Quarter of Mississippians struggled to afford food last year

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Quarter of Mississippians struggled to afford food last year

Quarter of Mississippians struggled to afford food last year

At Alternate Viewpoint, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us (See this article to learn more about Privacy Policies.). This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by Alternate Viewpoint and how it is used.

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Quarter of Mississippians struggled to afford food last year

At least 14 killed in suicide attack on restaurant in Kabul diplomatic quarter

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At least 14 killed in suicide attack on restaurant in Kabul diplomatic quarter

CORRECTED-Mexico posts wider current account deficit in 3rd quarter

CORRECTED-Mexico posts wider current account deficit in 3rd quarter
http://currenteconomictrendsandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/083c8__p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif

MEXICO CITY Mon Nov 25, 2013 10:12am EST

MEXICO CITY Nov 25 (Reuters) – Mexico’s current account deficit was $ 5.457 billion in the third quarter, widening slightly from the second quarter, the central bank said on Monday

The deficit was the equivalent of 1.7 percent of gross domestic product, according to a statement posted on the central bank’s website.

Reuters: Bonds News

Read more about CORRECTED-Mexico posts wider current account deficit in 3rd quarter and other interesting subjects concerning Bonds at TheDailyNewsReport.com

UPDATE 1-UniCredit profit falls 40 pct in "challenging" quarter

UPDATE 1-UniCredit profit falls 40 pct in "challenging" quarter
http://currenteconomictrendsandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/06576__p-89EKCgBk8MZdE.gif

Mon Nov 11, 2013 12:45pm EST

(Adds details from statement)

* Q3 net bang in line with bank-provided consensus

* Q3 loan loss provisions at 1.6 billion euros

* Basel III-compliant capital ratio 9.83 percent

MILAN, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Net profit at UniCredit, Italy’s No.1 bank by assets, fell 40 percent in the third quarter to 204 million euros ($ 274 million), buoyed by the sale of insurance operations in Turkey.

Revenues fell 8.5 percent and fees also dropped in what CEO Federico Ghizzoni said in a statement was a “particularly challenging third quarter, not only due to seasonality”.

The net profit, which compared with 335 million euros in the same quarter last year, was bang in line with an analyst consensus of 203 million euros, posted on the bank’s website.

UniCredit said in a statement it had made a net capital gain of 181 million euros from the sale of Turkish insurance business Yapi Kredi.

The bank said that sale and “a very strong” contribution from its central and eastern European businesses had helped results, while its Italian commercial banking operations had posted a loss of 165 million euros in the quarter.

Highlighting the challenges it faces in its recession-hit home country, UniCredit said that out of 1.6 billion euros of loan loss provisions booked in the three months to September, 1.1 billion euros were in Italy.

However, Ghizzoni reiterated the bank had started to see “some initial encouraging signs of recovery” in the euro zone’s third biggest economy.

Despite the weak operating trends, UniCredit – the first top Italian lender to publish third-quarter results this week – managed to strengthen its capital base.

Its Basel III-compliant capital ratio stood at 9.83 percent from 9.72 percent at the end of June. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Louise Ireland and Stephen Jewkes)

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Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate

Read more about UPDATE 1-UniCredit profit falls 40 pct in "challenging" quarter and other interesting subjects concerning Real Estate at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Japan growth slows in second quarter, adds to sales tax uncertainty

1 of 4. A fishmonger tends to his store in Tokyo August 12, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Issei Kato

By Leika Kihara and Stanley White

TOKYO | Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:11am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate in the second quarter, offering ammunition to those seeking to delay a scheduled sales tax increase even as government debt has risen past 1,000 trillion yen ($ 10.4 trillion).

Capital expenditure unexpectedly fell for a sixth straight quarter, a sign that companies are yet to boost spending despite the feel-good mood generated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reflationary policies over the first half of 2013.

The world’s third-largest economy grew an annualized 2.6 percent in April-June, a third straight quarter of expansion but below both a forecast of 3.6 percent growth and a downwardly revised 3.8 percent rate in the first quarter.

“Private consumption came out stronger than expected but capital spending and inventory disappointed,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

“Growth above 2 percent is still considered high, so it wouldn’t lead to a complete postponement of the sales tax hike. But the government could make tax hikes more incremental, without delaying the timing.”

The Nikkei 225 share average fell to a six-week low on the weaker than expected data, with analysts saying confidence was hit by the combination of weak capital spending and the expected sales tax increase affecting consumption.

Abe was elected last December on a platform of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus to revive Japan’s economy.

An immediate impact of ‘Abenomics’ was a sharp weakening of the yen, a surge in share prices and exceptionally strong personal consumption in early 2013, but there are questions over his commitment to the third leg – structural reform.

