades a tad lower. While those figures are about in line with historical averages, they're down sharply from price/earnings ratios of more than 30 in the late 1990s. And they look quite reasonable if interest rates and inflation don't rise too much from current levels. | no | 0 |
Fed's Yellen Said Stance On Banks Hardened | WASHINGTON -- Janet Yellen, a top contender to lead the Federal Reserve, has evolved -- in her own words -- from a slightly "docile" regional bank regulator into a proponent of hard and clear rules designed to make banks less risky.</br></br>The change was prompted by her six years as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco during a torrid period in financial history. As part of that job, which she held through 2010, Ms. Yellen oversaw scores of banks, some of which failed as the housing market collapsed.</br></br>An examination of her record suggests she pre-emptively warned colleagues about problems in the real-estate market but didn't take aggressive action to address them. While some bankers overseen by Ms. Yellen describe her as a determined regulator, critics note that she had a front-row seat for some of the turbulence that sent the economy into a tailspin and could have done more to prevent rampant real-estate speculation.</br></br>"The San Francisco Fed district, which includes Nevada and Arizona, was ground zero for the housing crisis," said Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. If Ms. Yellen is nominated to be Fed chairman, "I think she at least has to answer that."</br></br>Ms. Yellen's views on monetary policy, a primary responsibility for any Fed chairman, are well known. She emphasizes the human and economic toll of high unemployment, and has been an architect of the policy under current Chairman Ben Bernanke of printing money to buy long-term bonds with the aim of reducing long-term interest rates. | no | 0 |
China's Inflation Rate Holds Steady; Concerns Over Growing Debt Overshadow Slowing Growth | China's inflation remained tepid in January, but economists said the country's central bank still has little room to ease monetary policy as concerns over growing debt overshadow slowing economic growth.</br></br>China's consumer-price index rose 2.5% year-over-year, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed, matching December's pace. Economists had expected a slightly lower figure, but on Friday said January's figure was still mild.</br></br>China's CPI typically spikes around the Lunar New Year holiday, which fell at the end of January, but this year muted food prices helped to keep overall inflation modest. A stronger Chinese yuan has also helped push down the prices of imported goods, said Bill Adams, an economist at U.S.-based PNC Financial Services.</br></br>Consumer inflation could pick up somewhat later this year, averaging 3% in 2014, according to estimates by J.P. Morgan. Still, that would be easily within the government's stated tolerance of 3.5%.</br></br>Despite a slowing economy and tepid price rises, the central bank is unlikely to cut interest rates or tone down its commitment to slowing the growth of credit, experts said. | no | 0 |
Chemicals Also Advance | NEW YORK, July 13 UPiÛÓCoppers, steels and selected issued paced the stock market to a smart recovery today from, yesterday's mild decline.</br></br>Coppers, which rose even in yesterdayÛªs decline, extended their gains solidly today. Kennecott, the NationÛªs biggest copper producer, raced ahead 4 points to 130. The continued improvement in coppers came as more stable price conditions seemed in prospect for the industry.</br></br>The steels advanced as negotiations resumed but the strike situation still remained deadlocked. Bethlehem, the No. 2 steelmaker, gained 2% to close at 159%.</br></br>The market was irregular at the start with very narrow price changes. By the end oC the first hour the trend was upward and it was never reversed. The larger gains were made in the afternoon.</br></br>The Associated Press average of 60 stocks i rose $1.30 to S187.80 with the industrials up $2.40, the rails 70 cents and the utilities 30 cents. | no | 0 |
House Panel Votes to Raise Revolving Fund for Jobless | ÐÊ A House subcommittee yesterday approved an 'expansion of the federal revolving fund that en-jables hardrhit states to keep paying unemploy -</br></br>ÐÊ A House subcommittee yesterday approved an 'expansion of the federal revolving fund that en-jables hardrhit states to keep paying unemploy - $6.8 billion unemployment trust fund, the ÛÏbankÛ from which high-unemployment states borrow to , keep unemployment benefits flowing.</br></br>The expansion bill is expected to be approved quickly by the .full committee, and could become a vehicle for other Democratic proposals to'relieve unemployment.</br></br>In another hearing room nearby, meanwhile, Govs. James J. Blanchard of Michigan and Richard L. Thornburgh of Pennsylvania, among others, told a Ways and Means subcommittee that they are in urgent need of relief from the interest charges on their unemployment trust fund debts. Pennsylvania owes the government $100 million ; in interest for its $1.1 billion loan from the fund this year alone, Thornburgh said. If the system is not changed, he added, ÛÏWe estimate that Pennsylvania will have to pay more than $2.5 billion in interest on our federal loans by 1989.Û</br></br>Michigan has borrowed $2.3 billion from the federal government since 1980 to maintain its jobless benefits, Blanchard said. ÛÏOur interest charges are currently $216,000 per day.Û | no | 0 |
Ferocious competition | Bond traders are, by nature, skittish and high-strung folk who tend to react even to mundane announcements as if they had just received news of the Apocalypse. On Feb. 4 and then again on March 22, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan tried to nudge up interest rates in a prudent, cautionary style. This was less an attempt to stifle inflation than a measured attempt to forestall it. But the bond market, with its monomania about inflation and almost biblical sense of foreboding, heard the trumpet blasts of doom and sent the walls of the stock market tumbling down.</br></br>Pity poor Alan Greenspan. Believing that he was lighting a small firecracker, he instead touched off a major financial explosion on Wall Street. Yesterday President Clinton was forced to reassure a queasy public that "no one believes that there is a serious problem with the underlying American economy. It is healthy and it is sound."</br></br>Clearly, the stock market has arrived at a difficult turning point, grappling with the first tightening of monetary policy in five years. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, it enjoyed the giddy elixir of disinflation. Whenever the rate of price increases tumbles gently over a sustained period, financial markets tend to float up on a wave of euphoria. With that halcyon period now over, investors have assumed -- much too quickly, to my mind -- that we will now revert to the status quo ante, i.e. to the panicky inflationary turmoil of the 1970s.</br></br>If the world of the mid-1990s even remotely resembled those parlous days, such fears might be valid. But the reality is that stock traders now perceive the present through the darkly distorting prism of the past. With inflation running at a mild 3% rate and with the consumer price index in January actually registering zero, the inflation hysteria stems from memories of past behavior, rather than from currently observed phenomena. Scattered price rises in some metals, paper products and chemicals in recent months would hardly seem to warrant the grotesque theatrics of recent weeks.</br></br>During the pell-mell exodus from stocks and bonds, financial markets have overlooked a multitude of trends that will damp (but by no means eliminate) inflation in the remaining years of this decade. Today the world stands in the throes of ferocious competition, a highly creative if deeply unsettling force that is redrawing the economic landscape everywhere. Both at home and abroad, companies and workers are at the mercy of rapidly shifting markets, instead of being their masters. In corporate boardrooms, managers no longer plot to raise prices but contrive ways to cut costs and boost efficiency. | no | 0 |
REVIEW --- Icons: Auctioning a Chic Old 'Ghost' | One of the 130 luxe motorcars and motorcycles heading to the auction block next week is a rare Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost -- one with an American pedigree.</br></br>The 1920 car is a relic of Rolls's decade-long venture into production in Springfield, Mass. Seymour Knox Jr., an heir to the Woolworth fortune, got it from his mother for his 23rd birthday. The first American-finished Silver Ghost roadster, it's expected to sell for $450,000-$600,000 at the Bonhams flagship motors auction Thursday and Friday in Carmel, Calif.</br></br>The London-based auction house is expecting a strong sale, stock-market downturn or not. The antique luxury car market's "steady upward slope since the mid-1990s" wasn't dented by the last recession, says Rupert Banner, vice president of business development in the International Motoring Department at Bonhams. Supply of the cars "is starting to dry up," he adds.</br></br>Silver Ghosts (so named for their speed and their silence) achieved fame before World War I. During the war some were turned into mini tanks and armored cars. T.E. Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia," adored his version ("A Rolls in the desert is above rubies," he once said).</br></br>After the war, Rolls expected lighter demand in Europe, so in 1920 the company acquired a former motorcycle factory in Springfield, partly to introduce Silver Ghosts to Americans. Roger Morrison, president of the Silver Ghost Association, estimates the cost of the Knox Ghost at about $13,000. Mr. Knox's car still had a U.K.-built chassis; full production began in Springfield by 1921. | no | 0 |
IRS Gives Employers a Break on Payroll Taxes | Businesses that have been improperly labeling their employees as independent contractors got a surprise break Wednesday: A new Internal Revenue Service program will allow those businesses to reclassify workers and make only a small payment to cover past payroll taxes.</br></br>The downside for such companies? Regulators say they are going to be more vigilant about misclassification of workers in the future.</br></br>At issue is whether a worker is deemed an employee or an independent contractor. The proper classification depends on factors including how much control or direction an employer wields over workers.</br></br>Employees are entitled to benefits and legal protections, and their wages are subject to payroll taxes. Companies aren't required to withhold income taxes from independent contractors or pay Social Security or Medicare taxes for them. Independent contractors also aren't covered by many labor protections, including minimum-wage and overtime laws, and unemployment or workers' compensation insurance.</br></br>The trouble for businesses, however, is that the distinction between the two categories is vague. The current law is based on a common-law standard involving some 20 factors. | no | 0 |
