Consumer sentiment dips going into holidays (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. consumer sentiment slipped in December but was not far from the year's highs, a report said on Friday, suggesting Americans were guardedly optimistic about the economy in the holiday season.
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Japan reports economy shrank 3 percent April-June (AP)
2008.09.12By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer 16 minutes ago
TOKYO - Japan's economy shrank at a 3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the government said Friday in a lowered revision of an already pessimistic reading for the world's second biggest economy.
Fears about a global downturn have been growing amid soaring prices of gas, steel, food and other goods. Signs of a slowdown in the U.S., Japan's major trading partner, have added to the worries.
Tatsushi Shikano, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo, said the pessimistic revision had been expected, given recent indicators that show declines in corporate investments, exports and consumer spending.
"Our view of a weak economy was once again confirmed," he said.
The economy was expected to stay sluggish for the next few months, staying flat at best, and may continue to contract, Shikano said.
The Cabinet office reported Japan's gross domestic product — a measure of the value of its goods and services — contracted 0.7 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter.
That was steeper than the 0.6 percent contraction given in a preliminary report released August. For the annual rate, Japan had said the economy contracted 2.4 percent in its earlier report.
Since the "bubble" economy of overspending burst in the 1990s, Japan had been eking out moderate growth in recent years.
But some Japanese officials are now seriously worried about a possible recession because of emerging risks largely outside Japan's control.
The lagging economy is expected to be a key issue in the ongoing campaign to find a new prime minister after Yasuo Fukuda abruptly announced his resignation earlier this month.
The ruling party is selecting its new leader later this month among five candidates. Partly because of the growing worries about the economy, former Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who is promising more stimulus spending to wrest Japan out of its doldrums, is widely viewed as the likely victor.
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November housing starts up (Reuters)
Reuters - The pace of U.S. home building rose in November as new home starts climbed 6.7 percent, rebounding from a sharp decline in October while building permits fell 3 percent, a government report showed on Tuesday.
Reuters - The pace of U.S. home building rose in November as new home starts climbed 6.7 percent, rebounding from a sharp decline in October while building permits fell 3 percent, a government report showed on Tuesday.
US GDP revised down to show 2.0 percent growth pace (AFP)
AFP - US economic growth has been a bit more sluggish than earlier estimated in the third quarter, growing at a 2.0 percent annualized pace, according to revised data.
AFP - US economic growth has been a bit more sluggish than earlier estimated in the third quarter, growing at a 2.0 percent annualized pace, according to revised data.
Consumers boost buying during holidays (AP)
AP - Keeping the nation's cash registers ringing, consumers boosted their spending in November by the largest amount in four months, raising hopes shoppers will act more like Santas than Scrooges during the holidays.
AP - Keeping the nation's cash registers ringing, consumers boosted their spending in November by the largest amount in four months, raising hopes shoppers will act more like Santas than Scrooges during the holidays.
Consumer confidence ebbs, boosts rate hopes (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence ebbed in December, while a key measure of inflation held steady in November for first time in four years, boosting the chances of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2007.
Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence ebbed in December, while a key measure of inflation held steady in November for first time in four years, boosting the chances of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2007.
