Corn traders are bullish for a fifth consecutive week on speculation that dry weather in South America is damaging crops, boosting demand for U.S. supplies at a time when stockpiles are predicted to shrink to a 16-year low.
Nineteen of 25 traders surveyed by Bloomberg expect corn to advance next week. Lower-than-average humidity and dry soil will curb crop development in Argentina and southern Brazil through at least Jan. 7, according to T-Storm Weather LLC, a forecaster in Chicago. Argentina is the world
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits took an upswing just before Christmas.
About 381,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ended Dec. 24, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was more than economists had expected and marked an increase of 15,000 from the prior week, when claims had fallen to their lowest level since April 2008.
The Labor Department adjusts the figures to account for seasonal trends, but still, the holidays can sometimes distort the numbers slightly. Economists look to the four-week average to smooth out volatility. In the latest report, that number decreased to 375,000, its lowest level since mid-2008.
"Around the holidays, initial claims tend to be volatile, so I think we don’t have to read too much into the small rebound today," said Aichi Amemiya, an economist with Nomura cheap pay day loans. "We believe the labor market continues to improve."
Meanwhile, continuing claims — which include Americans filing for their second week of claims or more — increased 34,000 to 3,601,000 in the week ended Dec. 17, the most recent data available.
Investors seemed to shrug off the numbers, optimistic that next week’s monthly jobs report will show employers ramped up their hiring slightly in December.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com predict the report will show employers added 150,000 jobs in December, up from 120,000 the month before. The unemployment rate, however, is expected to rise from 8.6% to 8.7%, as discouraged workers re-enter the labor force to look for jobs again.
Brazil’s second largest airline says it has agreed to sell a minority stake in the company to Delta Air Lines.
GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA says in a regulatory filing with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that Delta Air Lines Inc. will pay $100 million for a “strategic minority interest” of GOL’s preferred shares.
Gol says the investment will be in the form of American Depositary Shares.
In February, Atlanta-based Delta and Gol entered into a code-sharing agreement that enable Delta to sell seats on 56 GOL flights between Rio de Janeiro or Brasilia and 15 Brazilian destinations.
(This version CORRECTS airline as Delta Air Lines)
A pair of triple button Ugg boots for just $209 at a U.S. online retailer looks like a better deal than the $285 price tag on Ugg
A tax cut that reaches 160 million Americans and government aid for the long-term unemployed will expire at the end of the year _ sucking $165 billion out of the economy next year _ unless Congress takes action.
Economists hoped the so-called congressional supercommittee would decide whether to extend both measures. But the committee couldn’t even agree on how to reach its main goal, cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal budget deficit.
If the tax cut goes away, the average family would pay about $1,000 more in taxes next year, the equivalent of an extra tank of gas every two weeks. Someone earning $100,000 would pay $2,000 more.
And if long-term unemployment benefits are allowed to expire, about 6 million people would lose weekly checks averaging about $300. For most of the long-term unemployed, that is their main source of income.
“There’s an awful lot of uncertainty ahead,” said Michael Hanson, senior U.S. economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Both changes would leave Americans with an estimated $165 billion less to spend. The Federal Reserve expects the economy to grow only 2.7 percent next year, and economists say the expiration of the two programs could reduce growth by a full percentage point.
The government said Tuesday that the economy grew at a 2 percent rate in July, August and September, down from earlier estimates of 2.5 percent.
To bring unemployment down significantly, the economy has to grow more than twice as fast as it grew this summer.
Congress could extend the tax cut and unemployment benefits when it returns from Thanksgiving recess next week. But the same partisan philosophical differences that sank the supercommittee could complicate the debate.
At the same time, Congress may be unwilling to force what is essentially a tax increase on tens of millions of Americans just as an election year begins.
Both measures were part of a deal struck in December 2010 by President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress.
The cut applies to the tax that pays for Social Security. The tax applies to the first $106,800 a person makes in a year. The deal lowered the rate paid by individuals to 4.2 percent from 6.2 percent for this year. Companies also pay a 6.2 rate on their payroll.
Some Republicans have indicated they could support extending the tax cut, but there would almost certainly be a fight over how to pay for it. Without spending cuts or other tax increases, renewing the Social Security tax cut would swell the deficit cash advance in one hour.
Obama, as part of his jobs bill in September, Obama proposed lowering the rate further, to 3.1 percent, and cutting the employer portion to 3.1 percent up to the first $5 million on their payrolls.
Cuts at that level would pump almost $250 billion more into the economy compared with last year, when individuals and employers both paid the 6.2 percent rate.
