> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2001: > > RELEASED TODAY: The U.S. Import Price Index decreased 1.6 percent in > November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The decline followed a > 2.4 percent decrease in October and reflected continuing drops in both > petroleum and nonpetroleum prices. The Export Price Index also continued > to fall in November, down 0.4 percent after falling 0.7 percent in > October. > > President Bush announces his intention to nominate economist Kathleen > Utgoff, a pension official in the Reagan administration, to serve as > commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Utgoff will be nominated > to replace former BLS Commissioner Katharine Abraham, who left the agency > in mid-October after serving for 8 years. Abraham recently accepted an > appointment as professor of survey methodology and affiliate professor of > economics at the University of Maryland. Utgoff was a senior economist at > President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 1983 until 1985. She > was an economist at the Center for Naval Analyses from 1974 until 1983, > the White House said. Utgoff holds an undergraduate degree from > California State University at Northridge, and a Ph.D from the University > of California at Los Angeles. The appointment requires Senate > confirmation (Daily Labor Report, page A-10). > > The U.S. deficit in the broadest measure of foreign trade fell to $94.98 > billion in the July-September quarter, the smallest in nearly 2 years, > reflecting an American economy in recession and huge foreign insurance > payments from the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Commerce Department > says the deficit in the current account dropped by 11.7 percent from an > April-June imbalance of $107.58 billion. That was the smallest trade gap > since a deficit of $92.47 billion in the final quarter of 1999. The > current account is considered the broadest measure of trade because it > covers not only the flow of goods and services across borders but also the > flow of investments and items such as foreign aid (Martin Crutsinger, > Associated Press, http://www.nypost.com/apstories/business/V7520.htm). > > The relation between family circumstances and a child's academic > proficiency is well-known, but policymakers usually assume that if all > children can be held to the same standards the achievement gap between > rich and poor will eventually disappear. We pay too little attention to > how social and economic forces themselves influence learning, says Richard > Rothstein in The New York Times (page A25). Unemployment has now risen to > 5.7 percent, up from less than 4 percent in October 2000. The biggest > downturns have been in low-wage industries, like hotels and restaurants. > More job losses are expected. If the past is any guide, rising > unemployment will cause children's school performance to decline, but > commentators will attribute the drop entirely to poor teachers low > standards, or overcrowded schools, Rothstein contends. > > U.S. wholesale inventories fell in October by the largest amount in 19 > years. Sales declined more, lengthening the time it may take for > businesses to work off excess stockpiles and climb out of the first > recession since 1991. The 1 percent drop in inventories to $294.2 billion > followed a 0.4 percent decrease in September, the Commerce Department > says. Sales fell 1.4 percent, after falling 1.2 percent a month earlier. > "We haven't seen that light shining at the end of the tunnel yet," says > Tim Rogers, chief economist at Briefing.com in Boston. "It's going to be > a very slow recovery, as businesses continue to cut costs and hesitate to > invest" (Bloomberg News, The Boston Globe). > > In the face of plunging sales, U.S. wholesalers cut their inventories in > October at the fastest pace since at least 1992, a government report on > Tuesday shows (Reuters, Chicago Tribune). > > Retailers reported sales late week that were 0.4 percent lower than the > week before but a respectable 3 percent greater than the same week a year > ago, according to a national index released yesterday. The week started > out quiet, but then came cold weekend weather that sent consumers shopping > for sweaters, coats, and other seasonal items. If the weekend performance > were to continue, sales could exceed expectations, said Mike Niemira, an > economist at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. But Niemira has lowered those > expectations in the past month, from a 4 percent increase in sales to a > 1.5 percent increase. "The question is, do the numbers fall, stabilize or > pick up from here," the New York-based analyst said (The Washington Post, > page E3). > > DUE OUT TOMORROW: Producer Price Indexes, November 2001 >
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