Sharp Decline in Stocks Reflects Investors' Greater Aversion to Risk | Signs of sluggish growth at some top companies, hints of a flagging consumer, fresh fears of oil-price damage to the global economy -- all these are contributing to a retreat from risk in financial markets.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average last week recorded its steepest declines since 2003. It dropped 3.6% for the week to close Friday at 10087.51, 7.8% below its 3 1/2-year high reached on March 4. The Nasdaq is off 11% from a peak hit in December. And Treasury bonds, despite inflation worries, have rallied as nervous investors seek out safety from tumbling stocks.</br></br>In recent months, investors had grown surprisingly complacent about taking on risk, and indicators reflected a remarkable calm concerning potential market mayhem. But that has changed.</br></br>High oil prices, a widening U.S. trade deficit and the Federal Reserve's new concern over inflation have all chipped away at the calm mood in the financial markets. Over the weekend, finance ministers of the Group of Seven major industrial economies, meeting in Washington, expressed concern about oil prices and noted that the global economy's "expansion is less balanced than before." They also warned of the "potential for a sharper-than-expected rise in long-term interest rates" and currency volatility.</br></br>Cracks in the bull market and in investor complacency first appeared in mid-March when General Motors Corp. issued a stark earnings warning. Its shares plunged and its huge debt traded sharply lower. Ford Motor Co. earlier this month joined GM in expressing doubts about future performance. At the same time, corporate turmoil, such as the investigations into insurance giant American International Group, has resuscitated concerns about corporate behavior. Then on Thursday night International Business Machines Corp. reported its first-quarter numbers early. And they were far worse than anticipated. | no | 0 |
Put Brake On Taxes This Year | In 1990, when the county's piggyback income tax rate was 50 percent, the Montgomery County Council voted to place on the ballot a charter amendment limiting annual growth in county property tax revenues, not counting new growth, to 100 percent of the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index. The voters approved. For 11 years, the council adhered to the limit. Then in fiscal year 2003, the council voted to exceed the limit by $8 million, in FY 2004 by $30 million and now in FY 2005 it is considering $45 million. The camel's nose is in the tent; here comes the camel!</br></br>Now, our supersized county government has increased the piggyback income tax rate to 60 percent, a $150 million annual increase. It has also doubled the telephone tax, tripled the energy tax, increased sewer, water and trash rates, and given us new cell phone and development taxes. The county's budget first broke $2 billion in FY 1998 but passed the $3 billion mark only six years later in FY 2004, while inflation was at record lows and the population was increasing only 8.5 percent. I have been unable to find any other U.S. county where the rate of increase in the budget was six times the rate of increase of population growth during this period.</br></br>So, I have led a successful petition drive to place a question on this November's ballot, reenacting the County Council's own property tax revenue limit but eliminating its ability to override it (which it now can do with seven of nine votes).</br></br>While spending 10-hour days collecting the 15,000 signatures, I encountered a small but very aggressive minority bitterly opposed to any property tax limit. I would ask them if there was any tax they did not want to increase.</br></br>Inevitably, they would answer "no." The problem is that our group- think, spend-along-to-get-along county executive and council are all in this minority. They can govern only when revenues are rapidly increasing. If our question fails, they'll think they have a green light for more huge tax increases. | no | 0 |
What the Analysts Say | The comments below are excerpted from published stock analyst reports on stocks of local interest. This information should not be used as the primary basis of investment decisions. Stock analysts and brokerage firms may own or actively trade stocks of the companies that they review and recommend. Brokerages also may participate in public stock offerings for those companies.</br></br>Analysts routinely caution that while their information is based on sources they believe to be reliable, they cannot guarantee the accuracy of their information. Nor, they say, can they promise that their recommendations will be profitable.</br></br>"Brenco Inc., based in Midlothian, Va., manufactures tapered roller bearings and component parts for railroad cars. Customers include most major railroad operators, wheel shops and rail car builders in the United States, Canada, India and Mexico. The company also manufactures forged components principally for the major U.S. automakers. Its wholly-owned Rail Link Inc. subsidiary provides thirdparty contract switching services to large industrial rail users.</br></br>"We think the shares of Brenco represent a good value. Based on a favorable, fairly `locked-in' outlook through 1996, we think the shares are undervalued. Beyond that, potential from new products adds upside possibilities. The market does not appear to recognize either the value of the core rail car business or the potential from the automotive products side of the house. "Brenco is lesser known in the stock market than its main competitor, Timken Co., or its major original equipment manufacturer customers, such as Trinity Industries. This creates a good investment opportunity. . . . "The rail car business is on the rebound. In 1994 the industry shipped more than 53,000 units, up almost 50 percent from 1993. The industry backlog at the end of the year stood at about 44,000 cars. The American Railway Car Institute expects shipments of 60,000 units for 1995, the biggest level of activity since 1980.</br></br>"Domestic rails have been on a productivity hunt for the past several years, including better asset utilization, and as a result have become more competitive with trucks for freight shipments. Market share stopped eroding and, in some instances, improved. | no | 0 |
It's Not Whether You WIN Or Lose, But How You Play The | We all hope that Rin Tin Tin and the Inflation Fighters do WIN, but only those who believe in the efficacy of fighting fire with fire can reasonably hope that President Ford's plan will succeed. You don't fighl inflation by creating more of it.</br></br>Putting aside the good-intentioned exhortations to share your left-over Alpo with your neighborÛªs dog, the key words in Mr. Ford's speech were: ÛÏI have personally been assured by the chairman of the independent Federal Reserve Board that the supply of money and credit will expand sufficiently to meet the needs of our economy and that in no event will a credit crunch occur.Û</br></br>The credit crunch has occurred already, but; as the experience of the last years might have taught us, the crunch gels grittier when you continue to expand credit. WeÛªre entering into a period of nonproductive credit, that is people and businesses are now going to the bank to borrow to pay interest on the loans theyÛªve already made. By providing more credit at this juncture weÛªre turning ourselves into a nation of loan sharks, with each shark chomping on the tail of the shark in front of it and having its own tail chomped on by the shark in the rear.</br></br>Apparently nobody but the Far Right and a few octogenarian populists understands and appreciates the capacity of the Federal Reserve to create inflationary debt. It works this way. Suppose you have $1 in your bank account but you have a credit card. So you take yourself and a group of friends to a restaurant where</br></br>ÐÊ\ ft ri cry Earn morel i n p, left, Airs. Ford's nr; to social secretary, and Sheila It tilth TP'nirlenfold, her neiv /tress secretary. COMMENTARY, From B1 you spend $100 on dinner. Then suppose that, without your having paid them, the credit card company people make a loan for $100 using your debt as collateral. Two hundred dollars have been manufactured out of thin air and you and your friends have put the assets upon which this debt and/or money has been created in your bellies. | no | 0 |
5 Public Works Projects to Start at Hill Insistence;Chairmen Hollings and Smith Override Objections of Commerce Department | Chairmen of two congressional appropriations subcommittees have cleared the way for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to start five public works projects mandated by Congress last year but opposed by Secretary of Commerce Robert A. Mosbacher on grounds that they are legally ineligible for federal assistance.</br></br>Mosbacher outlined his objections to the projects, which have a total price tag of $11.4 million, in an April 7 report to Rep. Neal Smith (D-Iowa) and Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), the respective chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, State and the judiciary.</br></br>The five projects were written into appropriations legislation last year by the subcommittees. Smith sponsored one of the five, a $2.25 million EDA grant to Des Moines and Ankeny, Iowa, which are in his district.</br></br>Mosbacher said the projects did not meet the requirements of Congress's public works and economic development law. He said he was concerned that by "earmarking" projects into law Congress "send{s} a signal that established process need not be followed."</br></br>Last week Smith and Hollings told Mosbacher in a joint letter that they were not persuaded by his concerns, paving the way for federal money to flow to the projects. Congress required the administration to evaluate the projects when it "earmarked" a total of $15.7 million for special projects, including the five Mosbacher said were ineligible. | no | 0 |
As Investors Puzzle Over Fed Statement, Dow Gains | What did they say? What did they mean?</br></br>Investors routinely dissect the Federal Reserve policy committee's statements to infer far-reaching economic implications from a phrase here or a deleted word there. The Fed's comments Wednesday afternoon have proven especially tricky to decipher.</br></br>The stock market rallied just after the Fed's latest statement was released, as many investors interpreted the deletion of a previous mention of "firming" rates, along with the absence of any mention of subprime-mortgage lending, as a sign that policy makers are now leaning toward cutting in their target interest rate in the months ahead.</br></br>After the previous Fed meeting in January, investors had taken the Fed's mention of possible "firming" as a sign of possible rate increases to tame inflation.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gainly modestly each day as economists debate what the Fed meant. | yes | 1 |
