Thread locked for age and length. Continued in this thread.
Mod
---
Wow
Imagine that, greedy Anti-American land speculators losing money, who would've thought.
7-18-2006 San Diego home prices dip as condo fever cools
A slip in home prices in San Diego as demand for condominiums slackens is giving the chills to some in this sun-drenched California city and stoking concerns of a downturn in its regional housing market after a decade-long boom.
San Diego's June median price for existing and new homes fell 1 percent to $488,000 from $493,000 a year earlier and their sales fell 24.1 percent over that time as demand for condominiums cooled, according to DataQuick.
John Burns, an Irvine, California, consultant to home builders, notes San Diego area prices for existing single-family homes have been flat for a year. June's median was $565,000, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier.
"There are no desperate sellers in the resale market with two exceptions," Burns said, pointing to investors who overestimated demand for high-end condos and apartments converted to condos.
=================================================
I am thankful to see this corrupt and decepetion practice by businesses end.
Sadly I know they will find a new way to screw their customers over.
7-15-2006 Dell joins OfficeMax in reducing use of mail-in rebates
DALLAS - Responding to customer complaints, Dell Inc. said Thursday it plans to gradually reduce its use of mail-in rebates and its often confusing array of other promotional offers.
"On any given quarter, we have had 30, 40, 50 promotions on any given product, so it really became very confusing and difficult for our customers to understand and shop," Parra said.
Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler said Dell's move makes sense in such a price-driven industry where consumers do a lot of quick comparison shopping.
"When you go to Dell.com you never quite know what the price is until you get to the end," he said. "If you're going to compete on price, you better be able to see what the price is. With all these promos, you can't."
Dell joins several retailers who have cut back or eliminated mail-in rebate programs since last year.
In June, OfficeMax Inc., one of the nation's leading office supply chains, said it would offer immediate discounts on product pricing instead of mail-in rebates. And in April 2005, electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. said it would abandon all mail-in rebates in two years.
=========================================
Well now that the middle class is gone and out of money, will the rich be able to sustain America in any way?
Doubtful
With low life's getting desperate and the Government taking away guns from the citizenry only Mad max will Prevail.
Enjoy
7-13-2006 Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the heart of the U.S. gambling industry, are starting to feel the pinch from a slower economy and high fuel prices after a two-year run with Lady Luck.
While the richest Las Vegas residents and visitors still splurge at blackjack tables or on high-end suites, marginal visitors are cutting back as prices at the pump curb their enthusiasm, analysts said.
Cruise companies, such as Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., have seen weaker demand for cheaper Caribbean cruises over the last few months as the U.S. economy slowed.
And last week, lower-end retail outlets, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc., reported disappointing June sales.
"(Consumers) are slowing down some of their retail spending," said Peter Dunay, chief investment strategist at the Leeb Index Group.
But the economic slowdown has had far less impact on higher income earners, analysts said.
Several upscale retail chains reported strong gains in June and high-cost cruises, like to Alaska and Europe, are selling well.
==================================================
At some point the American Sheeple will realize what has happened and that point will be too late.
America for Sale continued:
1-20-2006 Hong Kong Distributor Acquires Wham-O
Wham-O Inc., the maker of vintage toys like the Frisbee, Slip'N Slide and Hula Hoop, has been sold to a Hong Kong distributor that's trying to build a one-stop shop for outdoor fun.
The new owners own or control five Chinese factories with a total of 20,000 to 25,000 workers, providing ample manpower to increase production of Wham-O's toys, which also include Superball, Boogie Board, Hacky Sack, Silly String and Water Wiggle.
=======================================
Certainly looking like a nasty Economy crash is looming very close on the horizon.
What is holding it up???
Borrowing Borrowing Borrowing. That's not going to keep the head above water forever.
11-10-2005 U.S. Owes China, Canada, South America, Central America and Oil Barons At Record Levels and more than 500,000 Americans lose their jobs last week alone
WASHINGTON - The trade deficit soared to a record in September as the Gulf Coast hurricanes helped push America's foreign oil bill to an all-time high.
The politically sensitive deficit with China also set a record.
In other economic news, the government reported that the number of Americans who have lost their jobs because of the string of devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes rose to 542,000 last week. Last week's increase included 15,000 applications for jobless benefits related to Katrina and Rita and 6,000 attributed to Hurricane Wilma.
The increase of 21,000 hurricane-related jobless claims came out of a total of 326,000 new applications for jobless benefits filed last week, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week. That was a worse-than-expected showing. Analysts had been expecting overall claims to decline last week.
