November sets new record for Largest Trade Deficit EVAR, at $60+ billion

[ReiAyanami]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050112/economy_5.html

The Commerce Department said the November deficit was up 7.7 percent from an imbalance of $56 billion in October, which had been the previous monthly record.


at that rate we'd be bleeding over $700 billion/year instead of the normal HALF TRILLION. that means if the government doesn't bankrupt us, the american consumer will


"U.S. exports, which had been rising for much of the year, suffered a setback in November, falling 2.3 percent to $66.5 billion"

 

[Engineer]

Bush: If you're worried about the trade deficit, simple solution. Buy American made products.

End of story.

 

[B00ne]

seems like the dollar devaluation is all but over

 

[EXman]

Keep shoping at walmart and this is what you get! $30 DVD players America loves them from China!

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: B00ne
seems like the dollar devaluation is all but over

In conventional (and no longer applicable if it ever was) theory trade deficits and dollar devaluation are strongly linked. The strong link doesn't exist in many cases anymore.

(1) Many foreign countries (ones which we import much of our goods from) peg their currency to ours. This currency pegging means that when the dollar goes up or when it goes down, trade to/from that country is absolutely unaffected. There is not a balancing aspect where the dollar goes down and we import fewer goods from that country. Thus you can have a worthless dollar and high trade deficit.

(2) Many of our imports that aren't covered under #1 fit in the 'absolutely need' category. What would happen if the price of oil goes up due to dollar going down? For the most part consumption would stay high. Dollar can go down and trade deficit can stay high.

 

[dmcowen674]

Export Goods??? What's that? The U.S. is nothing but an Island of Lazy Rich SOB's.

Don't need no stinking Manufacturing jobs or make Products when the world will make them for peanuts and ship over to us.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: EXman
Keep shoping at walmart and this is what you get! $30 DVD players America loves them from China!

Can you find a DVD player made in America?

 

[Darkhawk28]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: EXman
Keep shoping at walmart and this is what you get! $30 DVD players America loves them from China!

Can you find a DVD player made in America?

My man, there is where the problem lies.

 

[ReiAyanami]

believe it or not, my $129 17" flatscreen LCD monitor infront of me is made in america. now if only that $100 rebate would come...

as for the rest of the computer, buhahahaha... i wish

 

[DealMonkey]

I, as opposed to the Wal-Mart shopping masses, would pay MORE for a quality American-made product. Manufacturers who are busy squeezing their supply-chains (because Wal-Mart is squeezing them) and moving operations overseas (or to Mexico) should pay attention to that sentiment.

 

[Tommunist]

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
believe it or not, my $129 17" flatscreen LCD monitor infront of me is made in america. now if only that $100 rebate would come...

as for the rest of the computer, buhahahaha... i wish

The whole thing? Or just the final assembly - I'm willing to bet a good number of the compenents are made in taiwan or wherever. It is incredibly hard to find electronics made in the USA. We've been bested there! It's a real shame - maybe it's global EMP time like in that crappy movie with some guy named "snake." I'm too lazy to look it up

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Originally posted by: TommunistThe whole thing? Or just the final assembly - I'm willing to bet a good number of the compenents are made in taiwan or wherever. It is incredibly hard to find electronics made in the USA. We've been bested there! It's a real shame - maybe it's global EMP time like in that crappy movie with some guy named "snake." I'm too lazy to look it up

Wasn't a movie, but Dark Angel?

 

[Tommunist]

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy

Originally posted by: TommunistThe whole thing? Or just the final assembly - I'm willing to bet a good number of the compenents are made in taiwan or wherever. It is incredibly hard to find electronics made in the USA. We've been bested there! It's a real shame - maybe it's global EMP time like in that crappy movie with some guy named "snake." I'm too lazy to look it up

Wasn't a movie, but Dark Angel?

escape from LA (you motivated me)

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Tommunist

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
believe it or not, my $129 17" flatscreen LCD monitor infront of me is made in america. now if only that $100 rebate would come...

as for the rest of the computer, buhahahaha... i wish

The whole thing? Or just the final assembly - I'm willing to bet a good number of the compenents are made in taiwan or wherever. It is incredibly hard to find electronics made in the USA. We've been bested there! It's a real shame - maybe it's global EMP time like in that crappy movie with some guy named "snake." I'm too lazy to look it up

We have no LCD Production facilities in the U.S. that I am aware of.

 

[ReiAyanami]

for all i know they could mean the box it came in was made in USA

 

[conjur]

Plea by Snow as US deficit hits monthly record

JOHN SNOW, the US Treasury Secretary, last night renewed demands for Europe and Japan to boost growth to ease global economic imbalances after America?s trade gap surged to a monthly record of $60 billion (£32 billion) in November.

A slump in US exports, blamed on weak demand in key trading partners, combined with a sharp rise in America?s oil imports to trigger the surprise jump in the trade deficit. Wall Street analysts had expected it to decline to $54 billion.

The much worse than predicted figures sparked a renewed assault on the dollar on foreign exchanges, sending the US currency tumbling against the yen and the euro.

