Originally posted by: dmcowen674
11-11-2004
Fla. Gets Boost From Hurricane Rebuilding
One person who is skeptical about the potential benefits of the storms is Gov. Jeb Bush.
The governor said the hurricanes could ultimately prove a drag on Florida's economy because of the high insurance deductibles many hurricane victims will pay. Some estimates put the out-of-pocket costs at more than $1 billion statewide.
"I do not believe ... that having four hurricanes is good economically for the state," Bush said. "It's impossible for me to imagine that that's a good idea."
11-3-2004
Factory Orders Fall for 2nd Straight Month
Orders placed with U.S. factories fell for the second consecutive month in September, .
the first back-to-back decline in two years.. Demand dropped sharply for manufactured goods other than defense materials, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
the first back-to-back decline in two years.
Students that Graduated from the 1999-2000 College Class are still out of work and those that did find jobs have been laid off:
10-27-2004
Work Force of 1999 Still Languishing
The day she graduated from Northeastern University, Liz Erk thought she had it made.
The Boston public relations firm where she interned during her senior year promoted Erk to a full-time employee. It was 1999, the economy was booming, and Erk's higher-ups told her she'd be a vice president in a few years.
But the past five years haven't brought slick suits or a corner office. By 2001, Erk found herself unemployed and struggling to make her rent, pay her utilities and feed her cats
when the economy started slumping in mid-2000, they found themselves facing layoffs and pay cuts.
10-18-2004
Job Cuts in Tech Sector Soar 60% in Third Quarter With More To Come
10-11-2004
World Fears U.S. Economy Weakening
"There are fears that the U.S. economy may now finally weaken," said Benedikt Germanier, foreign exchange strategist at UBS in Zurich.
24,000 Jobs lost today 10-7-2004
10-7-2004
AT&T expands layoff plan, to cut 7,000 jobs
The company, which had cut about 5 percent of its 61,600 workers by the end of the second quarter, said the new cuts would bring the total reduction to 20 percent of its work force.
10-7-2004
Bank of America to Slash 17,000 Jobs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America Corp. said Thursday it will cut another 4,500 jobs beginning this month as a result of its merger with FleetBoston Financial Corp. and declining business in mortgages.
The 2.5 percent reduction of the work force, disclosed Thursday, comes on top of 12,500 layoffs that the bank previously said it expected to see from the mega-merger with FleetBoston, which went through earlier this year.
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., a leading critic of the merger, said Thursday that the latest layoffs are a troubling counterpoint to the decision to move the wealth and investment management unit to Boston.
"Bank of America officials continue to maintain that we will have suffered no net job losses by early in 2006, but that is little solace to the people who are losing jobs now," Frank said in a prepared statement. "Furthermore, while Bank of America tells us there will be 'ebbs and flows' before we reach that point in 2006, a pattern of continuous 'ebbing' leaves many of us skeptical."
10-5-2004
U.S. Job Cuts at 8-Month High in Sept.
The September figure was the largest since January 2004, when employers laid off 117,556 workers.
9-12-2004
Rosy outlook from Greenspan fa...o sway many economists
The upbeat outlook from Greenspan has failed to convince many economists, who argue that the United States is likely to see tepid growth at best in the near future.
Greenspan on Wednesday said the economy appears to be weathering a slowdown related to the steep rise in oil prices, arguing that the expansion "has regained some traction."
But some experts say Greenspan may be putting the best possible spin on an economy that is just muddling through.
Avery Shenfeld, senior economist at CIBC World Markets, said Greenspan's comments to lawmakers were more upbeat than the central bank's Beige Book report the same day.
Shenfeld said there may be some political reasons for Greenspan's outlook, with President George W. Bush facing a tough re-election challenge.
"The Fed chairman is not above politics,"said Shenfeld, who argues that the central bank has put itself in the position of boosting rates weeks before the presidential election or acknowledging that the economy is faltering.
To skip a September rate hike, "Greenspan would have to acknowledge more meaningful concerns about the direction of the economy, testimony that would be immediate fodder for (Democratic presidential candidate John) Kerry's campaign," said Shenfeld.
More bluntly, Morgan Stanley chief economist Stephen Roach said there is little to back up Greenspan's view on gaining traction.
A Wall Street Journal survey of 55 economists indicated most are downgrading their forecasts
"Notice how we don't hear about the 'greatest economy in the past 20 years' anymore?" he said.