Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas A Watson who wrote (373206)	3/18/2003 11:07:08 AM
From: Baldur Fjvlnisson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Spooky outlook. U.S. March Empire State Factory Index Falls to -2.5 (Update1) By Liz Enochs Washington, March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in the state of New York contracted this month for the first time since October as orders, shipments and employment fell. A factory index compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York dropped to minus 2.5 from 1.1 in February. A number less than zero indicates a majority of the manufacturers surveyed by the bank reported a deterioration in business. The poll had jumped in November, December and January before slowing last month. The March reading adds to evidence the economy is stalling as the prospect of war with Iraq damps consumer sentiment and companies' willingness to invest and hire. Some manufacturers are slowing production to keep goods from piling up in warehouses. The Federal Reserve reported Friday that factory production dropped 0.1 percent last month after rising in January. ``Businesses are hunkering down,'' said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. Investors and economists watch the New York Fed report because it has presaged changes in the Philadelphia Fed Bank's manufacturing survey, due Thursday, and the Institute for Supply Management's factory index, to be reported April 1. Economists had expected the Empire State index to decline to minus 2, based on the median of 19 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The New York Fed polls about 150 factories each month and typically receives 100 responses, according to Richard Deitz, a regional economist at the Buffalo branch of the Fed, which issues the report. The survey includes manufacturers in a broad range of industries with an emphasis on durable goods producers, he said. Shipments, Orders, Employment The bank's index of factory shipments fell to minus 4.9 in March from 11.8 a month earlier. The orders index declined to minus 6.9 from 12.3. The employment index fell to minus 17.3 this month from 0.1 in February, signaling more factories were firing than hiring. Corning Inc., the largest maker of optical fiber for carrying telephone calls, based in Corning, New York, said last month it plans to close a factory in California and eliminate about 190 jobs as it stops making wavelength switchers and blockers because of waning demand. The company slashed 18,800 jobs, or 44 percent of the workforce, since 2001 and is scaling back units such as its fiber optic parts business because of a spending drop by phone companies. Corning said this month it expects a first-quarter loss, before certain costs, of 1 cent to 4 cents a share. The index of prices paid by factories for raw materials dropped to 9.2 from 19.2 in February. An index of prices received by manufacturers for their goods weakened to minus 20 from minus 14.4, signaling that prices are falling for more producers. Less Optimism The indexes are calculated by subtracting the percentage of manufacturers that said business weakened from the percentage that said it picked up. Today's report showed 22 percent of companies reported business improved from the previous month, 25 percent said it worsened and 50 percent reported no change. Manufacturers in the region were also less optimistic about the future. A gauge measuring their expectations for business six months from now dropped to 29.8 from 35.9 in February. The index of future orders fell to 26.6 from 38.1 in February, while the index of future shipments decreased to 27.9 from 38.3 and the future hiring index dropped to 2.1 from 10.3.