Tonernews.com, January 27, 2006. USA
The first paragraph is exactly what I summarized. In summary, don’t get too high, don’t get too low.
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Tonernews.com, January 27, 2006. USA
Economy Grows at Slowest Pace in 3 Years
WASHINGTON – The economy slowed to a near crawl in the
final quarter of 2005, a listless showing that was the worst in
three years. However, growth was respectable for the year and is
expected to perk up again soon.
Gross domestic product clocked in at an annual rate of just 1.1
percent from October through December. That marked a loss of speed
compared with the third’s quarter’s brisk 4.1 percent pace, the
Commerce Department reported Friday.
Belt tightening by consumers, businesses and the government
figured into the fourth-quarter’s slowdown.
GDP, which measures the value of all goods and services produced
within the United States, is the best barometer of the economy’s
fitness.
Even with the feeble finish, the economy logged growth of 3.5
percent for all of 2005 – a year when the country coped with
fallout from lofty energy prices and the devastating Gulf Coast
hurricanes. Analysts called the GDP figure for all of 2005 solid,
although it was down from 2004’s 4.2 percent gain.
“Considering the impact of the hurricanes and record heating
bills last year, the economy continues to show remarkable
resilience,” said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock
Financial Services.
Looking at the fourth quarter, economists felt the slowdown was
more of a temporary setback rather than a harbinger of a sustained
period of economic troubles ahead.
“The economy hit a pothole in the fourth quarter. I’m not at
all worried about the health of the economy,” said Mark Zandi,
chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com.
Zandi believes the economy in the current January-to-March
quarter is already doing better and predicts growth will come in
around a 4 percent pace. For all of 2006, analysts project economic
growth to top 3 percent.
President Bush, in his State of the Union address Tuesday
evening, plans to spotlight some pocketbook issues, including high
energy prices, tax cuts and expensive health care. Public concern
about the economy is still relatively high, polls indicate.
The GDP report gave both Republicans and Democrats something to
seize upon.
“We know the economy is not in real good shape. We have the
price of oil, which is volatile, going up and down, up and down. We
know that the deficit is staggering,” said Senate Minority Leader
Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Treasury Secretary John Snow countered that the “economic
fundamentals point to continued strong economic performance in the
United States in 2006.” He called the fourth-quarter’s weak
showing “somewhat anomalous” and said he wouldn’t read too much
into it.
Consumers turned cautious in the final quarter as high energy
prices and rising borrowing costs took a toll on their budgets.
Their spending grew at a 1.1 percent pace, the slowest since the
second quarter of 2001 when the economy was suffering through a
recession.
Most of the weakness came as people sharply cut back on
purchases of big-ticket “durable” goods, such as cars. This
spending dropped by a hefty 17.5 percent rate, the sharpest decline
since the first quarter of 1987.
Businesses also were more restrained, boosting spending on
equipment and software at a 3.5 percent rate in the fourth quarter,
the smallest since the first quarter of 2003.
Another factor restraining overall GDP in the fourth quarter:
federal government spending, which fell at a 7 percent rate, the
biggest drop since the third quarter of 2000. Analysts, skeptical
about this decline, believed it would be reversed, especially given
spending related planned for the war in Iraq and hurricane cleanup
and rebuilding.
While growth slowed in the fourth quarter, inflation picked up,
according to one price measure in the report that is closely
watched by the Federal Reserve.
“Core” prices – excluding food and energy costs – rose at a
2.2 percent rate in the fourth quarter, up from a 1.4 percent
growth rate in the third quarter. This suggests inflation is
filtering into a variety of other prices.
To combat inflation, the Fed is expected to boost interest rates
next Tuesday one-quarter percentage point to 4.50 percent.
It will be last meeting for Alan GREENSPAN Who will retire that
day after more than 18 years at the helm of the central bank. Ben
Bernanke, who is slated to succeed Greenspan, would lead his first
meeting to consider interest rate policy on March 28. The Senate is
expected to vote on Bernanke’s nomination Tuesday.
“The new Fed chair will be tested right off the bat. The
economy is slowing, though clearly not as rapidly as the headline
number would have you think. …At the same time, inflation is
slowly accelerating,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff
Economic Advisors.
In a second report, the Commerce Department said new home sales
in 2005 climbed to an all-time high, marking the fifth year in a
row of record sales. Sales of new single-family homes totaled 1.28
million units last year, a 6.6 percent increase over 2004’s sales.
The roaring housing market has helped to bolster the economy,
but analysts expect the sector to lose steam this year. They’re
hoping the slowdown will be moderate. A big drop in home sales and
house prices could pose dangers for the overall economy
Tonernews.com, January 27, 2006. USA
I would tend to disagree with you Jim. I do believe the economy has been slow to pick up. Remember one thing, it took time to get into this situation and will take time to get out. When you state ” full recession ” what are you basing that on? Your own job? What reports? Profitability? Exactly what? I do not deny that it is tougher now to make a go at it. It will be tougher in 10 years than it is now. That is the cycle of business. Just my 3 1/2 cents worth.
Its Free! Click Here to Share your Success Stories with Tonernews.com and We'll Publish it for You!Tonernews.com, January 26, 2006. USA
as expected the oem sell-off has started in our industry
many of you have contacted me and ask me what is going on,well do to outscorcing the big oem’s are scrambling for cash,they will do anything even sell their own company,forget loyalty in america ,not going to happen….i expect lexmark to be sold soon,i coud be wrong but it’s possible.
as far as our industry goes it’s time to re-invent ourselfs no need for big stocks of oem goods ,that will prove to be a big mistake in the long run,only stock what you know you can sell in the short run,try even ebay.
oem toners and injet cartridges will go down in price this will happen in the next year or two.
our U.S. economy is in a full recession ,oviously you will not hear it in the mainstream media,they will do anything to keep the US stock market pumping .
remember it’s time to re-invent yourselfs
good luck
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