 | | | Recession Signs | Page 1 Page 2 | The greatest job losses continue to center on the construction and manufacturing sectors, which have been shedding workers continually for almost two years. Retail, services and transportation are going to be hit as well. The latest cutbacks in the auto industry, where Ford and General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) have been hammered by soaring fuel and steel prices, have further dimmed an already gloomy employment outlook. | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Contains labor related statistics compiled by the BLS. | US auto sales slump to 16-year low in July
Friday August 1, 6:53 pm ET -By Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer
US auto sales slump to 16-year low as automakers try to meet demand shift, lease troubles loom
DETROIT (AP) -- U.S. auto sales slumped to a 16-year low in July as automakers failed to keep up with consumers' growing demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. While production changes may help that problem, trouble in the credit and auto leasing markets will continue to take a toll on sales.
General Motors, Ford, Toyota and other automakers said Friday that their U.S. sales fell by double-digits. Nissan Motor Co. was the only major automaker to report a gain, with truck sales up 18 percent thanks in part to the new Rogue crossover and a boost in incentives. Nissan's overall sales rose 8.5 percent. | Viacom: Ad Market So Bad We're Not Making Predictions Anymore
Michael Learmonth | July 29, 2008 6:58 PM
CEO Philippe Dauman learned his lesson in Q2: he's better off not making predictions in this ad market. On May 29, with one month left in Q2, Dauman warned that Viacom wouldn't be delivering the 7% year-over-year Q1 advertising growth again in the second quarter. Rather, he said, ad sales growth would be in the 3% to 4% range.
Well, it was worse than he thought. Much worse. Apparently sales fell off a cliff in June, and Viacom turned in 1% ad sales growth in the U.S. and just 2% overall, including international.
What happened? Big advertising pullbacks happened in retail, automotive and some consumer goods. "In the short term, the economy is going to be difficult to predict," Dauman said.
The big question is whether the dropoff in June will impact upfront ad commitments made by advertisers for the coming TV season. Viacom had a strong upfront, but those are commitments -- not firm orders. The handshake deals turn into orders in the third quarter. Unless they don't. | Half-Built Subdivisions, Modern-Day Ghost Towns | | Jobless claims jump as housing market gets weaker
Thursday July 24, 4:31 pm ET - By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Weekly jobless claims top 400,000 as housing prices take a sharp drop and sales slow. The bleak reports underscored the self-reinforcing cycle hampering the economy: As home prices sink, foreclosures rise, banks feel pressure to shy away from lending and employers cut jobs. | National Review of Real Estate Markets - Local Market Monitor
Reviews of 100 residential real estate markets in the US. | "We're in a borderline recession situation by any standard," one economic forecaster told the LA Times.
Unemployment, oil prices advance, piling on economy
May's jobless rate jumps to 5.5% and crude leaps to $138 a barrel, battering hopes for a rebound.
By Maura Reynolds and Walter Hamilton, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
June 7, 2008
Economists looking for signs of trouble found a double dose of it Friday, as unemployment surged and the price of crude oil soared to a record high. Stocks went into a tailspin, with the Dow Jones industrials plunging nearly 400 points.
| Recession danger receding?
Get the inside scoop on the financial markets as FT investment editor John Authers offers his views of current trends in the Short View video series. | AP - Fed sees slower growth, higher unemployment in '08
Wednesday May 21, 3:24 pm ET - By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Fed sees slower growth, higher unemployment this year; but probably not more rate cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply lowered its projection for economic growth this year, citing blows from the housing and credit debacles along with zooming energy prices. It also expects higher unemployment and inflation.
Wall Street tumbled in response. But Fed officials, even with the more downbeat assessment, left the impression that they would not be inclined to cut interest rates further. The decision at the Fed's last meeting on April 29-30 to reduce rates was a "close call," according to minutes of those private deliberations released Wednesday. | CNBC - Merrill: More Analysts Fear Inflation Than Recession
Wednesday May 14, 1:37 pm ET
Inflation fears are beginning to trump recession worries. That was the finding of Merrill Lynch's latest monthly global fund manager survey, which shows the number of managers expecting recession this year actually declined. | Many states appear to be in recession
Friday April 25, 6:06 am ET
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Associated Press Writer
Many states appear to be in recession; tax revenue is dropping and deficits are growing
The finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes. | Massive Job Losses in Constuction, Real Estate, Mortgage and Finance Sector | Business
Workers Get Fewer Hours, Deepening the Downturn
By PETER S. GOODMAN Published: April 18, 2008
Shrinking of hours and pay for millions of workers appears to be a bigger contributor to the economic decline than loss of jobs and the risk of layoffs. | U.S. economy has weakened since mid-March: Beige Book
By Greg Robb. Last update: 2:00 p.m. EDT April 16, 2008 - WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Economic conditions have weakened across the nation, according to the Federal Reserve's most up-to-date report released Wednesday. Consumer spending has fizzled out, labor market conditions are worsening, and manufacturing activity is treading water, according to the Fed's Beige Book collection of anectodal information from its 12 regional banks. At the same time, inflation appears to be strengthening, the report said. There is no sign of pickup in housing and credit conditions were seen as worsening. Banks are tightening standards at the same time consumer demand is weakening for loans. One bright spot is that foreign visitors are flocking to the U.S. to take advantage of the low value of the dollar relative to the currencies of major trading partners | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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