Free Republic

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. China probably will surpass the U.S. as the world's largest exporter of manufactured goods this year, propelled by its embrace of advanced technology, a study by a U.S. industry group says. "The rapid growth of Chinese manufactured exports, with an increasingly high-tech orientation, presents a major challenge to U.S. competitiveness,'' said the report by Ernest Preeg, a senior fellow at the Manufacturers Alliance in Arlington, Virginia, an association that represents companies such as Caterpillar Inc. and Motorola Inc. In 2001 China exported half the amount of factory goods the U.S. did....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Majority surveyed believe growth will be less than economists predict (Crain's) — A National Assn. of Manufacturers survey of its members found they expect the U.S. economy to grow more slowly this year than what many economists predict. A majority of those surveyed foresee growth in the U.S. gross domestic product of less than 2.9% in 2006, the association said. The NAM's own economist predicts the economy will grow 3.3% this year, said Hank Cox, an association spokesman. Economists' consensus estimates have recently stood at 3.4%. The survey was sent last...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Little Rock - Hundreds of people are out of work Tuesday night after a major announcement at the Levi Strauss company. The company's Little Rock distribution plant will be closing its doors as early as August. The move will put 340 people out of work. The plant is located just south of Little Rock off Interstate 530 along the Pratt Road Exit. Levi Strauss closed down the plant because company officials said it already has three major distribution plants in North America and this one was no longer necessary. Little rock...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Inspired by a reader who sent a list of once American corporations who's profits are no longer funneled to the hard-working American employee, I investigated the subject. The clip that landed on my desk was from "America is Selling Out," published in The American Conservative, December, 2005. As I digested, emotionally charged from the publication's Web site at www.economyincrisis.org, I agreed with some of the information, discarded the sensational propaganda and extrapolated my take on the issues' raw facts. From what I've experienced and witnessed first-hand, I consider the current state...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The Labor Department reported the economy added 108,000 payroll jobs in December. The consensus forecast was 207,000, and my forecast, published by Reuters was 180,000. Unemployment fell to 4.9 percent, mainly because fewer adults chose to participate in the labor force. In the fourth quarter, 438,000 jobs were added, and this is consistent with GDP growth in the range of 3.0 to 3.5 percent Economic growth appears to be moderating from the red hot numbers posted in the third quarter, and if the Fed does not push interest rates too much...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. INDIANAPOLIS - DaimlerChrysler AG will close its Indianapolis foundry and eliminate 881 jobs by Sept. 30, reducing the automaker's once formidable Indiana manufacturing presence to just the city of Kokomo. DaimlerChrysler recently notified the Indiana Department of Workforce Development of the closure under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act. The law requires employers to give 60 days notice before certain plant closings and layoffs. The loss of 881 jobs is the largest in Indiana under WARN this year. A provision in the four-year labor agreement struck by the...

Watching the Economy Crumble Paul Craig Roberts Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005 The United States continues its descent into the Third World, but you would never know it from news reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' July payroll jobs release. The media give a bare-bones jobs report that is misleading. The public heard that 207,000 jobs were created in July. If not a reassuring figure, at least it is not a disturbing one. On the surface, things look to be pretty much OK. It is when you look into the composition of these jobs that the concern arises. Of the...

The United States continues its descent into the Third World, but you would never know it from news reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' July payroll jobs release. The media give a bare-bones jobs report that is misleading. The public heard that 207,000 jobs were created in July. If not a reassuring figure, at least it is not a disturbing one. On the surface, things look to be pretty much OK. It is when you look into the composition of these jobs that the concern arises. Of the new jobs, 26,000 (about 13 percent) are tax-supported government jobs. That...

