Consumer Credit Getting Worse (Reuters): “Fitch Ratings warned on Friday that U.S. consumer credit quality will worsen in the fourth quarter and into early 2004 from the lingering effects of a weak job market and flood of personal bankruptcy filings. There have been nascent signs that the job market is turning around and the rest of the economy is picking up steam, but some Americans are still struggling to make debt payments like their credit card bills, the bond rating service said.
Labor Woes Linger (CNN.com): “By most lights the economy has recovered smartly from this spring’s downturn, but every bit of good news that crosses the wire these days is probably met with a resounding “So what?” from the 9 million Americans without jobs. Unfortunately, despite the pickup in economic growth, those who are unemployed aren’t going to see many new jobs any time soon, according to many economists.
Analysts Say Recovery Really Is Here(Reuters): “Growing signs of strength in the U.S. economy have convinced analysts the long-awaited decisive recovery is at hand. And they really mean it this time. Often burned but never shy, economic forecasters have ramped up predictions for growth for the rest of 2003 and into 2004, certain -- once again -- that America has turned the corner on the 2001 recession.”
Looks Like a Recovery, Feels Like a Recession(NYT): “Even though the recession ended nearly two years ago, polls show that American workers are feeling stressed and shaky this Labor Day because the nation continues to register month after month of job losses and wages are rising more slowly than inflation. One factor above all has fueled the insecurity: the nation has lost 2.7 million jobs over the last three years. The recovery has been so weak since the recession ended in November 2001 that the nation’s payrolls are down one million jobs from when economic growth resumed. Indeed, the current economic expansion is the worst on record in terms of job growth. The average length of unemployment, more than 19 weeks, spiked this summer to its highest level in two decades.”
Greenspan Defends Deflation Worries (AP): “Alan Greenspan on Friday mounted a strong defense of his handling of monetary policy against criticism that the Federal Reserve Board has unnecessarily confused financial markets recently with its mixed signals on interest rates.As he enters his 17th year as chairman of the Fed, Greenspan used an appearance before a prestigious monetary conference to defend his legacy against the recent attacks and an old, but persistent complaint that his biggest error was waiting too long to prick the stock market bubble of the late 1990s.”
Americans Most Productive Workers(AP): “The U.S. worker is the most productive in the world, boosted by the use of new information and communication technologies, according to a study released Monday by the United Nations labor agency. However, American employees also work longer hours, and three European countries - Norway, France and Belgium - beat the Americans in productivity per hour, the International Labor Organization said in its new issue of Key Indicators of the Labor Market. The output per U.S. worker last year was $60,728, the report said. Belgium, the highest-scoring European Union member, had an output of $54,333 per worker.”
Why Be Optimistic (LRC): “Hardly a day passes that I don’t receive an email from some despairing soul who is either convinced we are going to lose, or is at a loss concerning what to do to prevent us from losing. Most people are looking for a way out of this line of thinking, and I hope to give that to you today.”
Posted by Mises.org News