An Economic Thrilla in Manila | Incredible. Amazing. While other Asian countries describe themselves with superlatives, the Philippines national ad campaign promises only "more fun."</br></br>Filipinos have reasons to smile. Asia's perennial underachiever is outperforming. This week saw more successes: Moody's upped its outlook on the country's credit rating to "positive," citing prudent fiscal management. An anti-graft drive notched a win with a guilty verdict in the impeachment trial of a former chief justice. And first-quarter gross domestic product growth of 6.4%, announced Thursday, defied most forecasts as well as the mood in the global economy.</br></br>But to build on the promise, the Philippines must deliver on three main growth drivers.</br></br>Business-process outsourcing is already booming due to strong English skills, cheap rent and low wages. A fondness for basketball and Hollywood movies is an advantage, too, when it comes to staffing call centers with workers who can make a cultural connection with U.S. customers. Starting from scratch a decade ago, the sector generated revenue of $11.25 billion last year. CLSA says that could double by 2015.</br></br>Government officials say tourism is a low-hanging fruit. They aim to triple arrivals to 10 million by 2016. A $5 billion gambling hub under construction will help. So too a surge in new planned hotel rooms and a rising tide of Chinese visitors, whose numbers were up almost 30% last year. | no | 0 |
Banks Weigh on the Dow | Author: Jonathan Cheng</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for the fourth day in five after a day of choppy trading that saw the markets dragged down by financial stocks.</br></br>The blue-chip index was able, however, to finish above the 11000 mark, helped by strong earnings by retailers.</br></br>The Dow finished down 15.62 points, or 0.14%, at 11007.88, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 0.25 points to 1178.59 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 6.17 points to 2476.01.</br></br>Financial stocks led the declines, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Reserve will require all 19 banks that underwent stress tests during the height of the financial crisis to undergo another review of their capital and their ability to absorb losses under an "adverse" economic scenario. | yes | 1 |
Wednesday, July 16, 1980 | The Carter administration yesterday gave preliminary approval to an additional $250 million in federal loan guarantees to the ailing Chrysler Corp.</br></br>At the same time, the Chrysler Loan Guarantee Board issued a warning that the outlook for the auto companyÛªs recovery has become significantly more risky.</br></br>In Detroit, meanwhile, the American auto manufacturers yesterday reported that sales in early July showed evidence of a rebound from the very depressed sales levels in recent months.</br></br>In ChryslerÛªs case, however, the damage done so far this year has proved to be worse than anticipated. The company yesterday reported a loss of $1,017 billion for the first six months of the year, thought to be the heaviest financial loss ever suffered by an American corporation for a half-year.</br></br>The nationÛªs third-largest auto company has been particularly hurt by the slump in auto sales, along with the uncertainty over its survival. | no | 0 |
Area Business Faces Year of Adjustment: Washington Mirrors Nation ... | Û¢ While economists fret over the possibility that the Nation's boom is turning into a recession, WashingtonÛªs economy appears headed for steady growth, and possibly a boom of its own in '68.</br></br>As it turned out, 1966 was a good year for the area economyÛÓif one looks only at overall performance. But a deeper look shows a very mixed economic picture. Tn the face of record highs in employment and other indicators of basic economic health, some key sectors of the local economy are sharply off as the new year begins. ÛÏTight money,ÛªÛª which became a household term in 1966, lias had profound implications for the areaÛªs home-building industry, mortgage bankers and savings and loan institutions. Suppliers of construction materials have been affected and expansion plans of many other businesses have been thwarted. Retail trade has been spotty and new car sales have been slow. 1967 opens with an economic picture as mixed and contradictory as the area has seen for many years.</br></br>Clearly, 1967 must he a year of adjustment here, with overall economic growth slower than in 1966. The outlook for the DistrictÛªs economy, as shown in the chart accompanying this article, points to a moderate rise in real output, while metro-wide performance should be somewhat better than shown for the District. But with nny luck, 1968 could be an economic whopper. By then the areaÛªs basic growth strengths should be vigorously bolstered by a rejuvenated construction industry straining to meet backed-up demand.</br></br>In many respects, Washington holds a mirror to the national economy. The forces which will shape Ihe national economic scene in 1967 will also work powerfully here: tioiial economy. The ?,u per-heated growth <>i ].%li is not likely to be matched in 1967, nationally or in Washington.</br></br>Û¢ Scarcity of money will begin to ease. Funds will trickle into the stalled building industry and become available for oilier high-yield business expansions. | no | 0 |
Frankfurt stocks rally 1.6% to record, partly on hopes for further rate cuts | Frankfurt equities soared 1.6% to a new closing high, partly on hopes for further reductions in interest rates. London stocks slipped as the market groped for direction, despite Britain's plans to reduce government spending.</br></br>Tokyo shares ended mostly lower Tuesday, after surrendering solid intraday gains as arbitragers unloaded equities ahead of a Japanese holiday that will close the market Wednesday. But Hong Kong stocks advanced to another all-time high.</br></br>World-wide, stock prices rose in dollar terms. The Dow Jones World Stock Index was at 113.62, up 0.09, reflecting higher Asia/Pacific markets and lower American and European markets.</br></br>Forest-products stocks were the top gainers in the Dow Jones World Industry Groups, closing at 157.97, up 4.27, or 2.8%, with Louisiana-Pacific of the U.S. posting an 8.1% gain in its local currency. Drug-retailer stocks trailed at 103.81, down 1.29, or 1.2%, with Rite Aid of the U.S. sliding 1.6% in local currency.</br></br>In Frankfurt, the DAX 30-stock index surged 33.46 points to 2095.58. The index opened at its intraday low of 2071.84 and rose to a trading high of 2097.83 before retreating slightly. All of the DAX shares advanced. | no | 0 |
U.S. Treasury Secretary Expects Strong Economic Data in Second Half; Jack Lew Says Recent Economic Data Supports His Optimistic Outlook | JERUSALEM--U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Wednesday that he expects strong economic data for the second half of the year after lackluster growth in the first quarter.</br></br>"After a harsh winter that restrained growth in the first quarter, we are still expecting the underlying strength of the economy that was evident last year to result in a strong second half of this year," Lew said in a speech in Jerusalem at a conference of the U.S.-Israel Joint Economic Development Group.</br></br>Lew said recent economic data supports his optimistic outlook. In May, the U.S. economy added 217,000 new jobs, after similar job growth in the previous three months, although unemployment in May remained flat at 6.3%. Inflation has also been picking up, with the consumer-price index rising 0.4% on the month in May.</br></br>In the first quarter, the U.S. economy grew just 1%. This recently caused the International Monetary Fundto cut its growth outlook for the U.S. economy in 2014 to 2% from 2.8%.</br></br>Lew's comments came hours before the U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to issue an outlook on the economy as well as comments on monetary policy. | yes | 1 |
Retailers, Hot Now, Face a Cold Winter; Stocks Have Done Well Thus Far, But There Are Questions Lurking; Will Consumers Begin to Save? | INVESTORS ARE GOBBLING up retailing stocks in a manner that is in keeping with a season during which appetites often run unchecked. By Jan. 1, they may be staring into the mirror, wondering what led them to overdo it.</br></br>There is no question that the retail-sales outlook is better today than it was a month ago, when oil prices and the presidential election were significant worries. But most of the good news has been sopped up by the recent gains in retail stocks, meaning that any further holiday-season surge could be difficult to sustain.</br></br>First, the good news, of which there is plenty. The past several weeks have given retailers and their shareholders plenty of cause for cheer. Oil prices, which reached a high of $55.17 a barrel in New York on Oct. 22, closed at $47.32 Friday. The move lower suggests that in the months to come American households will be putting a little less cash into their gas tanks and furnaces than some feared, and more into stores' coffers.</br></br>Worries that the outcome of the presidential election would be hung up in courts for weeks, weighing on consumer confidence, proved unfounded. The stock market has been celebrating President Bush's re- election, and that may spur some people -- particularly the affluent, who account for an outsize portion of overall consumer spending -- to purchase a few more gifts this holiday season.</br></br>The October employment report showed far more hiring during the month than economists expected, and also included upward revisions for previous months. That means not only that there are more people with paychecks to spend but also that American workers in general may be a little less nervous about their jobs and thus a little more apt to make purchases. Indeed, sales look like they were more robust in October than expected. That puts spending on solid footing going into the holidays. | no | 0 |
Subbarao: Weak Rupee May Not Boost Exports | HYDERABAD, India--A weakening rupee doesn't necessarily mean Indian exports are becoming more competitive, the central bank governor said Friday, a day when the local currency fell to a nearly one-year low against the dollar.</br></br>"It is somewhat misleading to believe that we can get export competitiveness from our exchange rate," Duvvuri Subbarao said at an event in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, referring to a sharp drop in the rupee's value against the dollar.</br></br>The rupee is down nearly 6% against the dollar since the beginning of May. On Friday, the rupee tumbled to 57.12 against the dollar--its lowest level in nearly a year and close to the all-time low of 57.33 hit on June 22, 2012.</br></br>The rupee and many other currencies are hit because of a global rush to buy dollars as the U.S. economy shows signs of a revival in growth. Concerns over India's gaping current-account deficit worsened the local unit's fall.</br></br>Mr. Subbarao's comments debunk observations by some economists that the rupee's weakness has a silver lining as it makes Indian exports more competitive, while also discouraging nonessential imports because of higher cost. | no | 0 |
