High end donor shake off economic headwinds

2:00 PM donor, economic, headwinds, shake No Comments

| By James R. Hagerty and Ben Casselman, Wall Street Journal

Weak unemployment data and gridlock in Washington are not well-heeled consumers, slowed down, continue to open their wallets for big-ticket items.

Despite persistently weak labor market data and gridlock in Washington are signs of confidence consumers surprisingly and open their wallets to buy expensive speedboats of washing machines.

US shipments of appliances continues to grow double profit in the third quarter at whirlpool (WHR) as stronger, US real estate market sales offset weakness in many parts of the world to help. North America's largest manufacturer enhances also the full year earnings forecast.

'' We feel good about the fourth quarter"prospects for the US unit sales, Jeff greasy, Managing Director of hot tubs, said in an interview. Wholesale deliveries of the so-called big six appliance categories - washing machines, dryer, dishwasher, refrigerators and freezing equipment and areas as well as furnaces - grew by 6.3 percent compared to the year earlier, reported million units to 4 according to the Association of home appliance manufacturers Tuesday.

Earnings and forecasts are also at other companies, the more expensive and extravagant consumer. Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson (hog) and Polaris of industries (PII) which products include ATVs, Tuesday reported sharp increases profit and sales in the third quarter. You against Winnebago Industries(WGO) a manufacturer of caravans, trailers and other recreational vehicles, strong quarterly figures last week booked.

"Make the nerds and geeks tons of money," said Allen Sinai, Chief Economist at decision economics, a research firm in Boston, even as the typical American is suffering from stagnant wages and worries about layoffs. The latest employment data, released by the Labor Department Tuesday, little comfort about the health of the entire labour market as employers offered a less than expected 148,000 jobs in September added. And many consumers remain cautious.

But employees many high-tech and energy companies, as some farmers have done very well. A rising stock market and restore real estate prices have helped to encourage rich Americans.

Actually, the richest Americans, who crashed a major hit during the recession, was taking as stocks and homes value replacement, have seen a far stronger recovery than their less affluent neighbors.

The average household in the top 20 percent of wage earners has its earnings seen rise more than 6 percent since 2008 after adjusting for inflation, according to the Census Bureau; among the top 5 percent, the increase has been nearly 8 per cent. Households in the middle of income distribution only 2 percent to win, have returned, on average while incomes for the poorest Americans to its prerecession peak did not.

Nevertheless, the average American household spent $51.442 in 2012, surpassed its prerecession peak for the first time, the Ministry of labour has in the past month.

"You have a House and a stock portfolio, better looking things", said Craig Kennison, analyst at Robert W. Baird & co.

That has translated into Splurges. The hottest part of the market said in high pontoons will cost less than $100,000, Jared Lacefield, a boat manufacturer representatives in Clovis, California he said that some of the most eager buyers of tech workers and nut growers. "Can the quantity per hectare, when pistachio is crazy", he said.

The automakers did best on high end. Luxury cars in the first nine months 2013 sales up 12 percent over the previous year. In contrast to the sales of cheap small cars, like the Chevrolet Sonic, Ford rose Fiesta and Toyota Yaris, only 6.1 percent for the same period, according to data compiled by Autodata.

In September, about 60 per cent of 45.944 pickups were by General Motors (GM) sold higher end models with leather seats, electronic features and higher quality audio systems considered. "In any case, that are automakers Detroit all see people give more money for features even if they decide to buy an entry-level vehicle," said GM spokesman Jim Cain.

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Economic growth still modest, Fed report finds

6:00 AM economic, finds, growth, modest, Report, still No Comments

Reuters

The U.S. economy trucked along at a "measured" pace in recent weeks and hiring remained modest, according to a Federal Reserve report that did little to calm concerns about slow growth and high unemployment.


Details from the manufacturing sector were mixed, the Fed said in its Beige Book report on Wednesday. Contacts in five of the Fed's 12 districts reported worries about the outlook for 2013, predicated in part on concerns about a looming "fiscal cliff" contraction in the U.S. government's budget.