Obama, speaking Tuesday in New Hampshire, urged Republicans to continue the tax break.
“Don’t be a Grinch,” the president said. “Don’t vote to raise taxes on working Americans during the holidays.”
On Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney suggested that renewing or deepening the tax cut could be paid for by raising taxes on the wealthy. Republicans have refused to consider doing so.
Most states provide up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. The deal extended benefits to up to 99 weeks in states with the highest unemployment rates.
Unless that is renewed, almost 2.2 million people out of work will lose benefits by the first week in February. About 6 million people would lose weekly benefits by the end of the year.
Just the uncertainty of not knowing what Congress will do could cause businesses to hold back on hiring and investment, and therefore drag down economic growth, Hanson said.
Most economists would like to see lower budget deficits, but most would like the government to reduce the deficit gradually, to avoid hurting the weak economy. And they would all prefer robust economic growth to solve the problem.
The supercommittee’s failure triggers $1 trillion in automatic cuts in government spending beginning in 2013. Congress could undo them, but then credit rating agencies might downgrade the government’s long-term debt, as Standard & Poor’s did in August.
An even bigger hurdle looms at the end of 2012. That’s when the tax cuts passed during the Bush administration are set to expire. Losing those tax cuts would cost taxpayers up to an additional $4 trillion over 10 years.
Combined, all those factors would reduce growth in 2013 by between 1.5 and 3.5 percentage points, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, estimated last week.
Kenneth continues to strengthen in the eastern Pacific Ocean, with forecasters predicting the rare late-season tropical storm will become a hurricane.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Monday that Kenneth had maximum sustained winds near 65 mph (100 kph). The storm was centered about 740 miles (1,190 kilometers) south of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico, but was moving away from the coast.
It is moving west at 14 mph (22 kph)
Projections show Kenneth moving west out to sea, away from land. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
The eastern Pacific hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
Patricia Ranzini was appointed executive director of St. Anthony’s Charitable Foundation at St. Anthony’s Medical Center.
She will be responsible for strategic direction, oversight and implementation of the foundation’s fund-raising programs and long-range planning.
Ranzini has worked for 12 years in the development field, most recently for the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club payday advance online. She is a member of the Association of Hospital Philanthropy, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Women’s Leadership Council of the Humane Society of Missouri.
The deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates’ armed forces says France is seeking unacceptable terms for the sale of up to 60 Rafale fighter jets.
The comments Wednesday by Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan could signal a final blow to the bid by France’s Dassault Aviation, which has been in talks with UAE officials for several years.
The official WAM news agency quotes Sheik Mohammed _ who is also the highly influential crown prince of Abu Dhabi _ as saying Dassault was offering noncompetitive and “unworkable” terms. He gave no other details.
He made the comments after touring the Dubai Airshow, where the Rafale and others, including American-made F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighters, performed flight demonstrations,
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) _ Airbus says its customers are committed to buy 1,420 of its new A320neo after less than a year of sales savings account payday advance.
Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said on Wednesday that the brisk business shows there’s strong demand for fuel-efficient planes despite some economic “storm clouds on the horizon.”
Leahy spoke as Airbus wrapped up its order announcements at the Dubai Airshow, where it scored 130 firm orders for the single-aisle plane.
Airbus says it now has 1,268 firm orders for the A320neo, which promises a smaller fuel bill than older A320 models. It ended the Dubai show with $13.7 billion worth of firm orders.
Its rival Boeing snagged the show’s biggest deal _ an $18 billion order for 50 777s from Dubai’s Emirates airline.
UPDATED AT 6:50 p.m. with more details.
Die-hard bargain shoppers might want to opt for some coffee after Thanksgiving dinner this year.
Not only are a number of big box and department stores opening at midnight on Thanksgiving, but now most of the shopping malls in the St. Louis region are following suit as well.
“Everybody wants to join the party,” said Marshal Cohen, retail analyst with consulting firm NPD Group. “It’s going to be midnight madness.”
Chesterfield Mall, Mid Rivers Mall, South County Center, St. Clair Square, and West County Center will all open their doors at midnight to accommodate stores that have asked to open at that hour, mall operator CBL & Associates announced Monday.
Victoria’s Secret, Aeropostale, The Limited, Bath and Body Works, and American Eagle are some of the stores that have said they will open at midnight. It will put a complete list of stores that will open at midnight at area malls on its website next week, CBL said.
“It seems to be growing as time goes on,” Sean Phillips, CBL’s regional marketing director, said of the list. “I think everyone feels they need to be open at midnight to be competitive.”