As part of efforts to curb its debt, which is about double the size of its GDP, Japan is due to raise its 5 percent sales tax rate to 8 percent next April and then to 10 percent in October 2015

Public debt exceeded 1 quadrillion yen — or 1,000 trillion yen — for the first time in June, Finance Ministry data shows, highlighting the need for higher taxes or other new revenue.

But the GDP data may weaken the case for the tax hike, and sources have said Abe is worried it may dampen spending and delay Japan’s escape from 15 year of deflation.

“Growth is lower than I expected, so you cannot say that the conditions are appropriate to raise taxes as scheduled,” Etsuro Honda, a professor at Shizuoka University and an influential adviser to Abe, told Reuters.

STRONG SPENDING, WEAK INVESTMENT

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, Japan’s economy grew 0.6 percent in April-June, data released by the Cabinet Office showed on Monday. External demand added 0.2 percentage point to growth, while domestic demand contributed 0.5 point.

Private consumption rose 0.8 percent from the March quarter, more than a median market forecast of a 0.5 percent increase, on robust spending on food, travel and consumer electronics.

But capital expenditure slid 0.1 percent, much weaker than a median market forecast for a 0.7 percent increase and marking the sixth straight quarter of decline.

“The economy has been steadily rising since inauguration of the Abe administration last year,” Abe told reporters.

“I’ll continue to take all possible care about the economy. I’d like to focus on the economy, including implementation of further growth strategies in the autumn.”

Government officials have said the preliminary GDP data and revised figures due on September 9 would be key factors in the tax debate, with a final decision possible by early October.

Critics of the planned two-stage tax hike are calling for a delay or at least a more moderate pace of increase.

Honda has repeatedly said he favors raising the sales tax by 1 percent per year and that he is worried about Japan’s progress in escaping 15 years of mild deflation.

But Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has said the tax hikes are needed and would not hurt the economy. Kuroda has also said Japan can raise taxes and still escape deflation.

($ 1 = 96.2550 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto, Shinichi Saoshiro and Chris Gallagher; Editing by John Mair)

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Reuters: Most Read Articles

Japan growth slows in second quarter, adds to sales tax uncertainty

Greek economy shrinks 4.6 percent in second quarter

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s economy shrank at annual pace of 4.6 percent in the second quarter, contributing to a slump of more than 20 percent in real terms since 2008.

Reuters: Top News

Greek economy shrinks 4.6 percent in second quarter

U.S. economy likely lost step in second quarter; expected to regain pace

The U.S. flag waves in the breeze above one of the entrances to the New York Stock Exchange, November 19, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Chip East

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON | Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:28am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. economic growth likely slowed sharply in the second quarter, but it is poised to regain momentum as the burden brought on by belt-tightening in Washington eases.

Gross domestic product probably grew at a 1.0 percent annual rate, a step back from the first-quarter’s 1.8 percent pace, according to a Reuters survey of economists. Some said growth could be even weaker, with forecasts ranging as low as 0.4 percent.

Tighter fiscal policy, a slow pace of inventory accumulation and sluggish global demand, which has dampened exports, are seen as having hobbled the economy in the April-June period.

“The economy only had a couple of legs to stand on, consumers and housing, but conditions are falling into place for a stronger second half of the year,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester Pennsylvania.

The Commerce Department will release the second-quarter GDP report at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

If economists’ forecasts are proved right, it would mark a third straight quarter of GDP growth below 2 percent, a pace that normally would be too soft to bring down unemployment.

But given the backward-looking nature of the GDP report, it is not likely to have any impact on monetary policy.

Federal Reserve officials, wrestling with a decision on the future of their $ 85 billion per month bond-buying program, will probably nod to the second quarter’s weakness when they wind-up a two-day meeting on Wednesday. But they are also expected to chalk up much of the weakness to temporary factors, such as the drag from fiscal policy and a smaller build-up of business inventories.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the central bank was likely to start curtailing the bond purchases later this year and would probably bring them to a complete halt by the middle of 2014, if the economy progressed as expected.

“Even with a relatively soft GDP number, the Fed still appears confident in their outlook and the prospects of the labor market going forward,” said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It looks like they are positioned to make their announcement, come late this year.”

SILVER LINING IN REVISIONS?

While U.S. financial markets have already priced in a weak second-quarter GDP reading, comprehensive revisions to the data might present a silver lining for the economy.

The government has implemented some changes in how it calculates GDP. For example, research and development spending will now be treated as investment, and defined benefit pension plans will be measured on an accrual basis, rather than as cash.

Economists say these changes will not only reveal a bigger economy and a higher rate of saving, but they could lead to an upward revision of 2012 growth as well.

“There’s a distinct possibility that real GDP growth over the past four quarters will be upgraded,” said Maury Harris, chief economist at UBS in New York.