"Consumer spending grew at a moderate pace in most districts," the report said, alluding to a generally upbeat outlook for holiday sales from those contacts that offered their views on the key shopping season for retailers.

The report, which compiles anecdotal evidence on the economy based on the Fed's business contacts, also found few signs of price pressures.

That should give comfort to Fed policymakers, who recently launched a large new stimulus plan aimed at supporting the economic recovery and keeping long-term interest rates low.

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Fed open to linking rate hike to economic gauge

3:30 PM economic, gauge, linking No Comments

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, Associated Press
(Updated 4:49 p.m. Eastern) WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve wants to find a clearer way to signal to the public when it might start raising interest rates.

The Fed has told investors that it plans to keep short-term rates low for at least another three years. But it appears to be leaning toward setting a more specific target, according to minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting.

Most members agreed at the Sept. 12-13 meeting that linking a future rate increase to a level of unemployment or some other numeric target could be useful. The minutes show members have yet to agree on what the economic target should be. But the discussion signals another option the Fed might pursue if its latest stimulus efforts don't do enough to boost the still-weak economy.

After last month's meeting, the Fed said it planned to keep its benchmark short-term rate near zero until mid-2015, six months later than it previously planned. And it left open the possibility of taking other steps.

The Fed also agreed at the meeting to spend $40 billion a month to buy mortgage-backed securities to drive longer-term interest rates lower and boost economic growth.

The Fed has kept the short-term rate at a record low since December 2008. In August 2011, it announced that it planned to keep the rate that low until at least mid-2013. It later extended the target date to late 2014. Last month, it extended it again to mid-2015.

This action has been intended to help the economy by assuring borrowers and investors that loans would remain cheap for years.

Numeric targets now appear to be under consideration to provide additional guidance on future interest-rate moves. But the minutes noted that the Fed would have to reach agreement on what those targets should be.

Charles Evans, president of the Fed's Chicago regional bank, has been the most vocal supporter of the change. He says the Fed should hold off on raising rates until the unemployment rate falls below 7 percent, as long as inflation doesn't exceed 3 percent.

And Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Minneapolis Fed, said last month that he thought the Fed should pledge to keep rates low until unemployment falls below 5.5 percent — a level Kocherlakota said could take four years or more to achieve.

Some members oppose such moves. They argue that by tying a rate hike to a level of employment, it raises the risk of leaving rates too low for too long, which heightens the threat of inflation.

On Monday, Chairman Ben Bernanke sought to reassure investors about the Fed's timetable for keeping its short-term rate ultra-low. The plan doesn't mean the Fed expects the economy to be weak through 2015, Bernanke said in a speech to the Economic Club of Indiana. Rather, he said policymakers plan to keep rates low well after the economy strengthens.

The minutes also showed that the Fed structured its latest stimulus program around the purchase of mortgage bonds. It did so after members agreed that helping a nascent housing recovery was a good way to lift the broader economy.

Many participants agreed at the meeting that more bond purchases would support the economy by putting downward pressure on longer-term rates. That encourages more borrowing and spending, which drives growth.

According to the minutes, Fed members compared the effectiveness of buying Treasury bonds to that of mortgage-backed securities.

"Some participants suggested that, all else being equal, (mortgage bond) purchases could be preferable because they would more directly support the housing sector, which remains weak but has shown some signs of improvement of late," according to the minutes.

A few members expressed skepticism that additional bond purchases would help while also expressing concerns about inflation.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage has been below 4 percent all year. This week the rate fell to a record low of 3.36 percent. While home sales are rising, they remain well below healthy levels.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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1,000 Suicides in connection with Britain's economic slump?

6:30 PM Britains, connection, economic, slump, Suicides No Comments

© Luke MacGregor / Reuters / Reuters, file

A man looks advertisement posted in the window of the recruitment agency in London on 14 March 2012. Britain's economy shrank in the last nine months and produces 4.5 percent less than before the economic crisis now.

LONDON--A painful economic recession, rising unemployment and biting austerity may have driven more than 1,000 people in the UK to commit suicide, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The study, a so-called time-trend analysis, that the expected if pre-recession trends have been continued, reflects the actual number of suicides compared to findings elsewhere in Europe, where suicides on the rise.