In addition to the record deficit with China, America's trade imbalance with Canada also set a record, rising to $7.4 billion.
America's deficit with the countries of South and Central America also set a record at $4.99 billion.
======================================
As usual, Economists do not have a clue.
Unexpectedly??? Come on :roll::roll::roll::roll:
10-25-2005 Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Falls
NEW YORK - The outlook for the holiday shopping season darkened Tuesday as the latest consumer confidence reading showed Americans even more pessimistic about the economy during October. Hurricanes, surging gasoline prices and worries about the job market took a further toll on consumer psyches.
The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 85 in October, the lowest level since October 2003 and down from September's revised reading of 87.5, which had been the sharpest drop in 15 years.
OMFG China is scared it will become like the U.S.
10-22-2005 China Cuts Income Tax for Low Wage Earners
BEIJING - China's legislature agreed Saturday to cut income taxes on the country's poorest workers amid official concern that the country's growing gap between rich and poor could fuel unrest.
Annual incomes in China's booming eastern cities average more than $1,000 per person while rural incomes linger at around $370 per year.
The government has warned that the growing gap could lead to serious social unrest if it isn't addressed.
10-5-2005 Job growth concentrated in lower-paying service jobs, causing personal income growth to drop
Rising energy prices due to Gulf Coast hurricanes will put an additional strain on households, said David VanVickle, general manager of the FDIC's Division of Insurance and Research in Chicago.
"The large part of the burden will fall to lower-economic tier households," VanVickle said. "I don't know if I've seen anything like this before."
Beginning next year, the average American household is expected to spend an extra $1,000 a year on energy, including electricity, gasoline, natural gas and other heating fuels, VanVickle said.
"That has a pretty high, significant effect," he said.
The effect will also be felt beyond individual households, the FDIC said. Manufacturers, farmers and those in the travel industry will also feel the pinch.
The report notes a gain of 1,400 jobs year-over-year in Evansville, the first such gain since 2002. The increase was spread out among several sectors.
But, VanVickle said much of the job growth was concentrated in lower-paying service jobs, which caused personal income growth to lag.
7-11-2005 Housing Markets Pricing Out Middle Class
The red-hot housing market in booming cities across the country has made the dream of owning a home out of reach, not only for low-income families but also for white-collar professionals.
"Many of the overheated real estate markets throughout the country have become unaffordable for the majority of the population," said Jack McCabe, a housing industry analyst in Deerfield Beach. "Many people are paying well over 50 percent of their income for shelter. It leaves no money for savings or sometimes even for recreation."
Real estate experts warn that housing prices in many markets are too quickly outpacing the incomes of most workers. The widening gap affects families across the country, from Washington D.C. and Rhode Island to Florida in the South and Nevada and California in the west.
In Florida, Kim said she feels the skyrocketing housing prices have left her and many others behind, and that they have no chance of catching up. When she received her job offer, she and her husband excitedly pored through Internet real estate ads, looking at pictures of bungalows and back yards where she imagined their three young children would play. But since they moved into the rental apartment in Boca Raton, they have not even tried to look at any homes for sale.
=======================================================
I'm surprised by this. I thought that the Stock Market would react favorably with the USSC handing over all private land to private developers today.
6-23-2005 Dow Plunges 166 As Oil Briefly Passes $60
NEW YORK - Stocks plunged Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrials down 166 points as oil prices briefly moved past the psychologically important $60 per barrel level for the first time.
Oil's advance accelerated a selloff prompted by poor earnings from FedEx Corp. ? which blamed high fuel prices for its disappointing profits.
FedEx's earnings missed Wall Street's expectations and raised new concerns about oil's impact on corporate profits.
Del Monte Foods Co. reported a 66 percent drop in quarterly profits, blaming high raw material and transportation costs ? again, with fuel prices partially to blame ? for the fall.
Interesting, I never thought of a Recession needed on purpose:
3-31-2005 High oil prices spur broader fears of inflation
To quell inflation, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates. Higher interest rates tend to reduce purchases of homes, cars and other big-ticket items. That eventually takes the steam out of inflation - and sometimes out of the economy.
If the Fed slows things too much, that can tip the economy into recession, as it has several times in the past 50 years.
Sometimes that's the only way to stop inflation.
Hmmmm, 59% of Americans say the Economy is worsening.
That's not what the P&N experts say. Who is right and who is wrong????
3-30-2005 59% show the highest public pessimism over the economy in two years
The latest Gallup Poll also shows the highest public pessimism over the economy in two years, with 33 percent saying it is getting better and 59 percent saying it is getting worse.
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.
