Stephen Joseph 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2004 Yahoo.com News See the bolded item. A weak dollar will always entice exports, so it is very good timing that the Fed and Treasury allowed the dollar to weaken during the recession. Now that the economy is coming out of it, having weak currency relative to other countries will drive up our exports, hell, its like a double shot of expresso to the waking economy. A half a percent jump is very, very good. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in May as stronger growth overseas and the weak U.S. dollar helped propel exports to record levels, according to government data on Tuesday. Analysts said the smaller-than-expected trade gap would cause them to boost their second-quarter U.S. economic growth forecast. The May trade gap of $46.0 billion was below a median estimate of $48.3 billion made by Wall Street analysts surveyed before the report. The deficit narrowed for the first time in six months despite the highest prices for imported oil in nearly 22 years, which helped pushed overall imports to a record as well. "The narrowing of the trade balance now looks to provide a favorable impact (on) second-quarter output," said Richard Dekaser, chief economist with National City Corp. in Cleveland. Jim Glassman, senior economist with J.P. Morgan Securities in New York, said the report should prompt forecasters to raise their estimates of second-quarter growth by "a half a point or so," depending on the June trade numbers. The dollar rose against major currencies on the strength of the report, while stock futures indicated the U.S. market would open flat. U.S. exports jumped nearly 3.0 percent to a record $97.1 billion, as overseas companies stepped up purchases of capital goods and industrial materials ranging from civilian aircraft and industrial engines to computers and drilling equipment. U.S. auto and auto part exports also set a record. Despite the smaller monthly trade gap, the annual deficit remained on track to surpass last year's record of $496.5 billion. In the first five months of this year, the trade gap has soared to $231.0 billion from $208.7 billion in the same period last year. U.S. imports increased fractionally in May to a record $143.1 billion, aided by a record oil import bill of $10.5 billion. U.S. imports from OPEC (news - web sites) countries hit a record $7.4 billion and the trade gap with those countries was a record $5.6 billion. CONSUMER DEMAND Strong U.S. consumer demand sucked in record levels of auto and auto imports and also sent imports of food, beverages and animal feeds to a new high. But a separate report on Tuesday showed U.S. chain store sales slowed last week compared with the same time last year, as unseasonable weather continued to cool demand for summertime items. Sales growth remained steady last week, compared with the 0.9 percent increase in the previous week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS said in a joint report. Compared with the same week a year ago, sales increased 3.4 percent, slowing sharply from the 4.4 percent growth pace of the preceding week. The politically sensitive trade deficit with China rose slightly to $12.1 billion as imports from that country leapt to their second highest level on record. U.S. exports to the Asian giant rose more than 6.0 percent to $2.9 billion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vyce 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2004 So, the rich of this country just wind up getting richer, eh? All part of living in George Bush's Two Americas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2004 But where are the REAL jobs, Mr. Smarty Pants?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Joseph 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2004 That's right...economic growth doesn't exist right now. We're living in a recession, people can't find work. No one is hiring. Thanks for reminding me kkk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted July 13, 2004 That's how it is with factory work right now... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2004 Thanks for reminding me kkk Someone's gotta keep the heads of you policy wonks straight. All the jobs are going overseas. Nobody's working. And don't you even start to bring up how the unemployment rate now is the same as '96, because that's just a bunch of right-wing propaganda... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Joseph 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2004 That's how it is with factory work right now... The US hasn't been a manufacturing based economy since at the latest the very early 80s. The same can be said for the carriage industry post-automobile. The fact is: America now operates from a desk. Manufacturing will always be around, but it will continue to be less important to our economy over time, as with all industries given their life-cycle. Newer, higher paying, better utility-maximizing sectors are innovated (see: Computers, Internet) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Justice 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2004 Come on, SJ, come back to reality! We need to protect our textiles! Textiles, I tell you! Well, back to watching the stocks... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted July 14, 2004 Yeah, fuck those people who make stuff anyway. Lets all answer phones and type. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stephen Joseph 0 Report post Posted July 14, 2004 (edited) Exactly, that type of work should be left for people who don't speak English. /Okay that was sarcasm. In reality, if we can get better returns to our labor somewhere else, let's put labor in that. We'll always have farming/manu, just they'll have lesser shares over time. Other economies that aren't as developed (more like, behind) will be at a stage to take over said production Edited July 14, 2004 by Stephen Joseph Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