The June payroll jobs report did not receive much attention due to the July 4 holiday, but the depressing 21st century job performance of the U.S. economy continues unabated. Only 144,000 private sector jobs were created, each one of which was in domestic services. Fifty-six thousand jobs were created in professional and business services, about half of which are in administrative and waste services. Thirty-eight thousand jobs were created in education and health services, almost all of which are in health care and social assistance. Nineteen thousand jobs were created in leisure and hospitality, almost all of which are waitresses...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. EMPORIA, Kan. - Days after merging with a rival, the owners of a Kansas radiator plant said Monday the factory will close in September and leave 130 people unemployed. The Modine Manufacturing Co. plant opened in Emporia in 1973 to build sheet-metal radiators for Ford Motor Co. On Friday, Modine's aftermarket division merged with Transpro Inc., a Connecticut-based competitor, to form Proliance International Inc. The merger will move production to two existing plants in Mexico, and the Emporia facility will be sold. Two regional plants and branch distribution centers in Denver...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Proponents of so-called "free" trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which I opposed, have long promised endless riches for U.S. workers, farmers, businesses and economy. They've been wrong on all counts. Failed U.S. trade policies have led to the export of millions of high-paying American jobs; decline in U.S. living standards; soaring trade deficits; and a significant erosion of U.S. sovereignty to international trade bureaucrats. Despite this unbroken record of failure, the House is expected to vote before August on an agreement the Bush administration negotiated to...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. As data gathered in the real world of international rivalry continues to show an expanding U.S. trade deficit that will likely hit $700 billion this year (up from $617 billion last year), a great wailing is heard from the Defenders of Free Trade. Their libertarian economic faith is immune to facts, either from present observation or historical experience. That's what makes it a secular religion. Nothing better reveals its reliance on superstition and ignorance than how readily its adherents resort to falsehoods to defend its dogma. Consider two recent columns that...

Economic data continue to point to ongoing growth of the US economy, but financial-market participants have become more doubtful. This was reflected in expressions of concern following the release of the latest US trade deficit figures earlier in April, and especially in the plummeting of stockmarket indices a week ago. Moreover, the latest industrial output and import-price inflation data have prompted the revival of a nearly forgotten term, "stagflation". While the Economist Intelligence Unit is not forecasting a scenario of high inflation and a stagnant economy, the combination of creeping price pressures and slowing growth has already arrived. On the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Steelcase Inc. announced Monday that it will cut 600 jobs over the next two years as it shuts down its remaining manufacturing operations in the city and consolidates work at other plants. The furniture maker said it will vacate the remaining factories at its sprawling Grand Rapids campus. Much of the work from the chair and panel plants will be moved to plants in Kent County's Gaines Township and Kentwood. About 30 jobs will move to Steelcase's plant in Mexico, The Grand Rapids Press reported. One hundred...

The developed world is on the brink of the greatest demographic change in its history, and America's standard of living will decrease by almost one-third by the middle of this century, according to a new study released by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). The report adds that over the next 30 years, the number of elderly in the United States, the European Union and Japan will more than double, while the number of workers available to pay the elderly their government-promised benefits will rise by less than 10%. That will require large tax increases – the payroll tax...

My sisters and I became ashamed when we got the news. My mother and father bought a Hyundai. My father used to be a General Motors man. Sure, he made the mistake of buying a few Fords over the years, such as the 1976 Pinto that mother wouldn't ride in for fear it would explode. And both Volkswagens were lemons, especially the Beetle that wouldn't start unless we covered the motor with a plastic diaper every night. But father only made such mistakes with our second car. Our main car was usually a GM. I still miss our 1976 Catalina...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. U.S. toolmaker Black & Decker says it will dismiss about 700 employees, shut two factories and move production offshore. The moves follow a $775 million merger with Pentair's Tools Group unit that Black & Decker bought this month, the Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday. Workers at the acquired unit will bear many of the job losses: as many as 75 sales, management, marketing and engineering employees out of 1,800, most of whom are in manufacturing and distribution, will be cut at two plants, and more than 100 sales representatives will be fired...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. If you think Pedro Martinez' numbers against the New York Yankees look bad (and they do), they're nothing compared with the government's latest monthly trade figures. Dismal as the Boston Red Sox ace's performance against the Bronx Bombers has been, he looks like a champion next to the trade numbers, which are one important measure of the U.S. economy's performance against the rest of the world. Not that the trade surplus and deficit figures tell us everything we need to know about America's competitiveness. In particular, they compare apples and oranges...

Google Founders on Hiring Trip to India Oct 13, 3:18 PM (ET) By S. SRINIVASAN BANGALORE, India (AP) - Google Inc. (GOOG) founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin said Wednesday that some new features on the world's top search engine and other services will come from its research center in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, where they are on a hiring spree. "One approach we are taking is that Bangalore is where we run a mirror exactly of what we have in the United States in terms of development," Brin told reporters in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state....

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Illinois-based toy maker Hedstrom Corp. has discontinued operations, shutting down six plants — including a rotational molding operation in Ashland, Ohio, and a swing-set factory in Bedford, Pa., that does blow molding. Hedstrom said it could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in four years. Meanwhile, local managers at the Ashland plant are interested in buying the rotomolding operation, said Martin Irvine, Ashland economic development director. “They´ve been in discussions with several different investment groups. Over the last week or so they have made offers to buy the...