China considers same tax rate for domestic, overseas firms (AFP)
AFP - Chinese lawmakers have mulled a draft law that would impose a 25 percent income tax on both domestic and foreign firms, eliminating the preferential rate for overseas companies, according to state media.
Consumer prices flat, jobless claims data mixed (Reuters)
2008.10.1619 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer prices were unexpectedly flat in September as energy costs fell while the latest jobless claims data indicated the labor market was still under pressure, government reports showed on Thursday. if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['sT3yFdG_XLQ-']='&U=13fphg8fj%2fN%3dsT3yFdG_XLQ-%2fC%3d702372.13039967.13252237.6227634%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d5522102%2fV%3d1';
Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting the Consumer Price Index to rise 0.1 percent after a 0.1 percent slide in August.
Another Labor Department report showed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell a more-than-expected 16,000 last week but a four-week moving average of claims rose to its highest level since October 2001.
Beaten down stocks looked set to open higher a day after their worst day since the 1987 crash, as futures extended gains. Treasuries held steady at lower levels and the dollar edged higher against the yen on the reports.
Analysts said moderating inflation and a soft job market give the Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates further to boost a flagging economy.
"With companies cutting back ... the outlook for payrolls and the unemployment rate is terrible," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist for High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York.
"Even with the banking crisis easing, the Fed will be under pressure from the macro data to keep cutting rates," he said.
So-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, were also milder than expected, gaining 0.1 percent in the month instead of the 0.2 percent consensus forecast. Fed officials watch core prices carefully as a sign of future trends in inflation pressures.
Energy costs declined 1.9 percent in September after a 3.1 percent drop the previous month. Energy services prices, which include costs for natural gas and electricity, tumbled by 3.2 percent, the biggest decline in the 61-year history of the data series.
Gasoline prices fell by 0.6 percent after a 4.2 percent fall in August.
A Labor Department spokesman noted that Monday's federal holiday may have skewed the jobless claims data. The 4-week moving average of claims, considered a better gauge of employment trends because it irons out weekly fluctuations, rose to the highest level since the week of October 20, 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
The number of people remaining on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of aid also rose and was at its highest level since June 2003.
(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal, Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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