Finance and Economic

U.S. airline passenger revenue rose in January for the first time in more than a year as ticket prices increased, according to a trade group.

Revenue based on a sample of U.S. carriers was up 1.4% in January compared to the same month in 2009, following 14 consecutive months of declines, the Air Transport Association (ATA) said Tuesday.

The boost in sales came as the average ticket price to fly one mile jumped 0.6%, the first rise since November 2008, offsetting the 0 guaranteed approval cash loans.4% drop in passengers.

Revenue was also boosted by a 3.4% increase in passenger sales on trans-Atlantic routes in January, the ATA said.

In December, cargo traffic surged 17% year-over-year amid growth in international trade. That compares to an 11% decline for the full year of 2009. January 2010 cargo data were not yet available. 

Source

Quote and apply online or speak with an agent in your area. Compare health insurance plans for individuals and families.

California is hurtling into the budgetary abyss — and it’s not alone.

Across the nation, state tax collections in the first three quarters of 2009 posted their steepest decline in at least 46 years, according to a report this month from the public policy research arm of the State University of New York.

At least 30 states raised taxes in their most recently completed fiscal year — which ended in most cases in mid-2009. Even more cut services. All told, states raised $117 billion to fill last year’s budget gaps, the Pew Center on the States estimates.

Yet despite all those new taxes and deep cutbacks, pressure on state finances continues to build. Economists warn that without a new round of federal stimulus spending, states could face another round of layoffs that could kneecap an already shaky economic recovery.

"We could see a real ripple effect if the states don’t take a balanced approach" by balancing cutbacks with tax raises and other new revenue, said Jon Shure, deputy director of the state fiscal project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.

State and local governments have cut 132,000 jobs since August 2008, the center says. Fiscal problems appear most acute in California, whose general obligation bonds were downgraded this week after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency.

The state has already said it will increase tuition by a third in the University of California system, among other cash-raising moves. At one point, it was projected to spend nearly 50% more than it stands to garner in revenue in this fiscal year, by one count. California has asked for federal help and warned it could run out of cash in March.

And California’s not the only state facing an almost unfathomable shortfall. Like California, Arizona and Illinois face budget gaps above 40% of projected general fund spending, according to Pew data.

Arizona put its state office buildings on sale this week in a bid to raise $700 million. The University of Illinois furloughed some workers this week after the state failed to come up with $436 million in expected funds. Budget officers in those two states describe their outlooks for fiscal 2010 as "dire," according to a National Conference of State Legislatures report.

Alaska, Nevada, New Jersey and New York face gaps of at least 30% of their planned general fund spending by the end of this fiscal year. A dozen more states face a fiscal 2010 budget gap of between 20% and 29%.

"California is playing out on the biggest stage, but there are states around the nation facing problems of equal or greater magnitude," said Corina Eckl, who runs the fiscal affairs program at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. "We are seeing some frightening situations."

Big shortfalls scare legislators because states by law must balance their budgets every year. After revenue and spending rose steadily in the middle of this decade, bolstered by a housing bubble that boosted employment and fed a stream of property transfer fees, state funding went into freefall when the recession started at the end of 2007.

Given the depth of the recession, few states are expecting an uptick in employment or consumer spending that would translate into bigger tax collections anytime soon. Nine states are forecasting they won’t return to their peak revenue years of 2007 or 2008 until at least 2014.

Adding to the pressure, job losses spur demand for the services states devote the lion’s share of their budgets to: education and Medicaid, which provides healthcare for low-income people.

"The needs grow as states’ ability to meet those needs declines," said economist Andrew Reschovsky, a professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

So far, the worst cuts have been avoided with the help of billions of dollars of federal stimulus money — including $135 billion for education and Medicaid.

But the flow of those funds will start to slow down in the second half of 2010 and will stop altogether at year-end, unless Congress appropriates more money for state assistance.

States have used $53.6 billion in Medicaid funding through Jan. 8, according to government data. If Congress doesn’t extend the Medicaid funding beyond the end of the year, "states are looking at a stimulus cliff," said Robert B. Ward, deputy director of the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York at Albany.

The only way to make up those shortfalls is through more new taxes, cutbacks and borrowings.

Local and state governments have had little problem borrowing in the bond market, where analysts expect issuance of $400 billion or more this year. California has had to pay higher-than-average interest rates to sell its debt, but there seems to be little fear of a default, given the state’s giant economy and its relatively small $64 billion worth of general obligation bonds outstanding.

But borrowing is no help in fixing so-called structural deficits, in which spending exceeds revenue over a prolonged stretch. And so far there has been little sign legislators are willing to make the obligatory tough choices, particularly issuing more or higher taxes.