The dollar?s losses pushed the euro up more than 1 per cent to levels around $1.3292. The pound gained more than a cent and a half to close in London at $1.8932.

Mr Snow blamed the latest jump in the trade deficit on the relative strength of US growth compared with a disappointing performance by the eurozone and Japan. He said: ?We are growing faster than our trading partners and we are creating more disposable income than they are. We need Europe to be more of an engine of growth and we need Japan to be more of an engine of growth.?

The Treasury Secretary made clear that he would use next month?s London meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial economies to step up pressure on the governments of Japan and the eurozone to act to bolster their performance.

The weakness of overseas demand for US goods was underlined by the 2.3 per cent drop in American exports in November, which affected most categories of products. Shipments of industrial supplies and materials, such as plastics and chemicals, were particularly badly affected, while exports of capital goods tumbled by 5.1 per cent.

The deficit was also exacerbated by a 1.3 per cent rise in imports driven mainly by increased US demand for crude oil from abroad, despite cheaper world oil prices. US consumer demand for household products and other goods also helped to boost imports.

Strong demand for advanced technology saw the US deficit on trade in these goods widen to a record $5.8 billion.

Analysts said that the November data left the US firmly on course to register a record trade gap for the year, with the deficit in the fourth quarter set to climb above 6 per cent of GDP for the first time, after a figure of 5.6 per cent in the previous three months.

The US trade shortfall for the first 11 months of last year already totals $561.3 billion ? well above the record $496.5 billion set for 2003 as a whole.

Paul Ashworth, of Capital Economics, said that although the dollar?s slide over the past three years had so far failed to boost US exports and cut the deficit, eventually this would happen.

However, he said that ?unfortunately, the damage has already been done? to US economic performance, with trade set to subtract 1.5 percentage points from annualised American growth in the fourth quarter. This is now set to come in at about 3 per cent.

Our problems are Europe's fault?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: EXman
Keep shoping at walmart and this is what you get! $30 DVD players America loves them from China!

Can you find a DVD player made in America?

It's a possibility that MacIntosh or some other Niche manufacturer(there are many such manufacturers) makes a DVD Player in the US. If one of them does, expect the Price to be in the $thousands though. Most of that Price comes from exceptional Build quality and Component quality, as well as simple Economies of Scale(low Production volumes).

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: conjur
Plea by Snow as US deficit hits monthly record
JOHN SNOW, the US Treasury Secretary, last night renewed demands for Europe and Japan to boost growth to ease global economic imbalances after America?s trade gap surged to a monthly record of $60 billion (£32 billion) in November.

A slump in US exports, blamed on weak demand in key trading partners, combined with a sharp rise in America?s oil imports to trigger the surprise jump in the trade deficit. Wall Street analysts had expected it to decline to $54 billion.

The much worse than predicted figures sparked a renewed assault on the dollar on foreign exchanges, sending the US currency tumbling against the yen and the euro.

The dollar?s losses pushed the euro up more than 1 per cent to levels around $1.3292. The pound gained more than a cent and a half to close in London at $1.8932.

Mr Snow blamed the latest jump in the trade deficit on the relative strength of US growth compared with a disappointing performance by the eurozone and Japan. He said: ?We are growing faster than our trading partners and we are creating more disposable income than they are. We need Europe to be more of an engine of growth and we need Japan to be more of an engine of growth.?

The Treasury Secretary made clear that he would use next month?s London meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial economies to step up pressure on the governments of Japan and the eurozone to act to bolster their performance.

The weakness of overseas demand for US goods was underlined by the 2.3 per cent drop in American exports in November, which affected most categories of products. Shipments of industrial supplies and materials, such as plastics and chemicals, were particularly badly affected, while exports of capital goods tumbled by 5.1 per cent.

The deficit was also exacerbated by a 1.3 per cent rise in imports driven mainly by increased US demand for crude oil from abroad, despite cheaper world oil prices. US consumer demand for household products and other goods also helped to boost imports.

Strong demand for advanced technology saw the US deficit on trade in these goods widen to a record $5.8 billion.

Analysts said that the November data left the US firmly on course to register a record trade gap for the year, with the deficit in the fourth quarter set to climb above 6 per cent of GDP for the first time, after a figure of 5.6 per cent in the previous three months.

The US trade shortfall for the first 11 months of last year already totals $561.3 billion ? well above the record $496.5 billion set for 2003 as a whole.

Paul Ashworth, of Capital Economics, said that although the dollar?s slide over the past three years had so far failed to boost US exports and cut the deficit, eventually this would happen.

However, he said that ?unfortunately, the damage has already been done? to US economic performance, with trade set to subtract 1.5 percentage points from annualised American growth in the fourth quarter. This is now set to come in at about 3 per cent.