Dollar Loses Ground on the Yen | The dollar slipped modestly against the yen, but volatility continued to decline and currency trading was range-bound after U.S. officials offered soothing words on recent turmoil in financial markets.</br></br>Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that credit-market turbulence over the past few weeks is due to a repricing of risk but said it is no reflection of the underlying health of the U.S. and global economies.</br></br>And Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker said that despite the recent upheaval, the Fed should remain focused on fundamentals of growth and inflation when it assesses whether to change its main policy tool, the federal-funds rate.</br></br>"We subsequently stabilized in the stock markets and stabilized in the dollar as well," said Andrew Busch, global foreign-exchange strategist at BMO Capital Markets in Chicago. "We're not getting any exaggerated moves that we've been getting in the last couple of weeks."</br></br>Late in New York, the dollar was at 114.42 yen, down from 114.96 yen late Monday. The euro was at $1.3466, down from $1.3485, and at 154.12 yen, down from 155.01 yen. The pound was at $1.9825, down from $1.9882. The dollar was at 1.2067 Swiss francs, up from 1.2054 francs. | no | 0 |
Has'New Economics' Done All It Can Do for Unemployment?: News Analysis | The United States appears to be approaching the Great Divide in manpower policy: unemployment, as it steadily decreases, is becoming</br></br>The point was underscored yesterday when the Bureau of Labor .Statistics revealed that unemployment fell to 4.3 per cent in October on a seasonally-adjusted basis.</br></br>This is the lowest rate since the big boom of the mid-1960s was drawing to a close. More importantly, it is within striking distance of the interim goal of 4 per cent set by President KennedyÛªs Council of Economic Advisers in 1961.</br></br>Now an agreeably surprised Johnson Administration, which had not expected the rate to fall much below 5 per cent during 1965, must look beyond the interim goal. The signs are that it has already changed its policy mix.</br></br>Presidents Kennedy and Johnson have both fought unemployment on two broad fronts. On the demand side, they sought to create jobs for idle men by increasing purchasing power and investment incentives through fiscal and monetary policy. On the supply side, they sought to adapt idle men to job opportunities through ÛÏstructural" programs such as the Man-Power Development and Training Act. | no | 0 |
Sounding Off: When the AFL-CIO created its Web site on executive pay, it asked visitors to send "BackTalk;" It has received more than 1,000 responses; Here are some samples: | "It seems that Fortune 500 executives are poor students of history. Have they ever heard liberte, egalite, fraternite? They must be begging for guillotine."</br></br>"Leave the CEOs alone!! They work hard to get where they are, they deserve the high salaries. They work long hours, are away from home many nights, travel a lot. Put up with a lot of unhappy, unskilled and unappreciative people."</br></br>"No raise for us little guys for three years and the management all got bonuses and 15% raises. Do you think they will still get the same quality work from the lower ranks? It is time for the management to give respect and thanks to the ones that work for them."</br></br>"I'm still mad today (at AT&T), and have been considering different ways of reprisal for some time. It's time for an `Economic Injustice' tax. Since it is the shareholders [that] reward CEOs for layoffs, I think the remedy is to tax shareholders a flat fee (per share) every time a company lays off a certain percentage of its labor force. There should also be levies for outsourcing, and moving jobs offshore."</br></br>"I noticed you didn't mention what any of the mucky-mucks at the AFL-CIO pay themselves." | no | 0 |
Report Shows Deficit Diving to $116 Billion: CBO Forecasts Smallest Shortfall Since '81 | The federal budget deficit will plummet this year to $116 billion, according to a revised Congressional Budget Office forecast issued yesterday, marking the fourth consecutive year of declining deficits and the smallest annual revenue shortfall since Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.</br></br>CBO's new estimate is virtually the same as one released late last month by the White House Office of Management and Budget and provides the Clinton administration with additional election-year grist for asserting that its anti-deficit and economic policies are working.</br></br>ÛÏItÛªs good news for the country, and it shows how important it is that we continue to use conservative economic assumptions and have all new [tax cut and spending] proposals paid for with specific savings,ÛªÛª said Gene Sperling, a White House economics adviser. In an indirect shot at Republican presidential nominee Robert J. DoleÛªs call for a 15-percent reduction in personal income tax rates, Sperling added that "itÛªs also important that we not return to the supply-side wishful thinking that led to deficits escalating in the 1980s.Û</br></br>The deficit, which ballooned in the 1980s and early 1990s, gradually began to decline during President Clinton's administration, from $255 billion in 1993 to $203 billion in 1994 to $164 billion in 1995. As recently as three months ago, the CBO, CongressÛªs official budget</br></br>But the combination of an improving economy and declining unemployment produced an unanticipated $22 billion revenue surge and a dramatic improvement in the deficit picture, analysts said. At the same time, projected government spending for the year is down by $7 billion from previous CBO estimates. | no | 0 |
Stocks Retreat on Jobs News | Although the reasons behind Thursday's surge were a bit of a mystery, there were plenty of reasons for stocks to retreat yesterday -- reports of rising unemployment, more profit warnings and the bankruptcy filing of California's biggest utility.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 126.96 points to close at 9791.09, after soaring the previous day to its second-largest daily point gain. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 64.64, to 1720.36. The stock market's broadest measure, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, fell 23.01, to 1128.43.</br></br>For the week, the Nasdaq dropped 6.6 percent, the S&P 500 declined 2.9 percent and the Dow fell 1.1 percent, despite the frenzied buying on Thursday.</br></br>Thursday's "rally was severe," said Michael W. Clark, head of equity trading for Credit Suisse First Boston, who said the sell-off yesterday was a logical reaction to that. "The bottom line," he said, "is that the underlying trend hasn't changed."</br></br>Yesterday morning, the Labor Department reported that the nation's unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in March, the highest it has been in 20 months. Worse, businesses cut 86,000 jobs, the biggest one- month reduction in payrolls since 1991. | no | 0 |
Shares Fall Again After Official Hints That Fed Won't Keep Cutting | Wall Street pulled back for the third consecutive session Wednesday after a Federal Reserve official suggested that rising inflation could prevent the central bank from making further interest rate cuts.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 65.03, or 0.53 percent, to 12,200.10, after rising more than 100 points in trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 10.19, or 0.76 percent, to 1326.45, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 30.82, or 1.33 percent, to 2278.75.</br></br>Although the economic slowdown is a big concern, "we must not lose sight of the other part of the Fed's dual mandate -- which is price stability," Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The economy has been weakening but costs remain high, leading some economists to believe that the United States is headed for a troubling predicament known as stagflation.</br></br>The speech, along with a disappointing sales report from Macy's, cut short a rebound from Tuesday's plunge that gave the Dow its biggest percentage drop since Feb. 27. The reminder about inflation also sapped some of Wall Street's relief over better-than-expected fourth-quarter productivity and labor cost data and profit results from Walt Disney Co.</br></br>Stocks have been volatile lately, given the uncertainty in the market about whether a we're in a recession, how long it might last, how deep it might be and how it could affect profits. | no | 0 |
Consumer Income Report Deflates Market | An unsettling report on consumer incomes set off a spate of profit-taking on Wall Street Monday as investors worried that a tepid economy would erode companies' third-quarter earnings. Another drop in oil prices failed to shake the gloom from the market.</br></br>While investors were cheered by the Commerce Department's report of a strong rise in consumer spending for July, nearly flat growth in personal incomes and a handful of profit warnings for the third quarter made investors nervous. The news prompted them to cash in their gains following two weeks of advances.</br></br>"There's not a lot of resistance here, and you're seeing a little bit of profit taking," said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at SG Cowen Securities. "Trading lower is the path of least resistance."</br></br>Trading volume was again extremely light as many on Wall Street refused to make large moves until the Republican National Convention concluded without incident. Many investors also awaited the government's August employment report due Friday, hoping for signs that the economy was emerging from a sluggish summer.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 72.49, or 0.7 percent, to 10,122.52. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index declined 8.62, or 0.8 percent, to 1,099.15, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 25.60, or 1.4 percent, to 1,836.49. | no | 0 |
Language Gap Denies Service To Immigrants; City Urged to Hire More Multilingual Employees | CORRECTIONS: A District Extra article July 4 about making city government services more accessible to residents who do not speak English incorrectly referred to Hien Vu of Boat People SOS as a man. She is a woman. (Published 7/11/02)</br></br>The District has fallen short in efforts to make government services more accessible to residents who do not speak English, and simply translating more forms and brochures is not enough, witnesses testified recently.</br></br>Residents who speak languages other than Spanish are particularly disadvantaged in trying to communicate with the city, witnesses told the D.C. Council subcommittee on Human Rights, Latino Affairs and Property Management during a recent hearing.</br></br>Under laws dating to the 1970s, city government agencies must translate written material such as application forms into Spanish if they are related to the "health, safety and welfare" of the Latino population.</br></br>The 2000 Census put the number of Hispanic residents in the District at nearly 45,000, about 8 percent of the overall population. | no | 0 |
Energy Costs Spur Increase in Producer Prices; Analysts Say Recovery Not Threatened | One important measure of U.S. inflation rose sharply last month as the surge in world oil prices since mid-January began to work its way through the economy, the Labor Department reported yesterday.</br></br>Producer prices for finished goods rose 1 percent last month, the largest monthly increase since the beginning of last year, principally because of a 5.5 percent jump in energy prices. That included a 21.3 percent increase in the prices refiners charge for gasoline following a 4.5 percent rise in February.</br></br>However, the rising cost of energy -- evident in recent weeks to motorists at the gas pump -- so far does not appear large enough to derail the U.S. economic recovery. It would take a much larger and more sustained oil price shock to seriously damage the economy, partly because it is significantly less dependent on oil than in the past, analysts said.</br></br>Moreover, in the past 10 days, world oil prices have fallen by nearly $4.50 a barrel, erasing more than half of the increase that began earlier this year.</br></br>By one measure, crude oil prices peaked this year at just under $28 a barrel 10 days ago, driven upward largely by rising tensions in the Middle East, the prospect of growing oil demand because of the U.S. economic rebound and the possibility of disruptions in oil shipments from Venezuela because of political turmoil there. | no | 0 |