"This one murky memory after the euphoria of the Olympics from the challenges we face and those, the forthcoming," said David Stuckler, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge and the study led, published in the British medical journal (BMJ).

The analysis showed that between 2008 and 2010, 846 were more suicides among men in England as would have been expected if previous development continued and 155 more in women.

Between 2000 and 2010, each was 10 per cent increase in the number of unemployed with a 1.4 per cent increase in the number of male suicides per year, the study found.

The analysis used data from the national clinical health outcomes and database of the Office of national statistics.

Stuckler, who worked with researchers from Liverpool University and the London School of hygiene and tropical medicine, said while this kind of statistical analysis could not establish a causal link, the power of associations was strong. Its conclusions were reinforced by other indicators of rising mental health problems, stress and anxiety, he added.

Hundreds of anti-austerity have been an own memory of demonstrators in Greece. 77-Year-old former pharmacist himself killed before the Parliament in Athens. In a note he said Government his pension wiped out cuts and robbed him his would. ITV Martin Geissler reported.

He was also the study showed a small reduction in the number of suicides in 2010 that coincided with a slight increase in male employment.

A survey of 300 family doctors, published by the research group insight on Tuesday showed that 76 percent of those polled on the impact of the economic crisis, that they thought that it was said human nutrients leads to more fear, abortions and abuse made alcohol.

Data showed information that the number of prescriptions for antidepressants in England rose foregone by 9.1 percent in 2010 Centre for health and social care this month by the Government.

One in July published according to study by Stuckler, Europe-wide hot from 2007 to 2009 unemployment increased suicide rates such as the financial crisis and drove and pushed income.

The countries that the worst of a severe economic downturn, such as Greece and Ireland taken saw the dramatic rise of suicides.

In the UK, there is little doubt that got harder times. The economy shrank in the last nine months and produces 4.5 percent less than before the economic crisis now.

Britain has fought, find a way to recover from a deep double dip recession. Recovery could be awakened by the Olympic Games? NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

Public debt is well over 1 trillion pounds and will grow to be with austerity pushed by the Government over 90 percent of GDP.

Many British living standards for 40 years and the crisis hard, had the worst squeeze young people with over 20 percent rising youth unemployment has hit.

'Income, status, meaning'
Stuckler of BMJ study found that the number of unemployed men grew on average across the UK by 25.6 percent annually from 2008 to 2010 an increase linked to an annual increase in the male suicides of 3.6 percent.

"A lot of men's identity and purpose is tied up with a job. "It brings income, status, importance..." Stuckler, said in a telephone interview.

"And there is also a pattern in the United Kingdom, where men are three times more likely to suicide than women, while women tend to report much, become depressed and ask for help."

The World Health Organization estimates that every year almost 1 million people die by suicide-a rate of 16 per 100,000, or one every 40 seconds.

UN health body also estimated for every suicide, there are up to 20 attempted.

New figures published on Tuesday also showed that Europe is closer to recession, facing down pulled by the crippling debt problems 17 States that use the euro.

"In Greece get worse things." There is no future for the next few years, "says Christos Christoglou, a Greek inspection engineer who moved to Germany, to find work."

Eurostat, statistics agency of Europe, said that the economies of the euro area and the European Union with 27 countries, a quarterly rate of 0.2 per cent decline in the second quarter of the year. The output for both regions was flat in the first quarter.

"Cost-cutting measures send us into poverty,", said Armando Farias, Member of the Executive Committee of the Confederation of the Portuguese workers. "We need development and investment, and we can not get it in this way." We need to change path. Something needs to be done must quickly and easily. "

Reuters and associated press contributed to this report.

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Fed has slowed down some options such as world economic growth

1:30 PM economic, growth, options, slowed, world No Comments

For the first time in decades, the fed as a toothless tiger is looking for.

It is clear that is several wheels of the world economy in the unison brakes, pressure on the world's largest Central Bank spur growth Assembly. But with the cost of borrowing already at historic lows, it is far from clear whether further measures, which are cheaper to help on money.

