Equities, commodities, emerging market economies' currencies all suffer declines
Thursday, 13 November 2008
From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Nov 12: The global economy is entering a slowdown of epic proportions comparable with what was witness during now famous great depression of 1929, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Merrill Lynch said.
The gloom continues to grip the auto industry in the US. The price of General Motors shares sunk to $2. 92 lowest in past 65 years. GM's cash reserve is declining by $2.0 billion a month. If the trend continues its reserves will fall below $10 billion that it requires for its global operations.
The US automaker is contemplating suspension of production at its factories in South Korea from the end of December. The South Korean plants were the best performing units of the General Motors.
Democratic Party-controlled Congress and the White House are bracing for the last showdown in Bush presidency over the question of providing cash out of the $700 billion bailout package to the beleaguered auto industry. The House Speaker Ms Nancy Pelosi said Congress and the administration must take immediate action to stave off a possible collapse of the American auto industry, the New York Times (NYT) reported today.
The White House is saying the bailout programme is meant only to salvage the sinking banks. The dent in consumers confidence is the cause of worry at the present moment. The White House remains firm in its decision. The analysts say if the consumer slump continues in the US there is a potential for a dangerous feedback loop in which spending cuts and layoffs reinforce each other. It is a scary time. Worry can make economy worse, NYT reporters who interviewed people in a report said today.
Meanwhile, panic is spreading like wild inferno in Arab nations as the price of oil continues to fall despite a cut of 1.1 million barrel production a day. The price fell to $59 a barrel. Saudi Arabia, Opec's kingpin has warned customers particularly in poor countries that it would pare exports by 5.0 per cent from December. Algeria, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait have signalled that they would follow suit.
Hedge Fund chief executives who earned more than $1.0 billion last year have been summoned to the Capitol Hill to testify about the risks their companies may pose to broader economy. The CEOs of Europe's top 50 companies are closing the gaps with their US counterparts.
NEW YORK, Nov 12: The global economy is entering a slowdown of epic proportions comparable with what was witness during now famous great depression of 1929, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Merrill Lynch said.
The gloom continues to grip the auto industry in the US. The price of General Motors shares sunk to $2. 92 lowest in past 65 years. GM's cash reserve is declining by $2.0 billion a month. If the trend continues its reserves will fall below $10 billion that it requires for its global operations.
The US automaker is contemplating suspension of production at its factories in South Korea from the end of December. The South Korean plants were the best performing units of the General Motors.
Democratic Party-controlled Congress and the White House are bracing for the last showdown in Bush presidency over the question of providing cash out of the $700 billion bailout package to the beleaguered auto industry. The House Speaker Ms Nancy Pelosi said Congress and the administration must take immediate action to stave off a possible collapse of the American auto industry, the New York Times (NYT) reported today.
The White House is saying the bailout programme is meant only to salvage the sinking banks. The dent in consumers confidence is the cause of worry at the present moment. The White House remains firm in its decision. The analysts say if the consumer slump continues in the US there is a potential for a dangerous feedback loop in which spending cuts and layoffs reinforce each other. It is a scary time. Worry can make economy worse, NYT reporters who interviewed people in a report said today.
Meanwhile, panic is spreading like wild inferno in Arab nations as the price of oil continues to fall despite a cut of 1.1 million barrel production a day. The price fell to $59 a barrel. Saudi Arabia, Opec's kingpin has warned customers particularly in poor countries that it would pare exports by 5.0 per cent from December. Algeria, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait have signalled that they would follow suit.
Hedge Fund chief executives who earned more than $1.0 billion last year have been summoned to the Capitol Hill to testify about the risks their companies may pose to broader economy. The CEOs of Europe's top 50 companies are closing the gaps with their US counterparts.