10-18-2004Job 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.
Mod
---
Wow
Imagine that, greedy Anti-American land speculators losing money, who would've thought.
7-18-2006 San Diego home prices dip as condo fever cools
A slip in home prices in San Diego as demand for condominiums slackens is giving the chills to some in this sun-drenched California city and stoking concerns of a downturn in its regional housing market after a decade-long boom.
San Diego's June median price for existing and new homes fell 1 percent to $488,000 from $493,000 a year earlier and their sales fell 24.1 percent over that time as demand for condominiums cooled, according to DataQuick.
John Burns, an Irvine, California, consultant to home builders, notes San Diego area prices for existing single-family homes have been flat for a year. June's median was $565,000, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier.
"There are no desperate sellers in the resale market with two exceptions," Burns said, pointing to investors who overestimated demand for high-end condos and apartments converted to condos.
=================================================
I am thankful to see this corrupt and decepetion practice by businesses end.
Sadly I know they will find a new way to screw their customers over.
7-15-2006 Dell joins OfficeMax in reducing use of mail-in rebates
DALLAS - Responding to customer complaints, Dell Inc. said Thursday it plans to gradually reduce its use of mail-in rebates and its often confusing array of other promotional offers.
"On any given quarter, we have had 30, 40, 50 promotions on any given product, so it really became very confusing and difficult for our customers to understand and shop," Parra said.
Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler said Dell's move makes sense in such a price-driven industry where consumers do a lot of quick comparison shopping.
"When you go to Dell.com you never quite know what the price is until you get to the end," he said. "If you're going to compete on price, you better be able to see what the price is. With all these promos, you can't."
Dell joins several retailers who have cut back or eliminated mail-in rebate programs since last year.
In June, OfficeMax Inc., one of the nation's leading office supply chains, said it would offer immediate discounts on product pricing instead of mail-in rebates. And in April 2005, electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. said it would abandon all mail-in rebates in two years.
=========================================
Well now that the middle class is gone and out of money, will the rich be able to sustain America in any way?
Doubtful
With low life's getting desperate and the Government taking away guns from the citizenry only Mad max will Prevail.
Enjoy
7-13-2006 Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the heart of the U.S. gambling industry, are starting to feel the pinch from a slower economy and high fuel prices after a two-year run with Lady Luck.
While the richest Las Vegas residents and visitors still splurge at blackjack tables or on high-end suites, marginal visitors are cutting back as prices at the pump curb their enthusiasm, analysts said.
Cruise companies, such as Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., have seen weaker demand for cheaper Caribbean cruises over the last few months as the U.S. economy slowed.
And last week, lower-end retail outlets, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc., reported disappointing June sales.
"(Consumers) are slowing down some of their retail spending," said Peter Dunay, chief investment strategist at the Leeb Index Group.
But the economic slowdown has had far less impact on higher income earners, analysts said.
Several upscale retail chains reported strong gains in June and high-cost cruises, like to Alaska and Europe, are selling well.
==================================================
At some point the American Sheeple will realize what has happened and that point will be too late.
America for Sale continued:
1-20-2006 Hong Kong Distributor Acquires Wham-O
Wham-O Inc., the maker of vintage toys like the Frisbee, Slip'N Slide and Hula Hoop, has been sold to a Hong Kong distributor that's trying to build a one-stop shop for outdoor fun.
The new owners own or control five Chinese factories with a total of 20,000 to 25,000 workers, providing ample manpower to increase production of Wham-O's toys, which also include Superball, Boogie Board, Hacky Sack, Silly String and Water Wiggle.
=======================================
Certainly looking like a nasty Economy crash is looming very close on the horizon.
What is holding it up???
Borrowing Borrowing Borrowing. That's not going to keep the head above water forever.
11-10-2005 U.S. Owes China, Canada, South America, Central America and Oil Barons At Record Levels and more than 500,000 Americans lose their jobs last week alone
WASHINGTON - The trade deficit soared to a record in September as the Gulf Coast hurricanes helped push America's foreign oil bill to an all-time high.
The politically sensitive deficit with China also set a record.
In other economic news, the government reported that the number of Americans who have lost their jobs because of the string of devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes rose to 542,000 last week. Last week's increase included 15,000 applications for jobless benefits related to Katrina and Rita and 6,000 attributed to Hurricane Wilma.
The increase of 21,000 hurricane-related jobless claims came out of a total of 326,000 new applications for jobless benefits filed last week, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week. That was a worse-than-expected showing. Analysts had been expecting overall claims to decline last week.
