The beginning of the end August 3, 2009
Posted by Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong in : Economics, US Economy , add a commentNew GDP figures suggest some hope for America’s economy. But the pain is far from over
FIGURES released by America’s Commerce Department on Friday July 31st confirmed what most had expected: America’s economy suffered yet another quarter of falling output in the three months to the end of June. The world’s largest economy shrank at an annual rate of 1% in the second quarter. At least as of June 30th, America’s economy was still contracting, thus the country’s deepest post-war recession was not over.
But the news has been greeted with something approaching relief. For one thing, the decline was smaller than many economists had predicted, and a lot less than the dramatic 6.4% annual rate of contraction of the previous three-month period. For another, there are reasons to hope that conditions improved in July. And some newly released data about earlier months give reasons to cheer too.
These suggest that the decline in economic activity may have bottomed out at last. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of house prices in America’s 20 largest cities rose for the first time since July 2006 in May, by 0.5%. Americans also bought more houses in June than they did in May: sales of new single-family homes rose by 11%. All of this suggests things are getting brighter in the troubled housing market.
New foundation, walls intact June 19, 2009
Posted by Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong in : Banking, US Economy , add a commentA much-trailed financial overhaul is a curious mix of audacity and timidity
EVEN Merton Miller, a Nobel prize-winning economist with a passion for financial arcana, found it “deadly dull”. But if ever there was a week when financial regulation set pulses racing, this was surely it—at least for those too young to remember the great reforms of the Depression.
This way out June 9, 2009
Posted by Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong in : Banking, Economics, US Economy , add a commentJun 4th 2009 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition
The Federal Reserve weighs plans to unwind its unconventional stimulus
A FIREFIGHTER’S first rule of survival is “know your way out”. The same can be said of financial firefighting. Though it has no intention of exiting soon, the Federal Reserve is planning its path out from the extraordinary measures it has taken to free credit markets and boost demand.
Knocked off balance May 24, 2009
Posted by Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong in : Banking, Economics, US Economy , add a commentA once-glittering business loses its shine
CREDIT-CARD borrowers who roll over a portion of their balance each month are known as revolvers. These days lenders are in a spin as they struggle to cope with write-offs, a regulatory crackdown and changes in consumer behaviour.
On May 18th American Express, a credit- and charge-card giant, announced a second round of job cuts (bringing the total to 11,000), slashed its marketing and business-development budgets and offered a “very cautious” outlook. A few days earlier Advanta, a provider of cards to small businesses, froze all existing accounts after charge-offs (uncollectable debt) reached a dizzying 20%. The shutdown sent a shiver through the market for bonds backed by credit-card debt, which is only now starting to recover from the ravaging securitised assets took last year.
The U.S. Is Losing Its Lead in Patents May 12, 2009
Posted by Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong in : Economics, US Economy , add a commentInnovation is coming from abroad these days, and foreign applications are coming faster and faster
When it comes to U.S. patents, America is no longer No.1. Last year, for the first time, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office issued more patents to foreigners than to Americans. And the rest of the world is expected to widen its lead over the U.S. as manufacturing and research and development continue to migrate to emerging markets.
Off their trolleys May 8, 2009
Posted by Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong in : Economics, US Economy , add a commentMay 7th 2009 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition
Consumer spending may have hit bottom, but America’s mountain of debt means the climb back up will be slow and painful
CONFLICTING news this week from California, one of the centres of the housing bust. Just north of Los Angeles, a Texas bank was tearing down a half-built development of luxury houses that had fallen into its hands. With the market for flashy homes dead, the bank reckoned it made more financial sense to destroy them than to complete them.
Obama poised to sign stimulus into law February 18, 2009
Posted by Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong in : US Economy , 1 comment so far
President Barack Obama is poised to sign into law the most sweeping economic package in decades, a rescue plan designed to create millions of jobs, spur consumer spending and revive the nation’s outlook.
Capping the biggest victory of his month-old administration, Obama will sign the economic legislation Tuesday in Denver.
Dr Varanyu Suchivoraphanpong