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Finance news Even Most Upper-Income Households Worry About Retirement Income
By Rosaire B Not having enough money for retirement is the number one financial worry of Americans. This is according to Gallup's annual Personal Finance poll, updated in April 2007, in which Americans were asked to rate the amount of concern they have about each of several financial problems. The baby boomer generation is retiring and facing up to the fact that not only have they not saved enough, they are living longer, getting less support from the ... Hedge funds confounded by U.S. bond prices
LONDON Hedge funds are still betting on lower prices for U.S. Treasury bonds because they think rising U.S. interest rates will eventually outweigh the strong Asian demand for Treasury issues, according to hedge fund managers. Rising rates would normally mean lower bond prices and higher yields, but it has not happened to any significant degree this time, and many hedge funds, particularly in the United States, are having a tough time. In June 2004, when the U.S. ... Consumer spending drops
By Tim Ahmann Reuters Friday, September 30, 2005; 9:31 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending fell an unexpectedly steep 0.5 percent in August, the biggest drop since November 2001, according to a government report on Friday that also showed a surprise income decline potentially caused by Hurricane Katrina. The fall in spending came as energy prices pushed consumer inflation up 0.5 percent, the largest jump since September 1990, the ... Most US homeowners not overstretched: Greenspan
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , WASHINGTON Wednesday, Sep 28, 2005,Page 12 With new evidence that the housing market remained red-hot last month, US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Monday that the vast majority of homeowners are not yet stretched too thin. But Greenspan warned that the use of "exotic" mortgages could be pushing prices higher and inducing some homebuyers to take on too much risk. Even as he warned about the increasing use of ... Consumer confidence plummets in September
ECONOMY:Some analysts say Americans might be overreacting to rising gas prices after the hurricanes. BY MIKE HUGHLETT CHICAGO TRIBUNE It didn't take a hurricane to dent Jesse Walker's confidence in the economy. For the past few months, the Chicago security guard has been packing a lunch, worried about rising prices. Then Hurricane Katrina hit, gasoline prices skyrocketed, Rita followed and now "everything seems like it doubled," said ... Confidence near two-year low
Latest Conference Board survey shows bigger-than-expected hit from Hurricane Katrina, gas spike. September 27, 2005: 10:44 AM EDT NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer confidence took a much bigger hit than expected in September in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the resulting rise in gasoline prices, as a widely watched index hit its lowest level in nearly two years. The monthly survey from the Conference Board, issued Tuesday, put the confidence index at ... Trade Law Opponents Point to Stats From GAO
Associated Press Tuesday, September 27, 2005; Page A06 Two-thirds of the benefits of a law designed to bolster U.S. companies against unfair foreign trade have gone to just three industries, raising questions about the program's effectiveness, the Government Accountability Office said yesterday. The GAO report said the law, known as the Byrd amendment for its chief sponsor, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), had distributed $1 billion to American companies ... China eases non-dollar float rate
BEIJING - The People's Bank of China (PBoC), China's central bank, announced September 23 that it would increase the float range of the yuan's exchange rate against non-US dollar currencies from the previous 1.5% to 3%. In other words, the exchange rate of the yuan against, for example, the yen or the euro will be allowed to change a maximum of 3%, up or down, in one trading day. The bank, however, did not change the float range of the yuan against the US dollar in the inter-bank ... Return of the right
Poland’s voters have booted their left-leaning government from power after four years marked by scandal and infighting. Can a coalition of conservative, broadly pro-market parties led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski do any better? ANOTHER election, another trouncing for the ruling party. Poland has had ten prime ministers since the country ditched communism in 1989, and it is about to get an eleventh. In the vote held on Sunday September 25th—the first since the country joined the ... U.S.'s Bernanke Is `Pretty Optimistic' About Economy
Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The two hurricanes that battered the southern U.S. over the past month will have a ``relatively modest'' effect on the world's largest economy, the president's chief economic adviser said. ``I remain pretty optimistic about the economy,'' Ben Bernanke, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a speech at a bankers' conference in Washington today. Still, oil prices, which have risen by about 50 percent since the start of the year, ... Fazio, humiliated, still fails to take the hint
The refusal of Italy's central-bank chief, Antonio Fazio, to resign over a banking scandal has led to extraordinary scenes at an international finance meeting in Washington, in which Mr Fazio was openly mocked by Giulio Tremonti, Italy's new finance minister, and then stripped of his authority to represent the country LAST week’s imbroglio in the Italian government—in which the respected finance minister, Domenico Siniscalco, resigned and Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, ... India's First-Qtr GDP Grows 7.1%, Fastest in a Year
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- India's economy expanded at the fastest pace in four quarters, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said, as companies such as Tata Motors Ltd. increased production to meet rising demand at home. Growth in the three months ended June 30 ``has been estimated at 7.1 percent,'' Chidambaram said in a speech to the International Monetary Fund in Washington released today. ``Domestic industry has been vibrant with the manufacturing sector growing at double-digit rates ... Finance: The fringe economy in America