Many of the so-called fixes for current state deficits are mere Band-Aids that push the problem forward rather than address it, observers said.

"It’s surprising that political leaders don’t seem to be taking seriously the magnitude of the problems," said Reschovsky. "You would hope it wouldn’t come to this, but it might take schools closing and programs being eliminated to create a sense of urgency." 

Source

Payday loan online from $100 to 1000 loan payday with no faxing. Get a cash advance loan now. Click here for immediate funding.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell unexpectedly in October, according to government data on Wednesday that reinforced views of a gradual economic recovery from recession.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders dropped 0.6 percent after rising by an upwardly revised 2.0 percent in September. New orders in September were previously reported to have increased 1.4 percent.

Analysts polled by Reuters forecast orders rising 0 cash advance loan no fax.5 percent in October. Durable goods orders are a leading indicator of manufacturing activity, which in turn provides a good measure for overall business health.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Read more

Japan’s trade minister apologized on Monday for disclosing market sensitive third-quarter GDP figures to oil industry executives ahead of its official release, in an embarrassing slip for a government that took power two months ago.

The much-stronger-than-expected third-quarter growth figures caused Japanese bond prices to dip after the official release by the Cabinet Office at 8:50 a.m. (6:50 p.m. EST), although they later recovered as analysts warned the outlook was less rosy.

Masayuki Naoshima, the minister of economy, trade and industry, said that he told industry officials about GDP data because of concerns about the economy and he did not know the data was due later.

“I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t know it was due to be released at 8:50 a.m. so I thought it would be OK to talk about it,” Naoshima told reporters.

“I apologize for causing trouble and I’ll be careful from now on.”

Japan’s economy grew 1.2 percent in the third quarter, its fastest pace in more than two years as stimulus lifted consumer spending and capital spending bottomed out.

It was the first GDP data released after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s new government took power in mid-September in the wake of an election that ousted the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party.

The government under the LDP had become more careful with handling the GDP data after a newspaper reported the figures ahead of the release a decade ago, forcing policymakers to confirm the figures.

(Additional reporting by Sumio Ito and Yoko Nishikawa; Writing by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Rodney Joyce)

Read more

World governments should consider urgently a levy on banks to fund future bailouts, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, departing from London’s longstanding resistance to a global tax.

France and Germany have led the way in Europe in seeking to force the financial sector to return some of the billions of public money plowed into banks over a year of crisis.

A global levy would be hard if not impossible without U.S. backing, a country traditionally hostile to new taxes. U.S. officials declined comment on Brown’s proposal before a later news conference by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

London to date had also resisted, mindful of the interests of its powerful financial services industry, which generates a large proportion of Britain’s tax revenues.

“We should discuss whether we need a better economic and social contract to reflect the global responsibilities of financial institutions to society,” Brown told a meeting of financial policymakers from the G20 nations in Scotland.

“There have been proposals for an insurance fee to reflect systemic risk or a resolution fund or contingent capital arrangements or a global transaction levy,” he said.

Brown said any measure would have to be global in nature and implemented by all the world’s main financial centers in the United States, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Switzerland.

In recent Congressional testimony, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was cool to an idea from a domestic regulator who called for big financial firms to pay risk-based assessments into a fund that would be available for use if they hit trouble.

Geithner opposed pre-funding bank bailouts on the basis that it make banks less wary of risk taking.

Britain this week forked out another 30 billion pounds on bailing out two of its biggest banks for the second time, and opinion polls all show Brown heading for defeat at the hands of opposition conservatives in next year’s election.

IMF REVIEW

Brown said the International Monetary Fund would review the possibility of a global transaction tax and report back in April next year — signaling the G20 had agreed as a group to take up the matter more seriously.

“I do not in any way underestimate the enormous and difficult practical and technical issues that will need to be overcome that a globally cohesive system requires and raises.

“But I do not think these issues should prevent us from considering with urgency the legitimate issues I have discussed,” he said.

Banks have already warned the G20 that if they have to meet new higher capital charges too soon, they will have less money left to lend and aid recovery. 

Read more

Societe Generale’s lower-than-expected third quarter profit has highlighted the French bank’s weakness compared to many of its rivals and its position as a possible bid target if there is a sector shake-up.

Like peers Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, SocGen’s investment banking results powered the profit line although debt provisions rose to cover an expected further rise in bad loans in 2010.

Net profit rose to 426 million euros ($623 million) euros from 183 million a year earlier, mainly due to the fact that SocGen’s investment banking arm swung to a profit from a year-earlier loss.

However, the bank missed the average estimate of 481 million euros in a Reuters poll of 10 analysts as group revenues were weaker-than-expected and provisions were higher. The banking group’s revenues took a hit at its international arm, affected by the Russian economic slowdown and its investment management arm, due to outflows.

