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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CAtechTrader who wrote (33385)	3/14/2001 9:36:04 AM
From: SecularBull	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

If there is a problem, then he already knew about it. Why wait until the bomb has gone off to diffuse it? ~SB~

To: CAtechTrader who wrote (33385)	3/14/2001 9:39:45 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

U.S. Business Inventories Rose in January Wednesday March 14, 8:51 am Eastern Time By Barbara Hagenbaugh <<WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stockpiles on company shelves rose faster than expected in January, the U.S. government said on Wednesday in a report suggesting firms were still trying to adjust to slowing demand in the economy. Business inventories rose 0.4 percent in January to $1.225 trillion after being flat in December, the Commerce Department said. Compared to a year ago, inventories were up 5.8 percent in January. Sales of goods were unchanged at $896.60 billion in January after a mere 0.1 percent gain in December. With stockpiles increasing and sales flat, the inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 1.37 months' worth in January, the highest level since a matching 1.37 months' worth reached in March 1999. The ratio was 1.36 months' in December while it was 1.32 months' in January 2000. The monthly inventories increase was the highest since October last year and topped expectations from analysts polled by Reuters who had estimated that inventories rose 0.2 percent in January. Inventories of durable goods, items like refrigerators and washing machines meant to last for several years or more, rose 0.6 percent in January after being unchanged in December. Stockpiles at car dealers jumped 0.9 percent following a 0.1 percent gain in December. Last week, wholesale inventories data painted a more promising picture with stockpiles at wholesalers falling for the first time in nearly three years. The latest inventory data come less than a week before the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee next meets to discuss the interest rate outlook. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut short-term rates a half-percentage point on Tuesday after slicing them twice in January to 5.50 percent. The Fed has been keeping an eye on the level of inventories to see how close firms are to bringing supply and demand into balance as they adjust to weaker business and consumer spending in the slowing U.S. economy. The economy lost steam abruptly late last year, with growth sliding to 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter, the slowest pace in 5-1/2 years. Inventories at the same time climbed quickly as firms, which had been enjoying insatiable demand, were caught off guard by the rapidly slowing economy. Inventories rose 0.7 percent in October before posting smaller gains later in the year. Fed officials, including Chairman Alan Greenspan, have said the inventory rebalancing act will likely be much less painful than in other slowdown periods with new technology quickly alerting companies to changes in sales.>>