China unveiled yesterday (Sunday) what it described as a “massive” economic stimulus package – a planned capital infusion of $586 billion that it plans to use to reverse its slowing growth, to loosen credit and to offset slowing global growth by stoking domestic demand.
Central banks around the world yesterday (Wednesday) announced a coordinated reduction of their respective interest rates in a bid to restore investor confidence and put an end to the worst market rout since the Depression era. However, analysts and investors alike are skeptical that even the largest coordinated effort by central banks since Sept. 11 will be enough to save the economy from a severe recession.
Analysts are trumpeting the recent drop in oil prices as a step toward normalcy. But is this celebration premature? Or perhaps even misplaced? After all, we all know that over the long haul, energy prices are headed in only one direction – higher.
Although consumers and businesses have gotten a bit of a reprieve at the gas pump as of late, says William Patalon in Money Morning, the escalation in oil prices we’ve seen over the past year has led to some major changes in overall consumer behavior. Many car-owners have dumped their gas-guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs at the nearest used-car lot and used the proceeds to buy some gas-sipping rides.
With oil trading near a three-month low (and corn now at a four-month low), U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers may have just the ammunition they need to hold the line on interest rates for the foreseeable future – or at least until their Sept. 16 policymaking meeting.
The U.S. economy is certifiably lousy, says Lynn Carpenter in Investor’s Daily Edge. Many businesses are looking for a turnaround. There are many factors affecting the success of a turnaround. A company needs to have a clear direction of what it is and where it is going. And it needs a brand name that has not been dragged through the mud. More from Lynn…
Washington has dug a trillion-dollar hole. Fortunately, select puts offer traders a million-dollar shovel to dig themselves out. Sometimes it seems that public prominence magnifies our oh-so-human flaws. Bad habits and character defects that we all share become crises that can destroy a company, a market or even an economy.
New Home Sales Plummet; Mexico Staves off U.S. Slowdown; Monsanto Reaps Big Rewards; MasterCard Pays AmEx $1.8 Billion; Buffett Concerned About Stagflation; Reduced Damages for Exxon; Nike Strong in Asia; More Cuts for Penney’s.
Online retail sales continue to defy the economic downturn while their brick-and-mortar counterparts struggle. But while online sales continue to grow, the rate of growth is slowing.
You can bet there will be a lot of discussion about interest rates this week, thanks to the release of the producer price index (PPI) report tomorrow (Tuesday) and the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Wednesday.