Finance: The fringe economy in America 21 Sep 2005 16:03:58 GMT (Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at lindastern(at)aol.com.) By Linda Stern WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The flooding of New Orleans and environs has given many Americans their first real look at how the other half lives: What it's like to be so poor that you can't afford to get out of town ... US to tell G7 Katrina drag is temporary
US to tell G7 Katrina drag is temporary Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:44 PM BST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will suffer a "noticeable but short-lived" impact from Hurricane Katrina, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday as he outlined the U.S. position ahead of a Group of Seven finance ministers' meeting. But Timothy Adams, under secretary for international affairs, made clear the key message will be that the United States ... Energy costs are biggest economy threat: survey
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lofty energy prices have supplanted terrorism in the eyes of economists as the biggest short-term threat facing the economy, a survey released on Friday showed. The National Association for Business Economics said a survey of 202 of its members found that 30 percent now view energy prices as the biggest risk to growth, up from 11 percent in its last survey in March. In contrast, only 20 percent of the economists surveyed said terrorism was their ... Much of Gulf output back by end-Oct
By Tom Doggett WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may take until the end of October for U.S. oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico to return to near pre-Hurricane Katrina levels, but it will take even longer for that much production to make it to the market, the U.S. government said Friday. Offshore energy companies will have the ability to produce at about 90 percent of pre-storm oil and gas output in 30 to 40 days, said Johnnie Burton, director of the Interior ... Current account gap shrinks
By Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. current account deficit narrowed in the second quarter to $195.7 billion as government transfers declined and the surplus on services grew, Commerce Department data showed on Friday, but the previous quarter's record deficit was revised even higher. The dollar slipped slightly on the news while U.S. government bonds continued their softer tone ahead of the release of the University of Michigan's key survey of consumer ... Negative Equity - A National Disease
Capitalism has many benefits in a free society. It has inherent benefits to those who are creative and willing to work hard. Nowhere else can such a variety of people from many diverse backgrounds and countries succeed by their own efforts. However, sometimes our creative efforts cause serious problems. As a people, we have become enamored of things, possessions, and goods. We want to own the biggest house, the biggest automobile and other possessions without number. And for all ... Like it or Not, Finance Matters, a Lot
Finance. We hear that word thrown around quite a bit and used in phrases like in the world of high finance or financing options are available for those who qualify, but what does it really mean? It doesn’t take an E.F. Hutton or J. Paul Getty to understand that the term finance and variations like financial, financing, financier, and such are related to monetary matters. You may be surprised, however, just how many people have no real idea what is meant by finance. In fact, it’s safe to say ... |
On the web: GE shares soar on plan to scale back finance arm (Reuters via Yahoo! News)General Electric Co said on Tuesday it plans to scale back its hefty finance arm and repeated that it will pay its regular dividend next year, sending shares up 13.6 percent, their biggest one-day percentage gain in more than a quarter century. Harsh words for Clayton finance director, commissioners (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)Clayton County Commissioners took no public action against the finance director Tuesday, but said she has been negligent and insubordinate. GE Rises as Profit Forecast, Finance Plans Keep Dividend Safe (Bloomberg)Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. rose in New York trading after saying fourth-quarter profit would be in line with analysts' estimates and reassuring investors that steps to bolster the finance arm will help protect the dividend. European Finance Officials Tussle Over Stimulus Plan (Update1) (Bloomberg)Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- European Union finance ministers tussled over a plan to cushion their 27-nation economy from the effects of the global recession and may need to revisit the multibillion-euro package later this month. Finance board members take issue with increased treasurer's salary, new job description (Journal Inquirer)EAST WINDSOR — Two Board of Finance members are questioning a proposed $20,000 salary increase for the vacant treasurer's position and a change in its job description, saying both moves should have been discussed in public. Hewlett-Packard to Sell Bonds to Finance EDS Purchase (Update2) (Bloomberg)Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to sell notes to help fund its $13.2 billion purchase of Electronic Data Systems Corp. as technology companies finance themselves with record amounts of corporate bonds. Afghan finance minister 'quits' (BBC News)Afghanistan's Finance Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady submits his resignation to the president, the minister's office says. Hewlett-Packard to Sell Bonds to Finance EDS Purchase (Update1) (Bloomberg)Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. , the world's largest personal-computer maker, plans to sell corporate bonds to repay short-term debt used to finance its $13.2 billion purchase of Electronic Data Systems Corp. European Finance Officials Tussle Over Economic-Stimulus Plan (Bloomberg)Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- European Union finance ministers tussled over a plan to cushion their 27-nation economy from the effects of the global recession. EU finance ministers cautiously approve public spending plan (Deutsche Welle)EU finance ministers have cautiously endorsed a 200 billion euro public spending plan put forward by the EU commission to stave off a recession. |
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