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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: regli who wrote (34774)	8/3/2005 10:15:18 AM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

UK July shop prices 0.60 pct lower than a year before - BRC Wednesday, August 3, 2005 9:46:18 AM afxpress.com LONDON (AFX) - Price pressures on the UK's high streets remain very subdued in the wake of the decline in consumer spending and mounting competition, a leading retailing lobby group said today The British Retail Consortium revealed that its shop price index inflation rate for July showed prices 0.60 pct lower than at the same time last year. The overall index stands at 100.49, the lowest since July 2003 On a month-on-month basis, shop prices fell 1.65 pct from June, mainly as a result of a 2.78 pct decline in non-food items "Yet again we see how the decline in consumer spending and the intense competition in the retail market is driving down prices," said Kevin Hawkins, director general at BRC "This is obviously good news for the consumer but the continuing increase in property and other costs well above the current rate of inflation, will leave many retailers in a position which is not sustainable for much longer," he added The BRC's survey comes as the Bank of England's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee begins its two-day meeting, which is expected to lead tomorrow to the first interest rate reduction in over two years The MPC is expected to cut its key repo rate a quarter point to 4.50 pct following a sharp slowdown in economic growth, stemming primarily from a retrenchment in consumer spending "We have repeatedly called for a cut in interest rates over the past few months and we hope that at long last the MPC will take action," said Hawkins

To: regli who wrote (34774)	8/3/2005 10:38:52 AM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

U.S. announced job cuts down 7% to 102,971 in July - Wednesday, August 3, 2005 2:30:06 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) -- U.S. corporations announced 102,971 job reductions in July, down 7% from June's total, according to the monthly tally by Challenger Gray & Christmas released Wednesday. Nevertheless, layoff plans are up by 18% in the year to date to 641,245, Challenger said. At the current rate, job reductions will exceed 1 million for a fifth straight year, the outplacement firm said Last month's layoffs were up 48% from July 2004 Over the past three months, announcements of job cuts have totaled 296,250, "unusually high for warm weather months," said John Challenger, CEO of the firm. It's been a spring and summer of "job-cut hell," Challenger said The figures are not seasonally adjusted. Consumer products, computer and financial industries were responsible for about half of July's announced cutbacks "One would expect employers in the consumer products, financial and computer sectors to be adding workers by the boatload in an expanding economy," Challenger said The Challenger report doesn't track most of the jobs lost in the economy each month. Announced cuts can take place immediately or over the course of several months, and they can be accomplished through layoffs or through voluntary terminations, such as quitting or retiring According to Labor Department data, for instance, there were 4.6 million separations from jobs in April, including 1.6 million layoffs, up about 250,000 from a year earlier. At the same time, 4.5 million workers were hired, flat with a year earlier

To: regli who wrote (34774)	8/3/2005 11:54:21 AM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

U.S. July ISM services index slips to 60.5% - Wednesday, August 3, 2005 3:20:41 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) - The nonmanufacturing side of the U.S. economy expanded at a slightly slower pace in July, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM nonmanufacturing index slipped to 60.5% from 62.2% in June. The drop was more than expected. Economists expected the index to slip to 61.4%, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch. Readings over 50% in the diffusion index indicate expansion in the nonmanufacturing sectors of the economy, including services, agriculture, mining and construction Economists said despite the decline in the index, activity in the nonmanufacturing sector remains robust The index has been above 50% for 28 months In July, new orders rose to 61.9% from 59.5%. The prices-paid index jumped to 70.3% from 59.8%. It is the highest level since December. Ralph Kaufman, chairman of the ISM's nonmanufacturing survey committee, said survey participants blamed the increase entirely on higher oil prices Backlogs of orders and inventories both increased in July, a positive for future production The employment index, which has tracked trends in employment growth pretty well, according to economists, fell to 56.2% in July from 57.4% in the previous month