France’s second-biggest and the euro zone’s No.6 bank by market value has been steadily recovering since a 4.9 billion euro trading loss in January 2008, which it blamed on unauthorized deals carried out by Jerome Kerviel, a former junior trader at the bank.

However, SocGen remains the subject of persistent bid speculation in France. Last week, Credit Agricole — the country’s biggest bank by branches — denied a report in Le Monde that it was considering a merger with SocGen and insurer Groupama.

La Tribune newspaper said on Wednesday that BNP Paribas was looking at SocGen.

BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank by market capitalization, denied the Tribune article. BNP reiterated that its immediate focus was on integrating its recent buy of Fortis assets.

“This rumor is unfounded from A to Z!,” a BNP spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

SHARES RECOVER

Nevertheless, the Tribune article helped push up SocGen’s shares, which were also boosted by the company’s solid performance at its French retail banking division.

“Even though BNP has denied it, it would be a good opportunity for them,” said Agilis Gestion fund manager Arnaud Scarpaci. Agilis Gestion owns some SocGen shares.

SocGen shares, which fell 4 percent on Tuesday, were up 4.6 percent at 45.65 euros in early morning trade. At that price, SocGen has a market capitalization of around 34 billion euros.

BNP Paribas shares were up 2.3 percent at 52.06 euros, giving BNP a market capitalization of around 62 billion euros.

SocGen’s results kicked off the third-quarter earnings season for French banks, with BNP Paribas also expected to post higher earnings on Thursday. 

Read more

The U.S. economy may have turned a corner after the deepest recession in some 70 years, but Federal Reserve policymakers appear to be in no rush to raise interest rates.

The Fed is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate where it has been since December — near zero — when it meets this week.

With underlying inflation pressures actually decreasing and most Fed officials expecting the recovery to be slow, there is little incentive for the Fed to change its easy money policy.

“Anybody who expects major changes to the Fed’s statement is likely to be disappointed,” said Stephen Stanley, U.S. economist at RBS.

Fed officials, who meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, could discuss how they will prepare markets for an eventual policy shift, but analysts say it is too soon for the Fed to even hint toward an exit by tweaking its pledge to keep rates extraordinarily low for an “extended period.”

Even as the U.S. economy appears to be still in need of Fed support, the repercussions of emergency monetary policies are being felt around the world.

Brazil has acted to stem the flood of speculative capital to its economy by adopting a 2 percent tax on foreign investment. Other nations have begun to intervene to keep their currencies from rising too sharply against the falling dollar.

Among top Fed officials a debate has broken out about how soon the central bank will need to act to nip inflation in the bud, although none are advocating a move now.

Financial markets will comb through the central bank’s policy statement, which will be released at around 2:15 p easy online payday loans.m. EST (1915 GMT) on Wednesday, for any clues on when the easy money period will start drawing to a close.

Most analysts at top U.S. banks expect the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee to keep interest rates on hold until mid-2010 or later, though interest-rate futures markets are pricing in an increase earlier in 2010.

The most significant outcomes of the Fed’s last two policy meetings concerned the central bank’s purchases of U.S. government and mortgage-related debt. The Fed stopped buying longer-term Treasury debt last week, while the mortgage-related asset purchase program has been extended into early 2010 to provide for an orderly wind down.

“Things are going to start to get interesting in 2010, but for the moment they’ve got all their ducks in a row,” Stanley said.

GROWTH HAS ARRIVED, BUT JOBS HAVE NOT

The Fed will note that the economy grew in the third quarter, snapping a deep four-quarter plunge and likely ending the U.S. recession. The officials are also likely to repeat there is still enough slack in the economy for inflation not to be an immediate worry.

Last week, data showed U.S. GDP rebounded at a solid 3.5 percent annual pace in the third quarter. A separate report showed inflation, outside of food and energy costs, bumping along at a eight-year low. 

Read more

Some of the nation’s largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats’ plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers.

The Business Roundtable, comprised of chief executives at Verizon Communications, JPMorgan, General Electric, Wal-Mart and other companies that together employ more than 12 million people, said the federal government is inefficient and would underpay providers. That would result in providers boosting prices for private insurers and employers, the group said on Wednesday.

“A public plan would neither manage cost nor encourage innovation,” said Antonio Perez, chief executive of Eastman Kodak Co and head of the Business Roundtable’s health initiative. “We believe it is the wrong direction for fixing our health care system.”

On Monday, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said his bill would include a so-called “public option” as an alternative to those sold by private insurers. Individual states could “opt out” against offering the plan.

