Economy Grows At 4 Percent
It seems the economy is doing much better than some analysts thought it would be.
The US economy expanded at a solid 4.0 percent pace in the second quarter, revised data showed Thursday, highlighting strong momentum ahead of the turbulence from housing and credit woes of recent weeks.
The Commerce Department marked up its estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) from last month of 3.4 percent growth, based on new data showing stronger US exports and business investment.
I am beginning to compare financial analysts iwith weather reporters. They have nothing to report, but they get all hyped up when things look bad, then we never hear from them when it’s all clear. What’s up with that?
– Powered By Stuffr! –
Sphere: Related ContentChina Blames U.S. For Recalls
In China, the U.S. is to blame for the recalls. That’s laughable.
Mattel (MAT.N) has only itself to blame for a huge toy recall that has stoked global alarm about Chinese-made goods, state media said on Thursday, charging that a slew of foreign safety scares had exposed a protectionist agenda.
…
The overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s official paper, continued Beijing’s recent counter-offensive, putting the spotlight on multinationals that have used China as a production base.
“If it comes down to blame, then it all lies with the U.S. side,” the paper said of the Mattel magnet recall, noting that the problem was a design defect. “The Chinese manufacturer only produced according to those specifications.”
A China-based company that let lead in the toy paint would be punished, but even here Mattel must share blame, the paper said, noting that the U.S. firm had worked with it for over a decade.
It’s already been determined that the man who ran the manufacturing plant committed suicide because he could not live with the guilt of knowing that a business associate used lead based paint to save money. I highly doubt anyone at Mattel was involved with that decision.
You just gotta love state run media, don’t you?
General Mills Closing Plants
I better not see a shortage of frozen waffles at the grocery store or someone is going to have some explaining to do.
General Mills Inc. said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it would close two plants that make frozen waffles and dough, cutting about 580 jobs.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the food company said it would close a frozen waffle plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with 111 employees and a frozen dough facility in Trenton, Ontario, with 470 workers.
The Second Anniversary Of Katrina
On this second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, please take a moment to remember the victims. More than 1.1 million volunteers have responded to help but more are still needed, and many homes have still not been rebuilt.
Oh sure, everyone knows about the “refugees” of Hurricane Katrina, and many of us, myself included, have our own horror stories about “non-victims” who attempted to take advantage of the system or even demanded that people “take care of them”. But I am not concerned with those people now, as they have disappeared back into the slimy little holes they crawled out of. The people I am concerned about are the real victims of Katrina. The people who took all the proper precautions and fled when they knew the storm was bearing down on them.
Since the day of the disaster, Americans have donated over 14 million hours of volunteer service to help rebuild New Orleans and the other affected areas. This has been the single biggest volunteer response to a disaster in our nation’s history, but there are still many jobs to be done, lots of work to be completed, and many people who still cannot return to their homes.
Several people I know had homes in the affected areas, and luckily most of them have been able to return or have settled elsewhere around the country, but let’s take a moment out of our day and do what we can to help. Heck, I’m not asking you to volunteer, or even donate money, I’m simply asking you to help raise awareness so others will remember as well.
Microsoft Offers Free Software
Haven’t the people of Louisiana suffered enough?
Microsoft Corp. is working with state officials in Louisiana to offer Windows and Office software free for a year to small businesses still feeling the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Microsoft on Monday unveiled a new program, called the Software License Relief Program, in conjunction with the 2007 Hope & Recovery Summit, which is commemorating the second anniversary of both storms. Microsoft is working with the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC) to offer the program, which will launch next month and gives eligible small businesses access to software from Microsoft, including Windows and Office, free of charge for a year.
All kidding aside, it’s nice of Microsoft to offer the relief program for those businesses that qualify.
Median Home Price To Fall For First Time
And the housing bubble officially pops. The first decline in the median home price, since records have been kept, is expected within the next couple of months.
Forecasters expect the median price of U.S. homes to fall between 1 percent and 2 percent this year in what would be the first such decline since 1950, when federal agencies began tracking such statistics, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is scheduled to release the home-price index on Thursday, and research firm Global Insight expects it to show a decline of about 1 percent between the first and second quarter, according to the newspaper.
Global Insight also expects the decline of U.S. home prices to peak at 4 percent between their highest point in 2007 and the projected low point in 2009, the New York Times said.
How many mortgage companies will fall before the prices start to balance out again? Any guesses?
Sphere: Related ContentBad Credit Is A Major Concern
I think it’s hilarious that 32 percent of the members of the National Association of Business Economics say that loan defaults and excessive debt is their biggest concern.
Bad credit has supplanted terrorism as the gravest immediate risk threatening the economy, a key national research group reported Monday.
Borrowers’ withering ability to pay their bills and the subsequent fallout in the credit markets this summer topped the list of short-term risks on peoples’ minds, according to a survey of 258 members conducted by the National Association of Business Economics.
NABE, a Washington-based association, said 32 percent of its surveyed members cited loan defaults and excessive debt as their biggest near-term concern.
If they hadn’t bent the rules and made those loans to people who were already stretched to the limit they wouldn’t be in that position.
The ability for these sharks to stay in business after all of the fall out is no-where near the top 99% of my concerns.
New Home Sales Rise.
In a weird twist of fate, the new home market actually perked up last month.
Sphere: Related ContentSales of new homes perked up, while factory orders took off in July, raising hopes that the economy can safely weather financial turmoil that has shaken Wall Street.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that new-home sales rose 2.8 percent in July, after falling 4 percent in June. The increase in July lifted sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 870,000 units. A second report showed that orders to factories for big-ticket goods jumped 5.9 percent in July, the most in 10 months.
Wal-Mart To Increase Testing
I applaud Wal-Mart for increasing testing of the products they sell. It sounds odd giving them credit, and I can’t help but wonder what their motive really is. But, that doesn’t change the fact that they still sell a boatload of items from China.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Thursday it was asking suppliers to resubmit testing documentation for the toys it sells after Mattel Inc’s recall this month of millions of Chinese-made toys.
The world’s largest retailer is also taking other measures to reassure consumers about the safety of its toys ahead of the critical holiday shopping season.
In an e-mailed statement, Wal-Mart also said it hired independent laboratories to conduct an average of 200 additional tests each day. It also said it was working to find new toys and manufacturers from all over the world to give parents greater choice.
Does anyone actually believe that Wal-Mart will carry toys from other places that cost more? Ha! Several weeks ago, my kids, yes my kids, decided they were boycotting toys made in China. Since they announced their boycott, they have only found three items at Wal-Mart that would be classified as “kid cool” that were not made in China.
In that regard, things aren’t looking good for Wal-Mart these days.
Bank Of America Keeps Countrywide Afloat
I think we can technically call this a bailout, don’t you think?
Countrywide Financial Corp. said Wednesday that Bank of America Corp. has made an investment of $2 billion in the company, a deal that comes as the nation’s largest mortgage lender tries to weather a credit crunch that’s rocked Wall Street and the mortgage industry.
The transaction was completed and funded Wednesday, Countrywide said.
Now that they have $2 billion in new money, Countrywide won’t be at risk of closing their doors, just yet anyway. Although their CEO is talking about using the money for future growth and success, I think he needs to focus on the “keep the company afloat and get through the crisis” first.