In addition to the record deficit with China, America's trade imbalance with Canada also set a record, rising to $7.4 billion.
America's deficit with the countries of South and Central America also set a record at $4.99 billion.
======================================
As usual, Economists do not have a clue.
Unexpectedly??? Come on :roll::roll::roll::roll:
10-25-2005 Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Falls
NEW YORK - The outlook for the holiday shopping season darkened Tuesday as the latest consumer confidence reading showed Americans even more pessimistic about the economy during October. Hurricanes, surging gasoline prices and worries about the job market took a further toll on consumer psyches.
The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 85 in October, the lowest level since October 2003 and down from September's revised reading of 87.5, which had been the sharpest drop in 15 years.
OMFG China is scared it will become like the U.S.
10-22-2005 China Cuts Income Tax for Low Wage Earners
BEIJING - China's legislature agreed Saturday to cut income taxes on the country's poorest workers amid official concern that the country's growing gap between rich and poor could fuel unrest.
Annual incomes in China's booming eastern cities average more than $1,000 per person while rural incomes linger at around $370 per year.
The government has warned that the growing gap could lead to serious social unrest if it isn't addressed.
10-5-2005 Job growth concentrated in lower-paying service jobs, causing personal income growth to drop
Rising energy prices due to Gulf Coast hurricanes will put an additional strain on households, said David VanVickle, general manager of the FDIC's Division of Insurance and Research in Chicago.
"The large part of the burden will fall to lower-economic tier households," VanVickle said. "I don't know if I've seen anything like this before."
Beginning next year, the average American household is expected to spend an extra $1,000 a year on energy, including electricity, gasoline, natural gas and other heating fuels, VanVickle said.
"That has a pretty high, significant effect," he said.
The effect will also be felt beyond individual households, the FDIC said. Manufacturers, farmers and those in the travel industry will also feel the pinch.
The report notes a gain of 1,400 jobs year-over-year in Evansville, the first such gain since 2002. The increase was spread out among several sectors.
But, VanVickle said much of the job growth was concentrated in lower-paying service jobs, which caused personal income growth to lag.
7-11-2005 Housing Markets Pricing Out Middle Class
The red-hot housing market in booming cities across the country has made the dream of owning a home out of reach, not only for low-income families but also for white-collar professionals.
"Many of the overheated real estate markets throughout the country have become unaffordable for the majority of the population," said Jack McCabe, a housing industry analyst in Deerfield Beach. "Many people are paying well over 50 percent of their income for shelter. It leaves no money for savings or sometimes even for recreation."
Real estate experts warn that housing prices in many markets are too quickly outpacing the incomes of most workers. The widening gap affects families across the country, from Washington D.C. and Rhode Island to Florida in the South and Nevada and California in the west.
In Florida, Kim said she feels the skyrocketing housing prices have left her and many others behind, and that they have no chance of catching up. When she received her job offer, she and her husband excitedly pored through Internet real estate ads, looking at pictures of bungalows and back yards where she imagined their three young children would play. But since they moved into the rental apartment in Boca Raton, they have not even tried to look at any homes for sale.
=======================================================
I'm surprised by this. I thought that the Stock Market would react favorably with the USSC handing over all private land to private developers today.
6-23-2005 Dow Plunges 166 As Oil Briefly Passes $60
NEW YORK - Stocks plunged Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrials down 166 points as oil prices briefly moved past the psychologically important $60 per barrel level for the first time.
Oil's advance accelerated a selloff prompted by poor earnings from FedEx Corp. ? which blamed high fuel prices for its disappointing profits.
FedEx's earnings missed Wall Street's expectations and raised new concerns about oil's impact on corporate profits.
Del Monte Foods Co. reported a 66 percent drop in quarterly profits, blaming high raw material and transportation costs ? again, with fuel prices partially to blame ? for the fall.
Interesting, I never thought of a Recession needed on purpose:
3-31-2005 High oil prices spur broader fears of inflation
To quell inflation, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates. Higher interest rates tend to reduce purchases of homes, cars and other big-ticket items. That eventually takes the steam out of inflation - and sometimes out of the economy.
If the Fed slows things too much, that can tip the economy into recession, as it has several times in the past 50 years.
Sometimes that's the only way to stop inflation.
Hmmmm, 59% of Americans say the Economy is worsening.
That's not what the P&N experts say. Who is right and who is wrong????
3-30-2005 59% show the highest public pessimism over the economy in two years
The latest Gallup Poll also shows the highest public pessimism over the economy in two years, with 33 percent saying it is getting better and 59 percent saying it is getting worse.
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.
10-18-2004Job 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.
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