Dow Declines 9 Points on Profit-Taking | NEW YORK. July 13ÛÓTraders in blue-chip" stocks today yawned at the sharpest monthly decline in wholesale prices in two years, and profit-taking eroded prices after four-straight sessions of gains.</br></br>Hie Dow Jones industrial average was off 8.94 points, to 3515.44. Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered declines on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume totaled 236.7 million shares, up from 2023 million Monday.</br></br>Analysts said investors viewed the 0.3 percent decline in the producer price index for June as in line with economistsÛª expectations, and were waiting for Wednesday's report on June consumer prices and the slew of quarterly earnings reports due out over the next couple of weeks.</br></br>The producer price index news spurred moderate buying of the Treasury's benchmark 30-year bond, driving its yield to another 16-year low. But prices of shorter term securities suffered as traders cashed in on the market's recent advance.</br></br>By dayÛªs end, the price of the 30-year bond rose % point, or $1.25 cents per $1,000 in face value. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 6.61 percent from 6.62 percent late Monday. | no | 0 |
TD Ameritrade Profit Climbs 6.5% | Author: Brett Philbin</br></br>TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.'s fiscal first-quarter profit rose 6.5% as an increase in asset-based revenue offset a slight drop in trading activity.</br></br>The Omaha, Neb., online brokerage reported average client trades per day, or DARTs, of roughly 372,000, down 2% from about 379,000 a year earlier, although the figure rebounded 17% from a weak fourth quarter as clients came back to the market following a summer trading slowdown.</br></br>During the quarter, online brokerages posted higher November trading volumes across the board as activity was at the strongest level since May, the month of the stock market's "flash crash." But trading volumes, as expected, fell in December as many investors took vacations during the holiday season.</br></br>During a conference call with analysts, TD Ameritrade Chief Executive Fred Tomczyk said the company continues to "see further improved retail engagement and market sentiment in January," adding that "things are looking much better than they did just 90 days ago." | no | 0 |
Angry Shareholders Urge Sale of Baltimore BancorpBank | What Baltimore Bancorp officials predicted would be a routine annual meeting yesterday turned into a donnybrook, with hundreds of angry shareholders packed into a conference room jeering the bank's management and demanding that directors negotiate the sale of the bank to a competitor.</br></br>The crowd, which overflowed into the halls of the Omni Hotel, repeatedly booed bank Chairman Harry L. Robinson's statements that the bank, the fourth-largest in Maryland, was not for sale. However, the storm of criticism did not dissuade the bank's directors from voting later to reject a $270 million takeover offer by First Maryland Bancorp, parent company of the First National Bank of Maryland.</br></br>Robinson, who apologized for picking a small room-the overflow crowd was unexpected, he said-refused to discuss the takeover offer with the shareholders because, he said, the board had not yet considered the offer.</br></br>But despite hearing dozens of complaints and even one call for his ouster, Robinson said afterward that shareholders "support management and its decisions."</br></br>Robinson said the board rebuffed the unsolicited bid because the $17 per share price was inadequate. Furthermore, he said, agreement on a price will never be reached because negotiations would require opening the bank's books to a competitor. | no | 0 |
U.S. Economic Engine May Shift Lower Fast Business-Borrowing Rate Appears Troublesome | NEW YORK -- As much as everyone would like to see an endless economic expansion, there are some unmistakable signs that the business cycle may finally be entering its downward phase.</br></br>No, Asia's currency troubles of recent months are not one of them. Most economists figure the cause and effects of the turmoil in the currency markets may have a modest negative impact on the U.S. economy but won't derail the expansion -- now six and a half years old and the third longest on record.</br></br>More troublesome, they say, is that for the first time since the end of the last recession in early 1991, businesses are borrowing faster than consumers. The longer this trend persists, economists believe, the greater the chances for a supply/demand imbalance that leaves too many goods and services for too few buyers.</br></br>"The risk to the economy now is overproduction," of everything from bagels to athletic shoes to sports utility vehicles, says Merrill Lynch & Co. chief investment strategist Charles Clough. He is concerned that the unusually high debt burden consumers are carrying has finally prompted them to rein in spending. And the combination of weak sales and strong factory output spells trouble for the economy, he said.</br></br>And the potential for a glut could increase, says Mr. Clough, if countries in Southeast Asia decide to solve their financial and economic woes by speeding up production and dumping their output in the U.S. | yes | 1 |
'Second Look': First Aid for Borrowers | Author: Ruth Simon</br></br>When a borrower hears a "no" from the bank, sometimes it really means "maybe."</br></br>Many of the biggest U.S. banks, criticized since the financial crisis erupted for making fewer loans and toughening borrowing standards, have launched what industry officials call "second look" programs to review rejected loan applications.</br></br>Some bank employees hunt for credit-report errors that hurt borrowers the first time their applications were vetted, or unreported sources of income that would make a consumer loan look less risky. Even more common are reviews of rejected small-business loans by loan officers and other bank employees.</br></br>The moves are a throwback to traditional roll-up-the-sleeves loan underwriting, emphasizing a potential borrower's track record and relationship with a bank over credit scores and other data that powered the industry's loan machine when credit was fast and cheap. | no | 0 |
ItÛªs Happening In Real Estate | ÛÓ Some of the mystique of home ownership may be eroding in this society of high interest rates . . . prices of new houses . . . material costs .. . and all the vest.</br></br>On Saturday mornings, when other blokes are belaboring themselves on golf courses or getting a surfeit of sleep, the owner of a hedge-ringed property has the privilege of barbering his barberry with all the fondness of a father cutting his baby son's locks for the first time.</br></br>with scant mental effort. Then there's time to recall a little item that should have been In the column published that very morning.</br></br>Or you might think about good ole Joe-Bush (thatÛªs his real name, believe it), who spent some chunk of his hard-earned money to have all of the now-ivy-ln-fested hedge installed before he sold off the property a dozen years ago.</br></br>But they never have to cut the hedge that Joe bought. These neighbors drive past with an airy hand wave and a patronizing smile that somehow conveys . . . "that poor devil.Û | no | 0 |
Ahead of the Tape | [Today's Market Forecast]</br></br>Data Deluge</br></br>If it is possible for one to curse under his breath and hold it at the same time, that is what investors are doing today.</br></br>They are cursing because a slew of big economic reports will keep them chained to their desks on the Friday before the Labor Day holiday. They are anxious because today's news will likely set the tone for trading for at least the next month.</br></br>On the docket: The Labor Department's August employment report, the University of Michigan's final read on consumer sentiment in August, the Institute for Supply Management's report on August manufacturing activity, the Commerce Department's July construction-spending report and August sales reports from auto companies. | no | 0 |
Home Loans Find New Hands --- Mortgage Servicing Shifts to Nonbank Firms, Fueling Concern Among Regulators | Washington's effort to push banks out of the mortgage-servicing business is propelling the handling of customers' loans into companies such as hedge funds and nonbank financial firms.</br></br>The shift is fueling concern among federal and state regulators about the level of oversight and capital requirements in the industries now servicing a growing share of these loans.</br></br>Banks such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Ally Financial Inc., have been selling mortgage-servicing rights to nonbank companies, including Ocwen Financial Corp., and Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc., which have doubled their servicing portfolios in the past year.</br></br>About $1.03 trillion of mortgage-servicing rights were sold in 2013, with the vast majority going to nonbank firms, said Guy Cecala, publisher and chief executive officer of industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance. Among the 30 largest mortgage servicers, nonbank firms held a 17% market share at the end of 2013, up from 9% at the end of 2012 and 6% at the end of 2011.</br></br>The business can be lucrative. Servicers typically make money by collecting a fee from the mortgage's owner -- usually a bank or investor -- for handling billing and payment collection. Ten of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders took in $8.23 billion in servicing income in 2013, according to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. | no | 0 |
U.S. News: Household Incomes Level Off --- Recession-Hit Paychecks Finally Stabilize, but Higher Poverty Rate Persists | Corrections & Amplifications</br></br>Chad and Erica Dryden have been late a couple of times on mortgage payments due to patchy income flows. A U.S. News article on Wednesday about the steadying of U.S. incomes incorrectly said the couple had missed mortgage payments.</br></br>(WSJ Septermber 19, 2013)</br></br>American incomes are no longer free-falling -- but they're not rising, either.</br></br>The income of the typical U.S. family stabilized last year for the first time since the recession, according to the Census Bureau's latest snapshot of U.S. living standards, released Tuesday. The levelling off follows four years of declines that pushed incomes to their lowest levels in nearly two decades. | yes | 1 |