“In addition, history suggests that the originally published personal saving rate will be revised up, which would calm some concerns about under-saving consumers holding back their upcoming expenditures.”

Economists said the revisions would probably narrow the gap between a relatively strong pace of job gains and weak growth, a misalignment they said the Fed was monitoring.

Higher taxes, as Washington tries to shrink the government’s budget deficit, likely constrained consumer spending in the second quarter, keeping the economy on an anemic growth pace.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is expected to have slowed to a less than 2 percent pace after rising at a 2.6 percent rate in the first quarter.

That could bring the contribution from consumer spending far below the 1.8 percentage points it added in the first quarter.

With domestic demand tepid, businesses likely tried to keep their inventories from bulging. Inventory accumulation is expected to have made only a modest contribution to growth.

Other details of the report are expected to show exports weighed on the economy as demand weakened in Europe and China. Trade is expected to have subtracted more than half-a-percentage point from GDP growth in the second quarter.

Good news is expected from the housing sector, with double-digit growth forecast for spending on residential construction. Housing, which triggered the 2007-09 recession, is growing strongly, helping to keep the economic recovery anchored.

Business spending on equipment and software likely continued a steady march upward, with investment in nonresidential structures rebounding from a decline in the first quarter.

Government spending, however, is expected to have contracted for a third straight quarter, largely because of the across-the-board spending cuts in Washington.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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Reuters: Most Read Articles

U.S. economy likely lost step in second quarter; expected to regain pace

US economic growth likely weakened in 2nd quarter

WASHINGTON (AP) — A report Wednesday is expected to show the U.S. economy barely grew from April through June. But economists are hopeful that the weak second quarter is a temporary lull that gives way to stronger growth in the second half of the year.

Higher tax increases and steep government spending cuts probably did their worst damage to the economy in the second quarter. As their impact fades, solid job gains, more business spending and a steady recovery in housing should help accelerate growth.

Economists forecast that growth slowed in the April-June quarter to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of just 1 percent, according to a survey by FactSet. That’s below the sluggish pace of 1.8 percent in the January-March quarter.

The Commerce Department will release the first estimate of gross domestic product, or GDP, for the second quarter at 8:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday. GDP is the broadest measure of the output of goods and services, including everything from manicures to industrial machinery.

Most economists say growth is already starting to pick up. And many are predicting annual growth rates of between 2 percent and 3 percent in the third and fourth quarters.

There are threats to the better outlook. Unemployment is still high at 7.6 percent, limiting consumer spending. And budget fights in Washington could lead to a government shutdown this fall, potentially disrupting the economy.

Still, recent data have been encouraging.

“More and more of the economic tea leaves are pointing in the same direction: toward a growth revival ahead,” Scott Anderson, chief economist at the Bank of the West, said.

Home construction, sales and prices have been growing since early last year. Americans purchased newly built homes in June at the fastest pace in five years. That’s raised builder confidence to a seven-year high, which should lead to increases in construction and more jobs.

Overall hiring has accelerated this year. Employers have added an average of 202,000 jobs a month from January through June. That’s up from 180,000 in the previous six months.

Better hiring has started to boost inflation-adjusted incomes after several years of stagnant wages. Joe Carson, chief U.S. economist at AllianceBernstein, a mutual fund company, calculates that average hourly pay rose at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2008. That was comfortably ahead of inflation, at just 1 percent.

And business spending has started to increase. Companies have ordered more industrial machinery and other equipment for four months in a row. As those orders are filled, factory production should increase.

Manufacturing is also benefiting from strong auto sales. They topped 7.8 million in the first six months of 2013, the best first-half total since 2007. Analysts expect sales will stay strong for the rest of the year.

Carson notes that housing and autos were the primary sources of growth in the second quarter. Both have benefited from the Federal Reserve’s low interest-rate policies. Those sectors usually rebound early in recoveries. But after the Great Recession ended in June 2009, they were held back by tight credit and cash-strapped consumers.

“It’s almost like a traditional recovery is just starting, even though we’re in the fifth year,” Carson said.

Federal Reserve officials have forecast better growth in the second half of the year. And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the central bank could begin to scale back its bond purchases later this year if the economy strengthens. But Fed officials typically put greater weight on employment and inflation data than the GDP figures.

The Fed concludes a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, at which point it could clarify its interest-rate policies.

Most economists blame tax increases and government spending cuts for the sluggish second quarter. Higher taxes slowed consumer spending. And government cuts subtracted nearly a full percentage point from growth at the start of the year.

Even so, the solid pace of hiring suggests the economy is doing better than the growth figures show. Tax receipts have been stronger. Faster growth in the second half of the year would help close those gaps.