Our problems are Europe's fault? [/quote]

Ya, everytime I hear that line of thought, which has been repeated often in recent years, I am perplexed as to how they come to that conclusion. It is either:

1) Buy stuff before we do and Save us from ourselves

2) Marx was correct when he surmised that Capitalism would fail due to Saturation of Markets. I'm begining to think that the Market Bubble and Housing Bubbles were no accident, but merely symptoms of something larger. That is the need for a rabid level of Consumption in order to prop up Growth, for Growth's sake. Growth has become the reason for Life itself and because of that Consumption and Acquisition of Wealth becomes increasingly difficult as Growth requires more from each Consumer each year. The Consumer ahs evolved in a short time from Cash, to Mortgage, to non-Bank Financing, to a Credit Card, to multiple Credit Cards, and to Debt loads that not too long ago would make one too much of a Credit Risk even for a small Loan. Those same Banks that would have laughed in the faces of the modern Consumer just a few decades ago won't do the same today, for everyone from the Poorest Consumer to the Government itself is up to their necks in Debt with no plan to pay it off. Not that they don't want to pay it off, but because if they do Pay it off Consumption would decrease and so would Growth.

Europeans(as an example), OTOH, are not quite as enamored with the Consumer Lifestyle or with Growth. They are more content with their status and their more Socialistic tendencies are an indication of a very different view of Life itself. This is the major problem, as far as I can see, as the US as a Consumer has been just about tapped out. For Capitalism to survive someone else needs to step in and take some of the Burden of Consumption while the US rests up so that it can catch its' breath.

 

[freegeeks]

Originally posted by: conjur
Plea by Snow as US deficit hits monthly record
JOHN SNOW, the US Treasury Secretary, last night renewed demands for Europe and Japan to boost growth to ease global economic imbalances after America?s trade gap surged to a monthly record of $60 billion (£32 billion) in November.

A slump in US exports, blamed on weak demand in key trading partners, combined with a sharp rise in America?s oil imports to trigger the surprise jump in the trade deficit. Wall Street analysts had expected it to decline to $54 billion.

The much worse than predicted figures sparked a renewed assault on the dollar on foreign exchanges, sending the US currency tumbling against the yen and the euro.

The dollar?s losses pushed the euro up more than 1 per cent to levels around $1.3292. The pound gained more than a cent and a half to close in London at $1.8932.

Mr Snow blamed the latest jump in the trade deficit on the relative strength of US growth compared with a disappointing performance by the eurozone and Japan. He said: ?We are growing faster than our trading partners and we are creating more disposable income than they are. We need Europe to be more of an engine of growth and we need Japan to be more of an engine of growth.?

The Treasury Secretary made clear that he would use next month?s London meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial economies to step up pressure on the governments of Japan and the eurozone to act to bolster their performance.

The weakness of overseas demand for US goods was underlined by the 2.3 per cent drop in American exports in November, which affected most categories of products. Shipments of industrial supplies and materials, such as plastics and chemicals, were particularly badly affected, while exports of capital goods tumbled by 5.1 per cent.

The deficit was also exacerbated by a 1.3 per cent rise in imports driven mainly by increased US demand for crude oil from abroad, despite cheaper world oil prices. US consumer demand for household products and other goods also helped to boost imports.

Strong demand for advanced technology saw the US deficit on trade in these goods widen to a record $5.8 billion.

Analysts said that the November data left the US firmly on course to register a record trade gap for the year, with the deficit in the fourth quarter set to climb above 6 per cent of GDP for the first time, after a figure of 5.6 per cent in the previous three months.

The US trade shortfall for the first 11 months of last year already totals $561.3 billion ? well above the record $496.5 billion set for 2003 as a whole.

Paul Ashworth, of Capital Economics, said that although the dollar?s slide over the past three years had so far failed to boost US exports and cut the deficit, eventually this would happen.

However, he said that ?unfortunately, the damage has already been done? to US economic performance, with trade set to subtract 1.5 percentage points from annualised American growth in the fourth quarter. This is now set to come in at about 3 per cent.

Our problems are Europe's fault? [/quote]

it's a conspiracy from Europe and the UN

btw doesn't a weak dollar should boost US exports

 

[LunarRay]

When you refer to 'rich' and 'poor' folks based on $ amassed or earned I think the important thing to look at is just how many oranges or board feet of lumber can they purchase today versus 40 years ago or 30 or 20.

Where I live the average house costs about 450K and in my area 1M and more is normal for a condo on or near the ocean.... In '70 those same condos sold for 55K. So it only stands to reason that folks have to earn 20 times more money to live the same life style. A millionaire earner today earned maybe $50 or so K a year in '70 while I carried mail for $3.59 an hour... (At that rate a letter carrier would earn 70 something $ per hour)

So what has all that to do with Trade Deficits... A lot IMO! What is important is Jobs. It is the only real criteria that is important. With full employment it matters not much what the TD is but destroys us when we have so many out of work.. Percentage wise it may not seem much but number wise it does.. plus the 'off the rolls' folks. Fix unemployed issues and the TD will diminish... Or it will matter not at all cuz we'll consume more. And pay more taxes.. and reduce the big monster that may some day wake up... the National Debt held by foreign investors.