The Puzzling Economy | ONE of the most puzzling aspects of the economy is why enormous Federal deficitsÛÓnearly $40 billion for this fiscal year and $25.5 billion for nextÛÓare having so little effect in bringing about economic recovery.</br></br>It is even more mysterious than the ease with which President Nixon shifted from being a budget-balancer to historyÛªs biggest deficit-spender. At least, one can find a political motivation for the PresidentÛªs dramatic conversion.</br></br>The failure of deficit spending to have the intended stimulative effect requires closer analysis. What is becoming clear is that pumping a lot of expansionary power into peopleÛªs hands by fiscal or monetary means can be disappointing if other considerations induce saving rather than spending.</br></br>Consumer buying is any- Û¢ thing but enthusiastic, and there are now serious doubts that the ÛÏconsensusÛ forecast for a $100 billion growth in Gross National Product this year can be achieved.</br></br>Economic recovery on the business side has also been weak, despite all sorts of tax give-aways that were provided in the hope that businessmen would then borrow more, spend, and expand. | no | 0 |
Hodges Hails Upturn In Capital Spending: Hodges Hails Upturn In Capital Spending | H. Hodges yesterday hailed an expected 10 per cent jump in capital spending this year as a harbinger of further economic expansion but discounted fears of a superboom leading to recession in 1965.</br></br>A new controversy over the NationÛªs economic future has broken out in recent weeks. Some Republican legislators argue that concentration of the bulk of the recent tax cut in 1964 coupled with an already high level of business activity raises the specter of ÛÏboom and bust.Û</br></br>Hodges reaffirmed this view yesterday in announcing that business expenditures for plant and equipment are expected to reach a record S43.2 billion in 1964, up S4 billion from last year.</br></br>Without giving figures, President Johnson announced the big gain in capital spending at his news conference Saturday. The Washington Post reported the 10 per cent rise from other sources.</br></br>panded East-West trade but mg, 14 per cent for durable said a major increase cannot goods makers, 12 per cent for be expected until political is- non-durable and 6 per cent sues are removed from the for utilities, discussion. This appeared to According to the survey, be an oblique dig at the re- manufacturers predict a 6 per cently settled boycott by mar- cent gain in sales this year itime unions of Russian wheat against 4 per cent in 1963. | no | 0 |
Stocks Soar to Record Highs | The markets rose to record highs today in a broad-based rally fueled by a positive jobs report and a predictable Federal Reserve.</br></br>The buying spree touched companies of every size in virtually ever sector. The three leading barometers -- the Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq composite -- all posted new highs.</br></br>Analysts cited two main reasons for the market's best week since October: a government report this morning showing the nation gained more jobs than predicted, and continuing relief that the Fed did nothing more than expected when it raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points Wednesday.</br></br>"There was Fed euphoria today," said David Blitzer, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. "They did what everybody expected them to do. So everybody thought they must be smart, we must be smart."</br></br>Led by American Express, the Dow Jones industrials rose for a sixth consecutive day, gaining 72.82, or 0.7 percent. It closed at 11,139.24 -- its first record since May. The blue-chip barometer added its biggest weekly point gain, rising 586 points, or 5.3 percent. | no | 0 |
Shunning of Adjustable Mortgages By Investors May Raise Home Costs | NEW YORK -- In the perennial pursuit of the American dream -- an affordable home -- home buyers have been snapping up adjustable-rate mortgages.</br></br>But just as ardently, investors are shying away from securities backed by adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs. From the investors' point of view, the home buyers are getting too good a deal.</br></br>And that could mean bad news down the line for home buyers. While consumers are already being forced to bend somewhat, mortgage market participants say they may have to accept a harsher jolt: higher interest rates and less restrictive interest-rate "caps," or limits.</br></br>Adjustable-rate mortgages account for about two-thirds of all new mortgages and are credited with having sheltered housing from the higher interest rates that have prevailed in the capital markets. Securities firms made a fortune turning fixed-rate mortgages into securities and selling them to investors, and in the process they helped bail out hard-pressed thrifts and other mortgage lenders. Now they would like to do the same with adjustable-rate mortgages.</br></br>At the moment, success seems remote. Investors say adjustable-rate mortgages simply aren't all that adjustable. Most of those available limit the yearly rate adjustments to 1% to 2%, and set a lifetime, or maximum, cap on total increases at five to 7.5 percentage points. But swings in interest rates can be far greater. | no | 0 |
China Faces Economic Aftershocks; Fearful After the Quake, People Shun Jobs, Homes | Number of workers injured: zero. Number dead: zero. The factory's steel-reinforced walls shook but held during last week's massive earthquake. After it was over, the only evidence that something nightmarish had taken place in other parts of the city was the presence of minor fractures in pipes that were easily fixed.</br></br>Yet the fertilizer factory hasn't been operational since the quake struck last Monday. It isn't a problem with supplies or machinery. It's the employees.</br></br>"People have a sense of panic and dare not go into the factory to work," said Zhang, a salesman at Shifang Anda Chemical Co., which exports most of its products to the United States and Europe.</br></br>As the initial chaos of the disaster zones is being replaced by an eerily orderly rescue and cleanup effort by the military, China's leaders are turning their attention to the survivors and the economic consequences of fear.</br></br>Many thousands in and around the quake's epicenter in Sichuan province are living in tent cities or on their lawns -- even though their houses are perfectly fine. | no | 0 |
Business and Finance | CONSUMER SPENDING jumped 0.9% for the second straight month in July, more than double the modest 0.4% rise in personal income. The pattern continued to defy economists' predictions of slower spending. Some analysts cautioned that the higher spending bodes ill for the nation's massive trade deficit.</br></br>Oil prices dipped near $18 a barrel and ended at a four-month low on reports of OPEC overproduction. Meanwhile, several big U.S. oil companies lowered the price they pay for the leading grade of domestic crude.</br></br>U.S. oil and gas drilling has risen from last year's depressed level despite lower petroleum prices.</br></br>---</br></br>The dollar closed mixed after Japan reportedly moved to boost the currency but failed to follow through later in the day. Worry about the dollar's slide sent the Dow Jones industrials down 12.43 to 2697.07 as bonds edged lower. | yes | 1 |
'American Train' Will Toot Its Way Through Japan, Hawking U.S. Goods | TOKYO -- What's Japan doing these days about its whopping $52 billion annual trade surplus with the U.S.?</br></br>Well, on July 4, a Japanese group headed by some of the nation's most-powerful men plans to send a 12-car, red-white-and-blue "American Train" from one end of Japan to the other, hawking U.S. goods along the way.</br></br>It is one of the wackier attempts to ease the trade problem to come down the tracks in some time. The cars will be decorated with themes that are supposed to typify the U.S.: fast food, fantasy, special effects/horror and outer space. All this won't come cheap. A U.S. company can rent a train car for a mere $2.5 million a year.</br></br>Though most U.S. companies that signed on for the ride are excited about the train, nobody thinks it will have a lasting impact on the real problem facing would-be exporters to Japan: getting U.S. goods into its complex distribution system.</br></br>This isn't the first time Japan has come up with superficial ways to attack the trade surplus. In 1985, Yasuhiro Nakasone, who was prime minister at the time, tried to command each Japanese to buy $100 of foreign goods. Bureaucrats drew up lists of suggested products, such as fondue pots and oven thermometers. | no | 0 |
Racial Preferences Produce Change, Controversy; Effect on Police and Fire Departments in Many U.S. Communities Has Been Dramatic | In the harsh battleground over jobs, college education and access to the promotion ladder, the issues of quotas and racial preferences can come to dominate, if not supersede, the national struggle to achieve equity in the workplace and on the college campus.</br></br>Take, for example, the core of city government: the police and fire departments. In many communities well into the 1960s, these departments were white male enclaves, controlled by such European ethnic groups as Irish, Italian and Polish Americans.</br></br>The effect of government and civil rights challenges to these institutions has been dramatic: From 1960 to 1989, the number of black patrolmen and detectives grew nationally from 8,500, or 3.7 percent of the total, to 60,400 or 13.1 percent. The number of black firefighters shot up from 2,638 to 22,560, or from 1.9 percent to 12 percent of the total, according to census data.</br></br>The integration of the lower ranks of the nation's police and fire departments - often against forces hostile to change - was achieved at a cost: the use in some cases of hiring procedures that do not strictly follow civil service selection of those who perform best on tests. The failure to follow traditional civil service regulations, however, may be at less variance with merit selection than patronage, old-boy networks and nepotism historically characteristic of city, union and private sector job allocation.</br></br>The use of racial proportions and other techniques to increase the percentage of jobs and promotions going to blacks and Hispanics has forced a number of whites to see these opportunities go to competitors whose raw score ranking on written tests is lower than their own. | no | 0 |
Post Co.'s Earings Off 59% in Year: One-Time Gain Lifts 4th-Quarter Results | |i|? (The Washington Post Co. said yesterday that net income in 1991 declined 59 percent, due to the recession's negative effect on advertising ..ÐÊand to an extraordinary charge to cov-tya change in accounting standards.</br></br>_The company said it earned $47 million ($3.96 per share) in the Octo-ber-to-December period, compared with $42.1 million ($3.55) in the same period of 1990. The fourth-quarter result was boosted by $10 million (84 cents) following a favorable settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over tax issues dating back to 1985.</br></br>Fourth-quarter revenue was $366.6 million, off slightly from $369.4 million for the comparable period of 1990.</br></br>Without the tax settlement, fourth-quarter income would have fallen 12 percent to $37 million ($3.12).</br></br>For the year. The Post Co. earned $70.8 million ($5.96) compared with $174.6 million ($14.45) in 1990. Revenue fell 4.1 percent to $1.38 billion from $1.44 billion. | yes | 1 |
