Tag Archive | "economic recovery"

Inadequate Actions to Relieve Budget Deficits Could Undermine Global Recovery- World Finance Leaders


The United States was castigated by world finance leaders on Saturday because of its inadequate actions to lessen its large budget deficits. Finance leaders said monetary constraints in rich countries such as the United States can largely jeopardize global recovery.

On Saturday, finance ministries were in Washington for its semi-annual meeting. This time, they have discussed more about the $14 trillion debt accumulated by the United States.

Most of the emerging market economies, which took part in the meeting, criticized the actions of the United States. However, some advanced nations reinforced the talks as well.

According to Dutch finance minister Jan Kees de Jager, if advanced nations act too slowly to reduce massive financial deficits, this could further lead to more sustainability issues and weaken the outlook of global economy. He said debt dynamics in other advanced economies together with the United States are of major concern.

The International Monetary Fund said that the U.S. budget deficit was about to reach 10.8 percent of the nation’s economic output this year. The federal country ties with Ireland for the highest deficit-to-GDP ration among several other advanced economies.

The committee’s advisory panel on Saturday said that concerns for financial stability, as well as sovereign debt stability must be addressed. It said credible actions must be made to push progress.

The House of Representatives, led by the Republican party, approved a plan on Friday to cut spending by about $6 trillion over a decade and slash benefits for the poor and elderly.

President Barach Obama, who offered plans to reduce deficits by $4 trillion over 12 years, said on Thursday that the plan of the Republicans would just create a nation of potholes. The administration is worried about cutting budget spending sharply while economic recovery remains volatile.

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Obama Announced Himself as a Candidate for 2012 Re-election


President Barack Obama announced himself as a candidate for the next year’s re-election through video and mail sent to his supporters on Monday. He hopes economic recovery will increase his chances for a new term.

The announcement sets the plan to gather about $1 billion donations, which would break off the campaign finance record of $750 million he had previously acquired for the 2009 elections.

Obama appears to be in a fairly good shape against his potential challengers from the Republican field. However, many believe it is early to tell yet. The U.S economy is picking its pace to recovery. Yet, there are still various instances that could affect Obama’s chances, which include increasing prices of gasoline and unexpected extension of the conflict in Libya.

Also, the high unemployment rate in the United States became a huge factor in the victory of Republican field in November. Most Americans consider this factor when they vote. But the unemployment rate decreased to 8.8 percent in the last few months.

In 2009, Obama became the first ever black president in the United States. He scored big when reforms of healthcare, as well as financial regulation laws were approved by the Congress last year.

Obama’s fate in the 2012 re-election will highly depend on how he scores with the independent voters, which were an important part of his victory in 2008.

Although President Obama tries to distance himself from actions which can be viewed as ‘politicking,’ each of his moves will be viewed now as re-election plots by the media. In his email, Obama said to his supporters that he will be filing papers to begin his re-election bid in a formal way.

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Several Shoppers Spend on Black Friday Bringing Bargain-Binging Mood Back


Shoppers have apparently brought back their bargain-binging mood on a Black Friday while they scoop up everything from computer laptops to TVs, toys and many other deals at stores. This turns out to be a good way to uplift economic recovery.

Today, shoppers were buying more for themselves and were less attentive on price as opposed to the past two Black Friday seasons. However, shoppers said discounts were not as big as they were in the past.

Apart from that, many teenagers also went out to shop, which is a good sign for the holiday season according to retail executives and analysts since consumer expenses account for more than half of the U.S economy.

This season can be considered as one of the biggest Black Fridays they have ever seen according to David Bassuk, the managing director of a consulting firm AlixPartners, while quoting store promotions and strong advertising campaigns.

While retailers expect a prosperous holiday season this year, it seems that giving out less generous deals might help them evade huge discounts and keep up with their margins.

Analyst Brian Sozzi said that prices are discounted within a range of 25 to 40 percent this year in comparison to 30 to 50 percent last year.

However, young people are now shopping for higher priced items, which means that shoppers are more willing to use their income rather than saving it. This is based from Jharonne Martis-Olivo’s statement, the director of consumer research at Thomson Reuters.

Black Friday is the term coined by retailers that refer to the time of the year when they turn their business into profit, or “in the black.” This year, retailers aim to keep their sales at a momentum that has moderately picked up while the economy recovers.

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