Wall Street reels, NYC braces for tough economy Monday August 4, 12:46 pm ET - By Sara Kugler, Associated Press Writer Nation's economic crisis catches up with NYC; city struggles to keep its footing Lots of other cities and states across the country have already hit the ground with a thud. A wave of mortgage foreclosures, turmoil in the credit markets, rising fuel costs and inflation have caused them to slash budgets, cut services and freeze hiring and consider raising taxes and selling off assets. City budget officials note that New York City's economy has declined slower than in other areas, partly because there have been fewer foreclosures here and because tourism remains strong. But they are feeling the pressure. On top of massive losses and layoffs on Wall Street, the forces pulling at the city include the rising costs of labor contracts, fewer major commercial building sales and a local housing market that has begun to show signs of slowing after months of resisting national trends. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has even dusted off his first-term mantra of "do more with less," a line he repeated over and over during his early days in office, when the city's economy was reeling from the economic blow of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Brazil to invest $5B in deep water oil finds RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazil on Monday announced plans to spend at least $5 billion to develop deep water oil finds, building new ships and hiring rigs as soaring world fuel prices boost demand for drilling equipment. State-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, will spend $5 billion to build 146 ships and plans to hire 40 deep-water drilling rigs and platforms, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told shipbuilders in Niteroi, a harbor town near Rio de Janeiro's coast. Analysts said the additional equipment could cost an extra $15 billion
AP - UN: World economy to grow by 1.8 percent in 2008 Friday May 16, 3:23 am ET - By Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Writer UN: World economy on brink of severe downturn; will only grow by 1.8 percent this year UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The world economy is "teetering on the brink" of a severe downturn and is expected to grow only 1.8 percent in 2008, the United Nations said in its mid-year economic projections Thursday. That's down from a global growth rate of 3.8 percent in 2007, and the downturn is expected to continue with only a slightly higher growth of 2.1 percent in 2009, the U.N. report said. The mid-year update of the U.N. World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008 blamed the downturn on further deterioration in the U.S. housing and financial sectors in the first quarter, which is expected to "continue to be a major drag for the world economy extending into 2009."The U.N. economists said the deepening credit crisis in major market economies triggered by the U.S.-led slump in housing prices, the declining value of the U.S. dollar, persistent global imbalances and soaring oil and commodity prices pose considerable risks to economic growth in both developed and developing countries. "The baseline forecast projects a pace for world economic growth of 1.8 percent in 2008," the U.N. report said. However, it said the final figure will largely depend on developments in the United States.
The Last Days of Cheap ChineseWhy American consumers are about to start paying more for clothes, electronics, toys, and just about everything else. By Alexandra Harney - Posted Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 7:33 AM ET For years, American importers and Chinese factory managers have been having the same conversation. The importers would demand lower prices for products destined for American shelves. Factory managers would counter with a long list of reasons why they needed to charge more. Most of the time, the American importers would prevail, and Wal-Mart shoppers would rejoice. Not anymore. The era of cheap Chinese consumer goods may finally be ending, thanks to irrepressible inflation. Now when the Chinese present their lists, some American importers are conceding higher prices, meaning that American shoppers, for the first time in years, are starting to pick up the tab for rising costs in China. Some Chinese factories are now asking their American customers for price increases of as much as 20 percent to 30 percent.
The top 10 risks for business The greatest strategic challenge facing leading global businesses in 2008 will continue to be regulatory and compliance risks, according to "Strategic business risk: 2008 — the top 10 risks for global business" (pdf, 764kb). This is closely followed by global financial shocks, workforce and consumer aging, and the rise of emerging markets.
The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008 The United States tops the overall ranking in The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008. Switzerland is in second position followed by Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Singapore, respectively. The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum together with its network of Partner Institutes (leading research institutes and business organizations) in the countries covered by the Report. This year, over 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 131 countries.
Google Very Exposed to US Recession--Expert Henry Blodget | February 22, 2008 7:09 AM A digital-ad industry insider thinks Google is far more exposed to a US recession than the market realizes. The insider also thinks that the next two quarters will be "rough." The insider is not a Google employee, but s/he has real-time insight into digital ad spending and is therefore not just talking out of his/her posterior. The insider's view is based on two key assumptions: A significant percentage of Google's customer base is exposed to economic weakness (logic below), and As consumers spend less, the ROI for many Google advertisers will drop--and this will cause them to spend less on Google (We concur with this view, which is still a minority view.)