The government is also expected to release comprehensive revisions on Wednesday. Roughly every five years, the department incorporates more recent data and adjusts how it calculates GDP.

The revisions will likely show growth was faster in the first quarter and last year than previously estimated, economist say. Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, estimates the revisions could add up to a half-point to last year’s 2.2 percent growth rate.

The revisions will also alter GDP data all the way back to 1929. In one major change, the government plans to count spending on research and development as investment, rather than as a regular cost of doing business. That, along with other changes, will boost the level of GDP in 2007 by about 3 percent, or $ 450 billion. It isn’t likely to significantly change the pace of growth in recent years.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Top Headlines

US economic growth likely weakened in 2nd quarter

U.S. economy likely lost step in second quarter; expected to regain pace

The U.S. flag waves in the breeze above one of the entrances to the New York Stock Exchange, November 19, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Chip East

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON | Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:08am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. economic growth likely slowed sharply in the second quarter, but it is poised to regain momentum as the burden brought on by belt-tightening in Washington eases.

Gross domestic product probably grew at a 1.0 percent annual rate, a step back from the first-quarter’s 1.8 percent pace, according to a Reuters survey of economists. Some said growth could be even weaker, with forecasts ranging as low as 0.4 percent.

Tighter fiscal policy, a slow pace of inventory accumulation and sluggish global demand, which has dampened exports, are seen as having hobbled the economy in the April-June period.

“The economy only had a couple of legs to stand on, consumers and housing, but conditions are falling into place for a stronger second half of the year,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester Pennsylvania.

The Commerce Department will release the second-quarter GDP report at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

If economists’ forecasts are proved right, it would mark a third straight quarter of GDP growth below 2 percent, a pace that normally would be too soft to bring down unemployment.

But given the backward-looking nature of the GDP report, it is not likely to have any impact on monetary policy.

Federal Reserve officials, wrestling with a decision on the future of their $ 85 billion per month bond-buying program, will probably nod to the second quarter’s weakness when they wind-up a two-day meeting on Wednesday. But they are also expected to chalk up much of the weakness to temporary factors, such as the drag from fiscal policy and a smaller build-up of business inventories.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the central bank was likely to start curtailing the bond purchases later this year and would probably bring them to a complete halt by the middle of 2014, if the economy progressed as expected.

“Even with a relatively soft GDP number, the Fed still appears confident in their outlook and the prospects of the labor market going forward,” said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It looks like they are positioned to make their announcement, come late this year.”

SILVER LINING IN REVISIONS?

While U.S. financial markets have already priced in a weak second-quarter GDP reading, comprehensive revisions to the data might present a silver lining for the economy.

The government has implemented some changes in how it calculates GDP. For example, research and development spending will now be treated as investment, and defined benefit pension plans will be measured on an accrual basis, rather than as cash.

Economists say these changes will not only reveal a bigger economy and a higher rate of saving, but they could lead to an upward revision of 2012 growth as well.

“There’s a distinct possibility that real GDP growth over the past four quarters will be upgraded,” said Maury Harris, chief economist at UBS in New York.

“In addition, history suggests that the originally published personal saving rate will be revised up, which would calm some concerns about under-saving consumers holding back their upcoming expenditures.”

Economists said the revisions would probably narrow the gap between a relatively strong pace of job gains and weak growth, a misalignment they said the Fed was monitoring.

Higher taxes, as Washington tries to shrink the government’s budget deficit, likely constrained consumer spending in the second quarter, keeping the economy on an anemic growth pace.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is expected to have slowed to a less than 2 percent pace after rising at a 2.6 percent rate in the first quarter.

That could bring the contribution from consumer spending far below the 1.8 percentage points it added in the first quarter.

With domestic demand tepid, businesses likely tried to keep their inventories from bulging. Inventory accumulation is expected to have made only a modest contribution to growth.

Other details of the report are expected to show exports weighed on the economy as demand weakened in Europe and China. Trade is expected to have subtracted more than half-a-percentage point from GDP growth in the second quarter.

Good news is expected from the housing sector, with double-digit growth forecast for spending on residential construction. Housing, which triggered the 2007-09 recession, is growing strongly, helping to keep the economic recovery anchored.

Business spending on equipment and software likely continued a steady march upward, with investment in nonresidential structures rebounding from a decline in the first quarter.

Government spending, however, is expected to have contracted for a third straight quarter, largely because of the across-the-board spending cuts in Washington.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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U.S. economy likely lost step in second quarter; expected to regain pace

Strong iPhone sales buoy Apple"s third quarter, shares climb

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Sales of Apple Inc’s iPhone trumped Wall Street estimates after U.S. shipments soared 51 percent in the third quarter, lifting its stock 5 percent even as profit fell.

Reuters: Top News

Strong iPhone sales buoy Apple"s third quarter, shares climb