President Barack Obama, who has made health reform his top priority this year, has said a government alternative will force private insurers to be more competitive.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ proposals also contain a public insurance option.

Although an earlier congressional analysis found that about 9 million to 10 million people, most uninsured, would opt for the public plan, the Business Roundtable fears that number will jump as people see their private plan premiums climb.

“The costs for all of us in the system will continue to go up and again put pressure on employers to get out of the healthcare system,” John Castellani, president of Business Roundtable, told reporters at a news conference payday advances.

Other business groups also oppose a public insurance option and are pushing for alternative cooperative exchanges. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched television ads on national cable stations and in seven states on Wednesday to fight the government option.

‘ORBITZ’ FOR HEALTH PLANS?

The United States is the only developed nation that pays for the bulk of its health care through private employers rather than the government, and studies have shown premiums for workers and their companies continue to rise each year.

Health insurers earlier said they would back some reforms as long as a bill included a strong requirement for people to buy health insurance policies, a move they said would spread risk among a wider pool of people and disperse costs. Insurers also vowed to pass through additional taxes and costs onto purchasers.

While details from the final Senate and House bills have yet to emerge, so far the proposals differ somewhat on what penalties either individuals or companies would face for not buying or providing health insurance.

Companies want to offer employees health care to recruit and retain talented workers, said Bruce Josten, a vice president at the Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber backs an national exchange “with an Orbitz-like website,” Josten told Reuters, referring to a popular travel site that compares deals among various providers. 

Read more

St. Louis County residents now have greater shopping choices as Schnuck Markets Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. add bigger stores this week.

On Tuesday, Schnucks opened its new 74,000-square-foot flagship store at 12332 Manchester Road, near West County Center in Des Peres. It replaces the original Schnucks store in Des Peres, which has been closed.

The new Schnucks store, which includes the grocery chain’s first cooking school, offers a Kaldi’s coffee shop, a walk-in beer cooler, an aged beef cooler, a cheese room and wine display.

Meanwhile, a new Walmart Supercenter opens today at Manchester Highlands, located at the northeast corner of Highway 141 and Manchester free credit report instantly. It replaces a Walmart store in Town and Country’s Manchester Meadows shopping center.

Among the features of the almost 204,000-square-foot store will be a bakery, a deli, meat and dairy products, fresh produce, and a full liquor department.

Margaret Gillerman

Source

A gaunt-looking Steve Jobs stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in more than half a year on Wednesday, unveiling new iPods for Apple Inc and drawing a standing ovation.

But Apple’s shares fell nearly 2 percent after hitting a year-high earlier in the session, with some analysts remarking on how thin the 54-year-old chief executive appeared.

Dressed in his trademark black turtleneck and jeans, Jobs took the stage and thanked everyone in the Apple community for their “heartfelt support.” It was his first public appearance since returning to work in June after six months of medical leave, during which the charismatic corporate showman underwent a liver transplant.

“I now have the liver of a mid-20s person who died in a car crash and was generous enough to donate their organs. I wouldn’t be here without such generosity,” an emotional Jobs told the audience, exhorting them to all become organ donors.

Apple shares initially rose about 1 percent to a year’s high before retreating to trade down 1.6 percent at $170.14.

“I’m sure (Jobs) looking so frail — the guy’s had the most extreme surgery you can have — didn’t help matters, but I think people have come to grips that the torch is going to be passed, it’s just a matter of when,” said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams.

Jobs, a pancreatic cancer survivor, started off by announcing a new version of Apple’s popular online media store, iTunes, and updated software for the iPhone.

He then unveiled new iPod features and colors, including adding a video camera to the iPod nano, as well as price cuts for other models, ahead of the crucial holiday season free credit reports.

Analysts had expected an appearance by Jobs to give Apple’s stock a boost. The shares rose in the afternoon to $174.47, their highest since August 28, 2008. But they quickly retreated.

“While he was gone, Apple innovated and the product pipeline is set for the next three years,” said Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek. “He is clearly a genius. It’s great to have him back. It’s great for the industry, but I don’t think he’s back full-time and I don’t think he’s going to come back full-time.

RUMORS OF MY HEALTH

Jobs’s return is well-timed. The holiday season is a critical period for Apple, as it is for many consumer electronics companies, as shoppers fill stores and spend their precious discretionary income on the latest gadgets.

December-quarter sales made up around 30 percent of Apple’s revenue last fiscal year.

Jobs stepped away from day-to-day operations in January after months of rumors about his health and noticeable weight loss. He returned early this summer, but had not been seen at a public event until Wednesday.

As expectations of a high-profile product launch faded in the run-up to the event, much of the speculation centered on whether Jobs would appear. 

Read more