"they have a hammer and they are looking for a nail," said Alan de Rose, Managing Director of the Government trade and finance at Oppenheimer, Reuters.

The Fed Committee meets policy setting next week amid reports that it may be in the close of fresh Act, to stimulate the weakening economy.

Companies concerned about the inclusion of new risk and households ends with struggling to meet new data you show this week on an ongoing slowdown in the United States

The Commerce Department estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product, due Friday, is expected that slowed down to show growth in the first three months of the year from 1.9 percent to 1.2 percent. The slowdown follows a series of monthly reports on a weakening labour market and show a stubbornly high unemployment rate.

Still, the impact of a deepening of the recession in Europe feel American companies. Surveys of Europe's private sector this week, showed that the contraction that began in weaker economies of the eurozone has now spread to Germany and France. In the 17 countries that use the euro, the production has fueled issue. Consumers are gloomy as it 2009 already.

As the European meltdown on the entire U.S. economy weighs, States are dependent on vulnerable heavily on exports, by the deepening crisis overseas.

If the reduced global credit markets in the fall of 2008, central banks around the world quickly exhausted they reliably have used the primary tool, for decades fight financial fires: slashing interest rates given for money directly to banks. Despite these efforts, the world economy into a nasty recession slipped.

Since the Fed has a number of new tools, including the purchase of some $2 trillion in bonds to lower prices on other forms of credit, see you mortgage deals. For a time those movements seemed to revive growth: gross domestic product and setting picked last year, and the housing market seemed stabilized have.

Despite a flurry of press reports of possible new moves, that is not expected fed to make fresh announcements before their next meeting two days policy next week. Even most of the measures under consideration have been tried already.

Buy more bonds could help, support to the financial markets, but would do little to spur lending. With interest rates at or near record low extending the promise, the extremely low prices on 2014 out by itself provided probably not for the promotion of businesses and consumers to take on more risk.

So, with the world economy slows, the Fed deeper in his Toolbox reached.

With borrowers on the sidelines are considering measures to try fed policy, the bankers make more money in the system slide prod. Such a move would be to reward banks that borrowed more loans, an idea to make a recent program launched by the Bank of England. Bernanke indicated to reporters in June that the Fed was considering the plan.

Another measure to the urge to move bankers make more money from their depots and again in the economy would mean cutting the interest rate the Fed pays financial institutions Park which keeps their money at the Central Bank, is that now lies at 0.25 per cent.

But no matter how many new, that they are trying moves, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has acknowledged that the impact of these measures will be limited. When he last week legislators faces of the Central Bank warned that major obstacles, their task of strong growth and stable prices that are beyond their control.

"Rest in the United States continue to by a number of other headwinds, including the still tight credit conditions for some businesses and households, and the restraining effects of fiscal policy and fiscal uncertainty, be withheld", Bernanke told a Senate Panel.

Translation: Businesses and consumers are still have a hard time for loan. And unless Congress and the White House, head of the emerging $600 billion "fiscal cliff" increased massive taxes and spending cuts, there is little the Central Bank can do to avert a further recession.

The Fed is not alone in its predicament.

Seems to be now locked in a coordinated slowdown with the world central banks around the world have been the system with money to businesses and consumers to borrow and spend prod floods.

But still, that the world economy will lose momentum. The downturn is most evident in Europe, where a deepening debt crisis weigh on business and consumer confidence and hammering of the banking system.

Like the American fight European Central bankers to push money into the economy. But deep Government spending cuts in Greece and Spain many households without content spend leave have. And in the middle of a debt-induced are a financial storm, companies and consumers across the continent to lend no desire. A closely watched European Central Bank survey showed Wednesday, that the demand for loans remains weak in the euro area.

In China show slowed rapidly, the forward movement of the last big economy. Although still is booming compared to the developed economies, try Chinese officials to control their emerging economies on a course, maintains the robust growth but avoid a ruinous run up prices.

After the adoption of measures last year to a new bubble to cool, Beijing moves now to resume growth. But these measures are likely to be too limited to help to revive the rest of the world economy.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Discussion about the State of U.S. markets and whether further Fed action is necessary, with CNBC Contributor Joe Lavorgna and Ron Insana and CNBC by Steve Liesman.

