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Sports See other Sports Articles Title: Philadelphia Manufacturing Drops to Lowest Level Since 1990 in Fed Index Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region shrank in February at the fastest pace in more than 18 years as employment and sales plunged to record lows. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index dropped to minus 41.3 this month, lower than forecast, compared with minus 24.3 in January, the bank said today. Negative numbers signal contraction. The global economic slowdown is causing U.S. manufacturers to scale back production and cut payrolls. President Barack Obama this week signed into law a two-year, $787 billion stimulus plan aimed at saving or creating 3.5 million jobs as another report today showed a record 4.99 million people were collecting jobless benefits. “The economy is still contracting at a substantial pace,” Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Citigroup Inc. in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We are still in the midst of a very substantial correction.” Economists forecast the index would fall to minus 25, according to the median of 53 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from minus 20 to minus 34. A report from the Labor Department showed U.S. producer prices climbed more than forecast in January as companies tried to boost earnings at the start of the year before demand weakened even more. The 0.8 percent increase in wholesale costs was higher than projected and followed a 1.9 percent drop in December. Excluding food and fuel, so-called core prices rose 0.4 percent, also more than anticipated. Record Benefits Separate figures from Labor showed the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits jumped by 170,000 two weeks ago, breaking a record for a fourth straight time, while first-time applications for unemployment benefits were unchanged at 627,000 last week, higher than economists projected. The index of leading economic indicators climbed 0.4 percent in January, propelled by a surge in the money supply, the Conference Board, a New York-based research group, also reported today. Without the boost from the money supply, the leading index would have dropped. The Philadelphia Fed’s employment index dropped to minus 45.8, the lowest level since records began in 1968, compared with minus 39 in January, the report showed. Orders Plunge The gauge of new orders was at minus 30.3 in February compared with minus 22.3 a month earlier. The shipments index weakened to minus 32.4, also the lowest on record. The prices paid index climbed to minus 13.7 from minus 27 in January. An index of prices received fell to minus 27.8 from minus 26.2. Fed policy makers introduced a long-term U.S. inflation estimate, with most officials aiming to anchor public expectations at a 2 percent rate, according to minutes released yesterday from the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting Jan. 27-28. Some officials saw a risk of broad price declines, a pattern that could worsen the recession by making debts harder to repay. Expectations for the next six months improved, today’s report from the Philadelphia Fed showed. The index climbed to 15.9 from 7.4 in January. The headline index is a separate question unrelated to the individual measures and some economists consider it a gauge of business sentiment. Output Drops Production in February is also slowing along other parts of the East Coast. The Fed Bank of New York’s Empire manufacturing report released this week showed factory activity contracted at the fastest pace on record, falling to minus 34.7 this month from minus 22.2 in January. Nationally, industrial production fell in January for the sixth time in seven months, according to a Fed report from Washington yesterday. An index of output at factories, mines and utilities dropped 1.8 percent to 101.3, the lowest level in more than five years. Car and truck assemblies fell to the lowest level on record, the report showed. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the largest U.S. tiremaker, said yesterday it plans to cut almost 5,000 jobs and continue a salary freeze following a fourth-quarter net loss of $330 million. “These actions address the new economic realities,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Keegan said in a Feb. 18 statement. The job cuts will trim a workforce that stood at about 75,000 employees at the end of last year. -- With reporting by Kathleen Hays in New York, Steve Matthews in Atlanta and Alex Ortolani in Southfield, Michigan. Editors: Carlos Torres, Mark Rohner
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Do you like Obama? Do you think he is doing a good job?
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