Economy | News-Opinion
TOP NEWS: Economy: October 4th, 2012
- Where politics and the economy collide
- Growth Slowing at U.S. Retailers
- Lawmakers Plan Huddle for Debt Talks
- Factory Orders Fell 5.2% in August
- Retail Hiring Weakens in September
Excerpts and More Top News and Analysis:
ECONOMY/POLITICS: Where politics and the economy collide - FT
The 2012 election is boiling down to one topic – the economy
ECONOMY: Breaking Down the Economic Plans – WSJ
Analysis: Romney advisor Glenn Hubbard and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich assess the candidates’ remarks on tax deductions, budget deficits and growth.
ECONOMY: Innovation drives America’s reinvention - FT
JOHN GAPPER: From looking lost in telecoms and energy, the US has recovered and race ahead of competition.
ECONOMIC GROWTH: US data point to impetus in economy – FT
Robust job and mortgage figures hailed as signs of momentum.
RETAIL SLOWDOWN: Growth Slowing at U.S. Retailers - WSJ
U.S. retail sales experienced a more-subdued performance in September after two months of strength as back-to-school buying wound down and shoppers took a pre-holiday breather.
RETAIL: Malls See Fewer Vacancies - WSJ
Vacancies declined at U.S. malls and held steady at strip shopping centers in the third quarter as landlords attracted new retailers to fill space as stalwarts such as Best Buy and Office Depot closed stores or shifted to smaller ones.
FISCAL CLIFF: Lawmakers Plan Huddle for Debt Talks – WSJ
A bipartisan group of senators plans to meet to draft a deficit-reduction plan to avoid spending cuts due to start Jan. 2, 2013.
FISCAL CLIFF: The Federal Budget Sequester Is Coming, and It Won’t Be Pretty - BROOKINGS
With less than three months before the budget sequester is scheduled to take effect, negotiations are underway on Capitol Hill to delay—or possibly avoid—deep, across-the-board budget cuts to hundreds of defense and domestic programs. According to Ron Haskins, sequestration is a poor policy choice for reducing the deficit, but there is no way to cut spending at the magnitude necessary to address the nation’s debt without inflicting pain.
MANUFACTURING: Factory Orders Fell 5.2% in August - WSJ
U.S. factory orders fell 5.2% to $452.81 billion in August, the largest drop in more than three years, as demand for aircraft and cars declined. Separately, jobless claims rose by 4,000 last week, but the longer-run trend remained steady.
JOBS/RETAIL: Retail Hiring Weakens in September, Raising Concerns About Holiday Season – WSJ
Retail hiring activity continued to weaken in September, reflecting broader labor-market troubles, in what could be a worrisome development for the upcoming holiday season.
JOBS/OUTSOURCING: Hope for the disillusioned US heartland – FT
The Brics story presents opportunities, not only challenges, writes Matthew Slaughter
JOBS: After the Presidential Debate, Watch Friday’s Jobs Report – BARRON’S
Romney’s odds of winning jumps, but Obama retains a solid lead. The September employment data may tilt probabilities further.
REGULATION/JP MORGAN: Money, Power and the Rule of Law - NYT
SIMON JOHNSON: New York’s attorney general is standing up to banking interests with his complaint against JPMorgan Chase, and whether he wins support from other government quarters will be telling.
REGULATION: Bank-Friendly U.S. Regulator Shifts Focus to Revamp Reputation - BLOOMBERG
In a stately hearing room stuffed with senators and bankers, Thomas Curry began his apologies. His agency should have stopped a major bank from helping drug cartels launder cash. The violations went on for years while his agency was overly passive.
REGULATION: Why Should Regulators Have to Listen to You? - BLOOMBERG
The U.S. Bill of Rights declares that no one may be deprived of life, liberty or property “without due process of law.” The core meaning of this provision is that the government cannot hurt you — by taking away your freedom or what you own — without giving you an opportunity to have your say.
TAX REFORM: Obama vs. Volcker, Et Al. – WSJ
The President’s advisers agree with Romney on a territorial tax reform.
INVESTING: ‘Dumb Money’ Is Staring Most of Us in the Face - BLOOMBERG
Financial pros have a long history of sneering at mom and pop investors as “the dumb money,” all the while cashing in on commissions each time a sucker sells at the bottom or buys at the top. Now the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has made it official: The investing public doesn’t know what it is doing.
LENDING/SMALL BUSINESS: Small Businesses Find Unlikely Banker: Amazon - WSJ
Amazon has made pitches to some small-business merchants, offering them loans from Amazon Capital Services.
LENDING/MORTGAGES: Old Mortgages Slow New Bank Lending – WSJ
A battle over who gets stuck with tens of billions worth of bad housing loans made during the boom years explains why many Americans still can’t get a mortgage as interest rates hit a new low.
LENDING Servicer Ocwen Tries Hand at Lending - WSJ
Ocwen Financial, whose knack for profiting on Wall Street’s mortgage castoffs has made it a stock-market darling, now aims to beat the banks at their own game with a foray into home lending.
ENERGY: Standoff at Pump Over New Fuel – WSJ
The U.S. ethanol industry’s latest push to expand is off to a slow start, with many gas-station owners wary about a new gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol.
HP: H.P.’s Chief Says a Revival Is Unlikely Before 2016 – NYT
Meg Whitman told a meeting of Wall Street analysts that they should expect sharply lower revenue and profits. Her statements led the company’s stock to drop almost 13 percent.
WHISTLEBLOWER: Ex-D.C. employee files whistleblower complaint – WP
The city’s former environmental director said he was wrongly fired by Mayor Vincent C. Gray for voicing concern over an effort to delay a multibillion project.
FED: Bernanke May Owe Milton and Anna Another Apology - BLOOMBERG
“I would like to say to Milton and Anna: Regarding the Great Depression. You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.”
MILITARY CONTRACTS: Why camouflage uniforms aren’t uniform - WP
Service rivalries have led to a proliferation of patterns.
BUSINESS NEWS & ANALYSIS
FACEBOOK: Facebook Reaches One Billion Monthly Active Users - REUTERS
The company, which has seen its shares slide since its initial public offering in May, said it hit the one billion milestone on Sept. 14 and added that it had 600 million mobile users.
APPLE: Surprise, surprise, Apple is being sued again - WP
A San Diego gaming and restaurant software company is suing Apple for infringing four of its patents in the new iOS 6 Passbook app.
MOBILE: Sprint’s Missed Opportunity - WSJ
Sprint may have blown its chance to better compete against industry giants AT&T and Verizon Wireless after the carrier lost out to T-Mobile USA on the MetroPCS deal.
MOBILE: AT&T Set to Sell First Nokia Windows 8 Phone for U.S. - BLOOMBERG
AT&T Inc., the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, will announce plans today to sell Nokia Oyj’s first device running on Windows Phone 8 software for the U.S. market, two people with knowledge of the plan said.
GOOGLE: Google Flags More Motorola Cuts - WSJ
Google said it is expanding its plan to cut jobs from its Motorola Mobility unit outside the U.S. and will take $390 million in charges related to the layoffs.
FOOD: Unilever Said to Put Skippy Peanut Butter Brand Up for Sale - BLOOMBERG
Unilever is looking for a buyer for its Skippy peanut butter brand, which may fetch $300 million to $400 million, as it pares its food business to focus on faster- growing health and beauty products, said two people with knowledge of the matter.
The Common Good publishes a U.S. domestic news digest every weekday, available here.