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US economic growth slows in the first quarter

12:30 PM economic, first, growth, quarter, slows No Comments

Chris Keane / Reuters

Helping out the economy. Government data showed the U.S. economy slowed in the first quarter, but consumer spending helped soften the blow.

By msnbc.com staff and news wires
The U.S. economy grew at a slower pace in the first quarter of 2012, increasing concerns about the health of the recovery. The blow was softened by a rise in consumer spending, however.

The Commerce Department, in its initial reading of how the economy fared as the new year began, reported Friday that gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first three months of the year. That's down from a 3.0 percent rate in the fourth quarter and below economists' expectations of a 2.5 percent pace.

A surge in consumer spending took some of the sting from the report. Growth was still stronger than analysts' predictions early in the quarter for an expansion below 1.5 percent.

"Certainly a bit of a mixed picture, a disappointment on the headline coming in at 2.2 versus expectations of 2.5. Personal consumption was positive. But overall weaker-than-expected GDP," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotia Capital.

Although the details were mixed, the GDP report offered a somewhat better picture of growth compared with the fourth quarter, when inventory building accounted for nearly two thirds of the economy's growth. In the first quarter, demand from consumers took up the slack.

Consumer spending which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, increased at a 2.9 percent rate - the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010. That compared to a 2.1 percent rise in the fourth quarter.

There were some signs of underlying strength, with even home construction rising at its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010, thanks to the unusually warm winter.

But business spending fell for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2009, with investment in equipment and software rising at its slowest pace since the recession ended.

Business spending fell at a 2.1 percent pace after rising 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter.

The report will probably not change views on monetary policy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday expressed comfort with the current stance of Fed policy, but held out the prospect of more bond buying if the economy deteriorated.

Americans stepped up spending on automobiles in the first quarter, with motor vehicle sales rising by the most in four years. Part of that reflected pent-up demand after last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan disrupted supplies and left showrooms bereft of popular models.

And encouraged by a spurt in job growth, some households may have replaced older vehicles after tightening their belts during the 2007-09 recession. Motor vehicle output contributed 1.12 percentage points to first-quarter GDP growth.

But with the labor market showing early signs of fatigue after employment growth averaged 246,000 per month between December and February, consumer spending could soften in the second quarter.

Some gauges of regional factory activity eased as the second quarter started, and consumer confidence ebbed. In addition, first-time applications for unemployment benefits have spiked in recent weeks, although many economists pin the rise on seasonal quirks.

While the unseasonably warm weather helped the economy by boosting home building and renovations, it undercut demand for utilities, spending at ski resorts and sales of winter apparel.

As a result, weather was probably not the biggest contributor to growth during the quarter.

Inventories also helped GDP growth, just not as much as in the fourth quarter. Inventories increased $69.5 billion after rising $52.2 billion in the fourth quarter.

The change in inventories contributed just over half a percentage point to GDP growth compared to 1.81 percentage points in the fourth quarter.

Excluding inventories, GDP is rose at a 1.6 percent rate. In the fourth quarter, the comparable figure was just 1.1 percent.

Elsewhere, growth in the first quarter was held back by a another drop in government defense spending, which confounded expectations for a strong rebound. An increase in exports was offset by a rise imports, causing trade to have virtually no impact on growth.

Are you feeling optimistic, or not, about the economy. Let us know on Facebook.

Reuters contributed to this report.

CNBC's Rick Santelli and Steve Liesman break down the first quarter's GDP results and discuss its impact on the markets and what it indicates about the health of the U.S. economic recovery.

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Europe's economic medicine is killing the patient

10:31 AM economic, Europes, killing, medicine, patient No Comments

Riot policemen try to avoid an exploding petrol bomb thrown by protesters during a demonstration in Athens' Syntagma (Constitution) square October 5, 2011. Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths in central Athens, where thousands of striking state sector workers marched against cuts the government says are needed to save the nation from bankruptcy.

By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer

The medicine being used to cure the financial contagion spreading throughout Europe is killing the patient.

