BUSINESS BRIEFS
Manufacturing at 26-year low
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Manufacturers, already hit by mounting job losses, saw business plummet to the lowest level in 26 years in October. Sharply lower auto sales and shrinking construction spending, meanwhile, provided more evidence the U.S. has entered a recession that may be deep and prolonged.
The Institute for Supply Management said yesterday its manufacturing index fell to 38.9, the lowest reading since September 1982, when the country was near the end of a 16-month recession. Any reading below 50 signals contraction.
U.S. GOVERNMENT TO BORROW $550B
WASHINGTON — The government, raising cash to pay for an array of financial rescue packages, said yesterday it plans to borrow $550 billion in the last three months of this year — and that's just a down payment.
Treasury Department officials also projected the government would need to borrow $368 billion more in the first three months of 2009, meaning the next president will confront an ocean of red ink.
The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates all the government economic and rescue initiatives, starting with the $168 billion in stimulus checks issued earlier this year, total even more — an eye-popping $2.6 trillion.
BANKS TIGHTEN LENDING STANDARDS
WASHINGTON — Banks tightened the spigots further on all sorts of lending, from home mortgages to credit cards and business loans, as the worst financial crisis in seven decades took a bigger toll on the economy.
The Federal Reserve said yesterday that its latest quarterly survey of bank lending practices found high numbers of banks reporting tighter credit standards across a broad range of loan products. Nearly 60 percent of banks responding to the survey said they had tightened lending standards on credit card debt.
CRUDE, GASOLINE FUTURES GO DOWN
HOUSTON — A worsening economic climate pushed crude futures downward and depressed gasoline futures even further yesterday, one bit of good news for consumers amid a flurry of dour economic reports.
Gasoline futures tumbled nearly 9 percent with the release of the latest data suggesting to economists that the U.S. is in recession.
After trading above $69 per barrel, light, sweet crude for December delivery tumbled $3.87 to settle at $63.91 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
GOODYEAR SUFFERS BUT BEATS FORECAST
AKRON, Ohio — Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said yesterday it sold fewer tires in the third quarter as the U.S. auto industry slowed, but on average earned more for each tire and beat Wall Street's earnings expectations.
Earnings for the biggest U.S. tiremaker dropped sharply in the third quarter from a year ago, when it got a $517 million one-time lift from the sale of its Engineered Products unit. Goodyear earned $31 million, or 13 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, down from $668 million, or $2.75 per share, a year ago.
WORLD MARKETS LOSE $5.79 TRILLION
NEW YORK — World equity markets lost an estimated $5.79 trillion during October, the biggest monthly loss ever, Standard & Poor's Index Services said yesterday.
The October loss eclipsed the previous record, which was set just one month earlier, when 52 global equity markets lost a combined $4 trillion. Through the first 10 months of the year, world markets have lost about $16.22 trillion, according to S&P research.
