noch für eine Tageszusammenfassung des WSJ interessiert. (Stört jetzt nicht mehr - platzmässig) Paar kleine Aufmunterungen für die Callingers aber dann kommt leider wieder das budget deficit der Regierung ins Spiel.
WSJ.com - The Afternoon ReportSearch Quotes & Research
As of 4:59 p.m. EDT Tuesday, August 26, 2003
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THE AFTERNOON REPORT
By JOSEPH SCHUMAN
Rising Big-Ticket Orders Hint
At a Manufacturing Recovery
The second consecutive monthly rise in sales of durable goods and an
uptick in consumer optimism, both reported today, are encouraging bits of
news for the U.S. economy, as far as they go.
The Commerce Department said new orders for appliances, cars and other
goods meant to last at least three years rose 1%, or $1.7 billion, to $174
billion, following a 2.6% rise in June. This was the first significant
back-to-back monthly increase since 2001, and was accompanied by a surge
in shipments and by a decrease in manufacturers' inventories of durable
goods, the 29th drop in inventories in the past 30 months. We already know
that retail sales also rose in July, and today's report may mean the
emptying store shelves are finally having an effect on factory floors.
Manufacturing has suffered more than any other area of the U.S. economy,
and today's report adds to other recent evidence that the sector is
turning around.
Separately, the Conference Board said its consumer-confidence index, which
deteriorated last month, bounced back in mid-August to a reading of 81.3
from 77 in July. That was clearly based on hope for the future rather than
perceptions of how the economy is doing now, since the expectations index
rose to 94.4 from 86.3, even as the present-situation index slipped to
61.6 from a level of 63. And Lynn Franco, director of the Conference
Board's consumer-research center, cautioned that "continued optimism will
depend on positive developments in the labor market." Unemployment
continues to be the country's biggest economic worry, and that was
reflected in the research group's household survey. Those reporting that
jobs are "hard to get" rose to 34.1% from 32.7% in July, though the
proportion of consumers who said jobs are "plentiful" also rose, to 11.1%
from 10.7%. And more consumers expect the job market to improve in the
coming months, 18%, up from 16.6%.
* * *
U.S. Markets Manage to Rise
Despite the economic news, U.S. stock markets spent much of day below
their opening levels and then rose in the afternoon. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average gained 22.81 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index
rose 6.33 points. The yields of U.S. Treasury bonds fell, and the dollar
was stronger against the euro and weaker against the yen. European stock
markets fell across the board today, as did most markets in Asia. But the
Indian stock market rebounded from the losses it took yesterday after the
bombings in Bombay, with the Sensex rising 3.9%.
The New York Stock Exchange itself reported a strong second quarter in
which daily trading volume rose 5.1%. The Big Board's profit rose to $11.6
million from $5.6 million a year earlier, even as quarterly revenue was
essentially flat at $271.5 million. For the first half, the NYSE recorded
a 30% increase in net income to $27 million from $20.7 million a year
earlier, also on revenue that was pretty much unchanged at $539.5 million.
* * *
Forecasts Worsen for U.S. Budget Deficit
The U.S. government is on pace to record the largest budget deficit in its
history next year, and one significantly wider than the Bush
administration predicted last month, the Congressional Budget Office said.
The nonpartisan CBO estimated the government deficit will be $480 billion
next year, and could rise to a deficit of $1.4 trillion over the next
decade. And this is without predictions for the cost of war and
reconstruction in Iraq or new spending programs that are in the works,
like the $400 billion Medicare prescription-drug plan Congress is
struggling with now. The forecast would come in well above the current
record deficit of $290.4 billion, which was set in 1992.
Democrats were quick to point out that this record was set when President
Bush's father was in the White House, and to blame the president's tax
cuts for much of the government fiscal troubles. The CBO predicted that
the budget would return to a surplus in 2012 and 2013, but only if
Congress allows several of the Bush tax cuts to expire in 2010, which is
unlikely to happen. The White House has blamed the mounting red ink on the
Sept. 11 attacks and the sharp rise in defense and security costs, as well
as the faltering economy. And it argues the president's tax-cutting
policies will improve both the economy and the tax receipts collected to
pay for the government's budget.
* * *
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