For nearly two years, the richer countries of the region have pressed harder for spending cuts and tax hikes from poorer countries like Greece, already struggling under a crushing debt accumulated when the global economy was booming.

Those measures have sent the entire euro zone sliding into recession, pushing Greece’s neighbors closer to default and European banks that are holding that shaky debt closer to insolvency.

Now, after years of debate and multiple failed efforts, the downward spiral may be impossible to break. By not acting quickly, Europe may have missed its chance to cure the disease, according to Mohamed A. El-Erian, CEO of  PIMCO, one of the world's largest bond funds.

“You have an infection,” he said. “You leave it alone. You don't treat it. You diagnose it badly. Guess what? Even the strongest parts of the body will get infected. That's what's happening in Europe today.”

Since July, European Union leaders have been working out details of a broad plan to force tax increases and budget cuts on Greece in return for the latest $11 billion payment that would head off the country defaulting on its debt. Without that aid, Athens is expected to run out of cash in a few weeks.

Greek officials said this week that they would not meet the targets imposed as part of the deal, throwing the entire bailout plan into doubt. While its European benefactors argue that Greece simply needs to try harder, austerity measures already have sent the country’s economy into a deep recession.

“The capacity of the Greek people to pay taxes is really, believe me, exhausted,” said Petros Doukas, a former Greek deputy finance minister. “People like myself are paying taxes out of our savings and by selling our assets. We’re not paying taxes by generating new income, unfortunately. And that’s a very, very dire development.”

Government spending in Greece now accounts for roughly 40 cents of every dollar of gross domestic product. That means that every fresh round of spending cuts pushes Greece deeper into recession, further sapping its capacity to repay its debt.

As a result, the disease is now spreading to the continent’s banks, which hold large chunks of European government debt on their books. As the threat of default rises, the value of those bonds falls. For a time, it appeared that Greece was the only country in trouble. But on Monday, credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded debt issued by Italy, the region’s third largest economy.

For over a year, European bank regulators have assured the financial markets that the banking system there was strong enough to withstand the spreading contagion. In the past few months, though, it’s become clear that Europe's bailout fund, cobbled together last year, is nowhere near large enough to backstop debt defaults and bank failures beyond Greece.

“From Day One, people knew this program would not deliver outcomes,” said El-Erian. “This was not about Greece. This was about keeping Greece somewhat stable in order to strengthen the fire walls.”

Now, those firewalls appear to have failed. On Tuesday, France and Belgium moved to bail out Dexia, Europe’s 20th-largest bank by assets. The bank was teetering on the brink of insolvency.   

Other European banks are also having trouble raising cash from investors, who worry that they may be the next to go belly up. They have reason for concern. On Wednesday, officials at the International Monetary Fund, a major player in the Greek bailout, repeated warnings that European banks don’t have enough capital to survive a credit squeeze. To compound that problem, European bank regulators this week suggested that bankers may need to take a bigger “haircut” on their debt holdings as the risk of bond default rises.

A year ago, raising capital by selling more stock would have been a relatively easy proposition. But in just the last eight months, European bank stocks have lost 40 percent of their value. Today, investors are much less willing to provide capital — in part because European bank financial statements are much more opaque than their American counterparts.

“At least with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America you can look at the balance sheet, look at the numbers, and have some sense that you know what you're looking at,” said Mark Grant, a managing director at Southwest Securities. “The problem with the European banks is you have no idea what you're looking at. They categorize things. They put things in drawers. They tell you, ‘Here’s the drawer’ and you have no idea what's in it.”

Sharing an update on the European protestors outside the Greek Capital today, with CNBC's Steve Sedgwick. Also, CNBC's Simon Hobbs, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera weigh in on whether a resolution to the European economic crisis is in sight.

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French economic growth Sputters stop

9:44 PM economic, French, growth, Sputters No Comments

PARIS - France economic engine ground to a halt in the spring, as French consumers cut their spending and exports dried up, is to strengthen the concerns that the global economy faced increasing recessionary threats.

The worse than expected French personalities come, like policy makers encrypt, investor nerves to settle down, that the country of's next major economy, could lose the coveted AAA rating.