Parity's Paradox -- Sign of Changed Times: Japan's Jobless Rate Rises to the U.S. Level --- At a Record 4.4%, Number Shows How Job Security Is Causing the Opposite --- Workdays Spent at the Zoo | Japan's floundering economy has crossed another humiliating milestone: Its official unemployment rate is as high as America's for the first time since Tokyo started keeping such statistics 45 years ago.</br></br>The Japanese government said Friday that its jobless rate, which averaged 2.5% in the 1980s, rose in November to a record 4.4% from 4.3% in October, matching the U.S. rate for the same period, announced a few weeks ago.</br></br>This once-unthinkable development -- reported in banner headlines in the Friday-evening editions of five national Japanese daily newspapers -- is the latest manifestation of a decade in which nearly everything has gone wrong for the Japanese economy and so much has gone right for the U.S. Japan is suffering its longest downturn since the country was reduced to rubble during World War II. The U.S. is enjoying the longest peacetime expansion in its history.</br></br>"The U.S. has always had a lot of unemployment; this is frightening," says Shuhei Oshima, a 26-year employee of an insurance agency in Tokyo. Says 48-year-old housewife Masako Torii, her eyes widening, "What's happening to all the things we believe in?" The bankruptcy of her husband's small printing company has forced her to seek full-time work, so far unsuccessfully, for the first time since she got married 25 years ago.</br></br>The fact that it has taken so long to bring the two jobless rates together testifies to the durability of Japan Inc.'s famous commitment to employment security. Despite severe economic distress, major Japanese companies still hesitate to cut workers. In contrast, U.S. companies from Polaroid Corp. on the East Coast to Northrop Grumman Corp. on the West Coast have announced major layoffs this month amid the strongest economy in a generation. | no | 0 |
U.S. News --- THE OUTLOOK: Jobs Picture Should Brighten in 2013 | Plenty of dark clouds loom over the U.S. job market -- particularly the potential double-punch of tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.</br></br>But if the U.S. can avert that Washington-made crisis, the outlook for workers finding jobs is actually looking pretty good for next year. For one thing, the damage of superstorm Sandy will have to be repaired, meaning jobs in construction and retail. Businesses, meanwhile, which have held off investing and hiring because of uncertainty over the fiscal outlook, might finally open their wallets. That means more jobs, too.</br></br>Employers have stepped up their hiring recently, adding 171,000 jobs in October and an average of 157,000 a month so far this year. That's a better pace than last year and the strongest job growth since 2006, Labor Department data show.</br></br>Of course, the recovery of the job market has been, and probably will remain, incremental. Job growth needs to be much stronger to actually make a big dent in unemployment, which remains high at 7.9%, though down from 10% three years ago.</br></br>The government's next snapshot of the job market, due Friday, will be distorted by Sandy, which devastated the Northeast in late October, leaving many jobless. Economists say Sandy could temporarily knock anywhere from 100,000 to 150,000 off of the government's jobs tally for November, resulting in job growth of under 100,000 or even much less. | no | 0 |
Economic Blows Leave St. Louis Feeling Sluggish | The end of the Cold War and a soft auto market have landed one-two punches on this Mississippi River city, where defense contracting and cars are economic heavyweights.</br></br>Since the first of the year, thousands of pink slips have gone out to St. Louis workers, with more feared. Even if the Persian Gulf crisis delays Pentagon budget cuts, many believe the damage is already done.</br></br>In February, Chrysler Corp. announced it was closing its Plant No. 1 in Fenton, in western St. Louis County. Despite some last-minute orders, the automobile assembly plant will be completely closed by November, leaving 4,500 workers out in the cold.</br></br>In July, Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Co., across the Mississippi in Illinois, announced it was letting go 160 people, or 46 percent of its work force. Belleville Shoe is the largest supplier of combat boots to the U.S. military, producing 2.4 million pairs in the past four years. The Pentagon postponed any new orders for at least a year.</br></br>On July 16, after weeks of rumors, the heaviest punch hit. McDonnell Douglas Corp., the nation's largest military contractor, said it was eliminating 17,000 jobs nationwide and as many as 5,200 in St. Louis alone. McDonnell Douglas is the largest employer in the state of Missouri, with more than 40,000 workers. | yes | 1 |
Economic Growth Put At 5.5 Pct.; Upbeat Farm Estimate Boosts GNP Figure | The U.S. economy expanded at an unusually strong 5.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter of the year, but nearly half the gain was due to an expected rebound in farm production this year after the 1988 drought, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.</br></br>Growth in the nonfarm portion of the economy slowed somewhat-to a 3 percent rate, after adjustment for inflation, from a 3.5 percent rate in the fourth quarter. Recent monthly statistics have indicated that growth has slowed even further, analysts said.</br></br>The first-quarter report on the gross national product showed the economy churning out goods and services at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $5.1 trillion. Only 19 years ago, the gross national product was only $1 trillion.</br></br>However, inflation-adjusted consumer and federal government spending grew much less rapidly than in the previous three months, while outlays for housing construction declined.</br></br>The strongest sector was business investment, which rose at a hefty 11.4 percent rate in the first quarter. At the same time, a drop in the trade deficit added to demand for U.S.-made goods and accounted for nearly one-fifth of the total increase in the gross national product, the department said. | no | 0 |
Twentysomething, College-Educated And Moving Back In; More Parents Are Laying Down The Welcome Mat for Their Grads | When Melissa Jenkins received her college diploma last year, she was ready to get on with life -- and move in with her parents.</br></br>The 23-year-old from North Reading, Mass., was saddled with student loans from her years at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and felt she had no solid career prospects.</br></br>"It didn't make sense for me to move out on my own," she said. "I didn't have the appropriate funds. I was searching for a career path."</br></br>Nearly half of students graduating this spring are expected to move back home, said Susan Shaffer, co-author of "Mom, Can I Move Back in With You? A Survival Guide for Parents of Twentysomethings." Their number has remained pretty consistent since the dot-com bust, a result of financial and social pressures unknown to previous generations, she said.</br></br>The economy isn't entirely to blame: This year's job outlook is better than last's, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, with companies planning to hire 8 percent more recent graduates this year. | no | 0 |
Stocks Tumble As Wary Investors Reassess Risks | By bidding up stock prices all year, investors were effectively betting the housing slowdown wouldn't engulf the broader economy. Yesterday, that confidence appeared to be shaken.</br></br>Stocks and corporate-bond markets tumbled amid selling that was more widespread than during the three previous days of triple-digit declines this month. Along with risky bonds and anything connected to the housing market, investors sold off stocks, emerging-markets bonds and even high-quality corporate debt. The record trading volume in stocks reflected rising anxiety.</br></br>Meanwhile, roughly 1,300, or nearly 17%, of the around 7,800 stocks that trade on U.S. exchanges hit their lowest price of the past 12 months.</br></br>To many investors, that made yesterday's selloff more ominous than other big declines this year. Sid Bakst, a senior portfolio manager at investment firm Robeco Weiss, Peck & Greer, said the steady drip of bad news on subprime-mortgage loans and the failure of some leveraged buyouts to get long-term financing has made investors increasingly nervous.</br></br>"As each day has gone by, things have been leaking a bit more," Mr. Bakst said. "But today there was full-blown carnage." | no | 0 |
Risks Cloud a Sunny Forecast; Job Picture Looking Up, Dollar Down | The U.S. job market should improve steadily this year, while consumer inflation eases and oil prices decline -- all good news, that is, if nothing goes wrong with the sunny economic forecasts released in recent weeks by many private and government economists.</br></br>The economy should continue to expand at a pace that is "not too hot . . . not too cold . . . just right," Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, the St. Louis-based forecasting firm, wrote in a recent report to clients, lifting a line from the Goldilocks tale.</br></br>"Lest we be too complacent about the future, we need only remember that the story ended with Goldilocks running screaming from the three bears' house," the firm said, citing several risks to its projections.</br></br>Even forecasts produced by the most advanced econometric models are essentially well-educated guesses about what is most likely to happen, based on past experience. And as such, they are subject to errors and surprises.</br></br>A year ago, many forecasters, including those at the Fed, overestimated how fast the economy would grow in 2004, in large part because they could not foresee the terrorist events, hurricanes and political turmoil that would send benchmark oil prices shooting to above $55 a barrel in October from around $35 in January. White House economists were among several who were over-optimistic about job growth, underestimating businesses' lingering caution and ability to squeeze more efficiencies out of their existing workforces. | no | 0 |
Global Finance: Banks: Capital Ratios Can Weather Downturn | The largest U.S. banks say they would be able to weather a severe economic crisis with higher capital levels than previously estimated, bolstering the notion that financial institutions have made headway in their quest to minimize risk and shore up their balance sheets.</br></br>J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were among big banks that released results Monday of company-run reviews showing their minimum capital levels would remain well above regulatory requirements during several quarters of high unemployment, falling home prices and stock-market turmoil.</br></br>The "midyear stress tests" are required under the Dodd-Frank Act, which called on large banks to perform regular analyses of whether they could remain adequately capitalized if another financial crisis were to occur. Financial institutions with large consumer- and commercial-lending businesses also projected their loan losses would be lower during a hypothetical downturn than previous estimates.</br></br>Eugene Ludwig, a former comptroller of the currency and now chief executive officer of Promontory Financial Group, a consulting firm that advises banks on regulatory and financial matters, said the results weren't particularly surprising "given the evolution of the [economic] cycle."</br></br>Eighteen large banks released results from an initial round of the Dodd-Frank stress tests in March and were required to release the results of a midyear test between Sept. 15 and Sept. 30. The tests, based on banks' own internally developed scenarios, are separate from stress tests performed by the Federal Reserve each year, called the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, or CCAR. | no | 0 |
