Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Manufacturing At 60 Year Low
Manufacturing Shrinks
The decline in U.S. manufacturing deepened in December as demand for such products as cars, appliances and furniture reached the lowest level since at least 1948, signaling further cutbacks in factory jobs and production this year. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index fell to 32.4, below economists’ forecasts and the lowest level since 1980, from 36.2 the prior month. Readings less than 50 signal contraction. The group’s new-orders measure reached the lowest level on record and prices slid the most since 1949.
Worlds Largest Embassy Opens In Iraq
U.S. Inaugurates Massive New Embassy
The United States dedicated its new embassy in Baghdad on Monday, a fortress-like compound that is the largest embassy ever built by the superpower. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the $700-million embassy is evidence of America's long-term friendship with Iraq. "From this embassy in the years to come, we look forward to building our partnership and contributing to the future," Crocker said. During the ceremony, U.S. marines raised the American flag over the adobe-coloured building located in the heart of the Green Zone, a walled-off section of the city under heavy security. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte were among about 1,000 guests in attendance.
U.S. Auto Sales Plummet
U.S. Auto Sales Plummet
General Motors Corp.’s 2008 U.S. sales plunged to a 49-year low, dragged down by a 31 percent plunge in December as demand was ravaged by the recession and concern that the biggest domestic automaker might collapse. Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. deliveries plummeted 37 percent last month, while Honda Motor Co. slipped 35 percent, Ford Motor Co. fell 32 percent and Nissan Motor Co. was down 31 percent, pointing toward the industry’s worst annual volume since 1992. The federal rescue of GM and Chrysler LLC couldn’t overcome the weight of consumer pessimism and tight credit in the world’s biggest auto market. Ford’s annual U.S. sales sagged to a 47- year low, while GM’s total of 2.98 million was the least since 1959, according to trade publication Automotive News.
Massive Tax Cuts
Obama Said to Push for Tax Cuts
President-elect Barack Obama is pushing for tax cuts amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars in a stimulus package he’s asking Congress to pass within the next several weeks, a transition official and a Democratic aide say. Obama is asking that tax cuts make up 40 percent of a stimulus package, the officials say. The measure may be worth as much as $775 billion, the Democratic aide says, meaning tax cuts may constitute more than $300 billion of the legislation.
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