A movement Friday from stock market regulators in France and elsewhere in Europe, a form of speculation to ban, some are blamed for turbulent trading in recent days saw some effects to have that economists stressed that a very fragile recovery.

French bank shares were flat or slightly lower in early trading in Paris. In the last few days have been like Societe Generale and BNP Paribas extremely volatile amid rumors about their financial health.

The EU markets supervisor, the ESMA the short selling ban announced late Thursday night to increase monitoring of the stormy markets earlier in the day. A trader wants to make a profit in a short sale by you bet on the decline in the price of a stock. The practice is been blamed for contributing to market volatility.

Regulators in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium are the prohibitions, whose Angaben vary from country to country every implementation.

The French market regulator, the AMF said that net-short-selling bans BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole and leading insurer for 15 days on 11 shares, including the banks Societe Generale,.

Authority of Belgium announced a ban on short selling in financial stocks such as leading banks and insurance companies from Friday. Belgium had already banned short selling, which is essentially a bet on a decline in the price of a share without borrowing of share since August 2008.

Several countries banned short selling during the financial crisis 2008 to try to tame the volatility. But some experts the prohibitions, actually a feeling of uncertainty contributed to.

Message, that French economic growth sputtered in the second quarter to rest concerns that the European economy by the debt crisis is dependent on that struck some countries and has fueled the turmoil in the markets is likely.

The French economy posted zero growth in the second quarter, national statistical office said INSEE. Government had forecast growth of around 0.2 percent in the period economists.

Growth in the first quarter was nearly 1 percent, but a sudden reversal of consumer spending and stagnation of the country exporters the seizure has caused to the euro-zone's second-largest economy.

Finance Minister France Friday morning took the airwaves again in an attempt to put a positive spin numbers on the weak second quarter.

"It's no surprise that is worse than the first in the second quarter, which we expected," Francois Baroin said in an interview on French radio station RTL. He said, the Government with the glue deficit reduction targets in spite of lower is.

This week said the French Central Bank that the economy will grow only 0.2 percent in the third quarter. The Bank monthly industry survey showed corporate books and factory utilization rates fall for the second consecutive month in July.

Copyright 2011 of the associated press. All rights reserved. This material cannot be published, sent, rewritten or redistributed.

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Japan braces for economic aftershocks

3:34 AM aftershocks, braces, economic, Japan No Comments

The widespread damage from Japan's deadly earthquake and tsunami will create economic and financial aftershocks for dozens of specific companies and industries. But the overall impact on Japan's beleaguered economy may be relatively small.

Ironically, the influx of insurance claims to repair and rebuild could even provide a short-term economic stimulus

The human toll is still being assessed after the 8.9 magnitude earthquake triggered a deadly 23-foot tsunami that swept away people, cars, houses, boats and planes. Dozens of people were killed, hundreds more are feared dead and tens of thousands have evacuated their homes.

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The quake was centered in the northeast city of Sendai, a rice-growing region that is also home to auto and chip manufacturing plants.

The quake brought Tokyo, Japans' financial center, to a virtual standstill Friday, overloading the city's phone system and paralyzing a transit system that left millions of passengers stranded. Millions of homes across Japan were without power.

Tokyo Gas Company shut off supplies to more than 35,000 households and facilities in the Kanto area in eastern Japan. In Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, a major fire broke out at Cosmo Oil Company's refinery, shutting down all operations. Tokyo Disneyland was closed Saturday and was undecided about opening on Sunday. There were no initial reports of injuries to visitors or staff.

Many companies were busy assessing damages. Nestle shut down operations at its Kasumigaura factory and Nippon Paper Group suspended production in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Chemical manufacturer Asahi Kasei Corp. shut down and evacuated workers due to a power outage. Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline suspended operations at its manufacturing plant. A spokeswoman said that "minor damage" to the plant would require suspension of production for "a few days."

Japan's automakers were among the hardest hit, though the damage appeared to be limited. More troubling was the closure of all of Japan's major ports, which could crimp Japanese exports to North American if they remain closed for long, analysts said.