Corporations offer record amount in issues, moving to take advantage of low interest rates | NEW YORK --- Corporations rushed a record amount of new notes and bonds to the market yesterday to take advantage of the lowest long-term interest rates in two decades.</br></br>Companies ranging from steelmaker Weirton Steel Corp. and telecommunications company Pacific Bell, a unit of Pacific Telesis Group, to wood products, gypsum and chemicals concern Georgia-Pacific Corp. issued $5.81 billion of new debt, a one-day record, according to Securities Data Co. The previous record was set Jan. 8, 1992, when $5.25 billion of debt was offered. So far this week, companies have borrowed $12.97 billion, just under the one-week record of $13.3 billion raised in the week ended Jan. 11, 1992.</br></br>The yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond remained unchanged yesterday at 6.88% as its price dropped very slightly to 102 29/32. Before last week, the bond yield had never dipped below 7.10% since the Treasury began regular 30-year bond auctions in 1977. The price of 10-year notes dropped 1/8 point to 101 17/32 to yield 6.03%, up from 6.01% on Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year note has hovered at 20-year lows for the past four trading sessions.</br></br>While interest in the corporate notes and bonds seemed strong, said underwriters, demand was not nearly as strong as in January, when corporations issued more than $37 billion of new notes and bonds.</br></br>Some underwriters worried that yesterday's flood of new issuance could quell the strong investor demand for new corporate bonds in evidence so far this year. | no | 0 |
Junk-Bond Boom Takes a Timeout | Junk-bond issuers may have found the limit of investors' goodwill.</br></br>After easily finding buyers for a flood of new debt sales to fund leveraged buyouts or dividend payments, private-equity firms and other junk issuers found the going tougher this past week.</br></br>Golf-course operator ClubCorp. on Friday delayed its expected $415 million offering until this coming week. Manufacturer Nortek Inc. on Thursday shrank its offering to $250 million from $300 million and agreed to a higher interest rate. Burlington Coat Factory postponed a sale that would have handed Bain Capital a $325 million dividend. And in the stock market, TPG and Apollo Management canceled an initial public offering by Harrah's Entertainment on Thursday after investors balked at the terms, a sign that stock investors are also being picky.</br></br>While this past week may well be a blip, the struggles of some deals do show how investors are becoming more demanding. It is likely to slow the flood of issuance into the "junk"-bond market and force private-equity firms to sweeten the terms of some deals.</br></br>"It's all more about pricing than anything else," John Cokinos, head of high-yield capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "Issuers are adjusting to the repricing that we've seen earlier this week for fear that it could get worse or that the market will stay volatile." | no | 0 |
MetLife: Low Rates Won't Dent Earnings | NEW YORK--Executives at MetLife Inc. said profits would continue to grow in coming years even if interest rates remain near historic lows, though earnings at its U.S. operations would be roughly flat.</br></br>The life insurer said Friday that if U.S. Treasury rates remain flat for five years, unemployment levels are unchanged and economic growth doesn't pick up, operating results would be reduced by 21 cents a share next year and 42 cents in 2013.</br></br>Despite that hit, MetLife Chief Financial Officer Bill Wheeler said the company expects to continue to grow--though at a slower rate. The company said its annual growth rate could be about 4% under that scenario, instead of 8% in a normalized environment.</br></br>"It would have an impact on our financial performance," Mr. Wheeler said. "But it definitely would not weaken the company or put us in a perilous financial position."</br></br>MetLife's analysis is some of the most explicit so far available to insurance-industry analysts and investors, who have expressed concern about the mounting impact of low rates. Life insurers are sensitive to interest rates because premiums that pour in from policyholders are mostly invested in bonds whose returns help the company meet its obligations. The lower the rates, the lower their investment returns. | no | 0 |
Dollar Holds Steady as Banks Intervene Again --- Test of Nations' Resolve To Aid U.S. Currency Is Expected Next Week | The dollar was steady to slightly lower in light trading that quieted still further after an early round of intervention by as many as eight central banks.</br></br>Currency dealers predicted the market merely will go through the motions of trading in today's last session of 1987. But they expect a rapid return to full-scale activity Monday, with traders poised to sell dollars and test the central banks' determination to continue supporting the U.S. currency's value.</br></br>Yesterday's intervention was the third consecutive day the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the West German Bundesbank had been reported buying dollars in the market. Traders said the three were joined during European trading by the central banks of France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria.</br></br>Only the Swiss central bank announced its action; the others declined to confirm or deny reports of their activities.</br></br>The scale of the intervention remained relatively modest and appeared aimed only at keeping the dollar steady in the thin market. Earl I. Johnson, vice president, Harris Trust & Savings Bank, Chicago, said the total of all the banks' dollar purchases was probably less than $500 million in a market of $100 billion or more. A European bank official estimated that the Bundesbank bought $200 million to $250 million, the Fed bought $100 million to $150 million, and the others intervened in token quantities. | no | 0 |
N.Y. Fed Opens Bidding for $2.5 Billion in AIG Bonds | NEW YORK--The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it invited nine Wall Street dealers to bid for residential-mortgage bonds with a face value of $2.5 billion as it unwinds a portfolio created during the 2008 bailout of American International Group Inc.</br></br>The New York Fed said the bid process was launched after it received several "strong" inquiries to buy the structured debt known as collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs.</br></br>The two "Triaxx" CDOs on offer were packaged in 2006 with residential-mortgage-backed securities containing jumbo and Alt-A loans, which are larger than those that fit into government programs or had limited documention. Such CDOs were at the heart of the credit crisis, fueling more risky lending and later causing steep losses to investors and banks that had counted on their high credit ratings.</br></br>The proposed sale would be the second from the Maiden Lane III portfolio in less than a month, after eight dealers recently formed unusual alliances to boost their chances of winning an auction for $7.5 billion of commercial-mortgage-backed security CDOs. Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays PLC won the auction and had commitments from investors to purchase the majority of the CMBS from them.</br></br>Similar demand could develop for the residential mortgage assets as many investors, including Two Harbors Investment Corp., have been adding the underlying RMBS in recent months. The CDO structure adds a layer of complexity that limits buyers, but some investors may relish the chances of buying such debt that likely has extra yield over the underlying securities that have already rallied up to 10% this year, analysts said. | no | 0 |
Small Stocks Face a Challenge This Year --- Some Warn These Shares May Fare No Better Than Big Stocks | For the past two years, with the major stock indexes plummeting, investors have searched for places to hide.</br></br>And they found them in the form of small and middle-size stocks. As the broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index of large stocks was falling more than 15% over the past two years, the S&P's indexes of small stocks and of medium-size stocks were rising more than 15% each.</br></br>Similarly, when stocks rebounded following the terrorist attacks, small stocks rose 28% and middle-size stocks rose 26%, eclipsing the 19% gain put in by large stocks. The Russell 2000 small-stock index finished the full year in the black, up 1%, compared with declines at big-stock indexes such as the S&P 500, which fell 13%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 7%.</br></br>But this year, the run has reversed itself, at least for now. Small stocks, which typically get a boost at the start of a new year, have been falling. The Russell 2000 small-stock index, in fact, has been among the year's weaker performers, down 1.9%, compared with a drop of 1.3% for the S&P 500.</br></br>Small-stock fans, who multiplied as the group moved into the lead last year, insist the problem is a temporary, technical one -- essentially a pause after a great finish to 2001. But they also acknowledge that they expect small stocks to cool a bit this year. And some analysts have begun to warn that small stocks, which trailed large stocks for most of the 1990s, may be returning to days when they do no better than big stocks. | yes | 1 |
International Finance: ECB Soaks Up $250 Billion as Loan Levels Lag | FRANKFURT -- The European Central Bank on Tuesday drained 169.68 billion euros ($250.82 billion) in overnight funds from the money market amid signs that the ample liquidity it has provided to banks isn't fully flowing into the economy.</br></br>The ECB mopped up excess reserves held by banks in a special fine-tuning operation, paying them 0.8%, which was above the overnight interbank interest rate of 0.5%.</br></br>The central bank slashed interest rates and pumped huge amounts of extra funds into the banking system -- in return for adequate collateral -- after the liquidity shortage that followed the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers last fall.</br></br>While those actions have helped keep banks afloat, the money hasn't been fully passed on to the wider economy, analysts say.</br></br>ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet last Thursday chided banks in the 16-country euro bloc for failing to pass on more liquidity to households and businesses. | no | 0 |
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