The rest of the stores in CBL malls will open at 5 a.m. Friday - an hour earlier than last year. Some eateries and coffee shops may also open in the middle of the night, too. For example, the Starbucks at West County Center has already said it would open at midnight.
The St. Louis Galleria will officially open at 6 a.m. - also an hour earlier than last year, said Earl Dorsett, manager of the St. Louis Galleria. But the Galleria will unlock the doors and turn on the lights in the mall so stores that want to open at midnight can do so, which is a first for that mall payday loans.
The mall has never opened this early - or been open on Thanksgiving Day - with the exception of the movie theaters, he said.
In recent weeks, a number of big retailers such as Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, and Kohl’s have said they will open at midnight this year to kick off Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping events of the year.
Walmart will roll out its first round of doorbusters at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. And Toys R Us, which is trying to stay ahead of the pack, said Monday that it will open its stores at 9 p.m.
However, the midnight openings are not sitting well with some employees. A Target employee from Nebraska has started an online petition that has garnered thousands of signatures asking Target to open at 5 a.m. on Black Friday instead of at midnight.
“A midnight opening robs the hourly and in-store salary workers of time off with their families on Thanksgiving Day,” the petition says.
But Cohen said he thinks that in this economy, there are a number of employees out there who would be willing to volunteer to work the extra hours to make overtime pay.
He expects the midnight opening to be popular among shoppers who would be up then anyway and would prefer to shop at that hour than to have to wake up before dawn to get the best deals.
Besides, he added, shopping is not necessarily at odds with the spirit of the Thanksgiving, which is a family-oriented holiday.
“Guess what - shopping to some people is a family-centric activity,” he said.
In nearly every category from real estate loans to small business loans to consumer loans, banks in the St. Louis area are lending less than a year ago, according to data released from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The Federal Reserve, which tracks more than 70 banks chartered in the St. Louis area, released its third quarter report from locally chartered banks. The figures do not include financial services firm Stifel Financial or banks that are headquartered outside of St. Louis, such as Bank of America or M&I.
The number of locally chartered banks, 73, dropped by one in the quarter as Citizens State Bank of Shipman, Ill., merged in July with Carlinville National Bank in Carlinville Ill., creating the newly named CNB Bank and Trust.
Locally chartered banks’ loans for the third quarter that ended Sept. 30 totaled $20.04 billion, down from $22.2 billion in the third quarter of 2010. The third quarter loans are up slightly from the second quarter of this year, when locally chartered banks had $20.03 billion in total loans.
“What we’re seeing is that lending standards have changed from prior to the economic crisis,” said Julie Stackhouse, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “Banks have plenty of cash to lend. The disconnect is finding borrowers that have the demand and the credit record to support a loan.”
Some borrowers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the economy to improve before they expand their businesses. Construction and industrial, or C&I, loans, which go to pay for equipment upgrades and inventory, fell in the third quarter to $3.3 billion, down from $3.6 billion a year ago. Many banks in the St. Louis area have targeted growing C&I loans to replace construction and land development loans, which had high default rates during and following the recession payday loans direct lenders.
Small business loans have also declined, to $3.6 billion in the third quarter, down from $3.9 billion a year ago.
“At this point, so much is dependent on confidence in the economy, and demand for loans is flat,” Stackhouse said. “Businesses don’t want to gear up until (consumer) spending is up.”
Not all banks are seeing slowdowns in loan activity. Clayton-based Enterprise Bank & Trust grew its loans, both organically and through acquisitions, with its fastest growth category in C&I loans.
“Overall, most business owners are careful about adding more people or equipment, but some segments are growing, such as health care and manufacturing,” said Enterprise Bank & Trust’s Chief Executive and President Stephen Marsh.
Nonperforming loans, or those that are at least 90 days past due, totaled $855 million for all St. Louis-chartered banks in the third quarter, down from $1.1 billion a year ago. Banks are also setting aside less for loan loan provisions, which fell to $545.1 million in the third quarter compared to $614.3 million a year ago.
“Credit quality is a slow, steady improvement,” Marsh said.
Another positive trend is that profitability is improving. Banks chartered in the St. Louis area had a combined profit of $104. 8 million for the year through Sept. 30, compared with a $50 million loss in the same time period last year. Of the 10 largest locally chartered banks, only two posted a loss for the first nine months of the year, First Bank and Reliance Bank.
First National Bank of St. Louis posted a $14.6 million profit for the first nine months of the year, up 8 percent from the comparable period a year earlier.
“Our customer base has seen some improvement in their businesses in the last 12 months, but this is still the worst economic downturn I’ve seen in 35 years,” said President Rick Bagy.
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