"It's a very bad situation," said Dennis Virag, president of the Automotive Consulting Group. "Japan has excellent ports but they're going to be the focus of rescue efforts. I don't know how much (non-relief shipping) is going to be going out for while," he said.

Earlier this month, Toyota said slim inventory of its Lexus luxury brand was hurting sales in North America. All of the Lexus models sold in North America are made in Japan with the exception of the RX sport utility vehicle.

Baird analyst David Leiker said infrastructure damage from the quake could affect the shipments of parts and vehicles.

"The situation requires watching," Leiker said in a note for clients. "The Japanese supply base ships components around the world and (this) could have a ripple effect anywhere."

Report: 2nd Japan nuclear meltdown likely under way A partial meltdown is likely under way at a second quake-stricken nuclear reactor while efforts are under way to stop a meltdown at another, a top Japanese official says.

Millions without water, power in stricken Japan Japan's earthquake: How to help US tsunami cleanup to cost millions Early hero of Japan's quake tragedy: Building codes Grief-stricken Japan clings to survivor stories Amid the chaos of the recovery effort, NBC?s Lester Holt reports on remarkable scenes of survival.

Japan's tsunami awes even the experts Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Seismic experts have long known that Japan?s complex undersea fault system can unleash great waves, but this one was the most violent tsunami waves to hit the nation in the past century.

Images of chaos, destruction 8.9-magnitude quake,?tsunami cause enormous damage.

Toyota reported that, after a temporary shutdown of three factories, all plants had restarted production and that the company was still assessing the impact on its suppliers. Some dealers reported damage.

Fuji Heavy Industries, makers of Subaru cars and trucks, shut down eight of its 10 factories, including all five car and car parts plants in Gunma prefecture, north of Tokyo. Fuji also suspended production at its aircraft and power products factory in Tochigi prefecture.

Honda Motor reported that a 43-year-old male worker died after a wall collapsed at its research and development center in Tochigi prefecture. Collapsing walls at other nearby Honda facilities injured some 30 employees.

Several makers of chips used in smartphones and tablets shut down, prompting some concern that prices could spike in the short run. But analysts said it would likely have only a limited impact on global supplies.

Toshiba, the world's second biggest supplier of NAND flash memory after Samsung, closed its factories.

Electronics maker Sony closed six factories in the area hit hardest by the quake, but was still assessing the extent of damage. The plants make semiconductors, batteries, optical film and other components.

Power companies nearest the epicenter were rocked by the quake In Miyagi, Tohoku Electric Power reported smoke in a turbine room at its Onagawa nuclear reactor, but said there was no sign of a radioactive leak. Three additional reactors in at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant automatically shut down, and no radioactive leakage was found, although officials said pressure was rising inside Fukushima No. 1 after the cooling system failed. The U.S. Air Force delivered coolant for the plant, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

Damage from the hardest-hit areas will have a devastating financial impact on individual businesses and households. But while the quake's damage tally won't be known for weeks, the long-term impact on the Japanese economy may be limited. As often occurs after natural disasters in well-insured areas, the coming influx of money to settle claims will likely provide a short-term stimulus to Japan's economy.

"This is clearly going to add complexity to Japan's challenge of economic recovery and may lead to temporary increments, ironically, to GDP as a process of rebuilding takes place," Lawrence Summers, and economist and president emeritus at Harvard University. "In the wake of the earlier Kobe earthquake, Japan actually gained some economic strength."

Despite the Japanese government's aggressive efforts to stimulate growth, Japan's economy remains mired in a period of stagnation that has lingered for decades. In the fourth quarter of last year, Japan's Gross Domestic Product shrank at an annual rate of 1.1 percent from the third quarter.

On Friday, the Bank of Japan pledged to all it it could to ensure markets remain stable, including providing liquidity to the economy, if necessary. Japan's central bank will hold a meeting Monday.

Japan's financial industries, a major engine of growth, appear to have been spared. Citigroup, for example, said it had sustained no damage to its trading facilities and was operating normally after the quake.

In the short-term, the global insurance industry will bear the brunt of the financial burden. Insurance stocks were hit hard in European trading following news of the quake. Shares of Aflac, the largest insurer in Japan in terms of individual insurance policies in force declined, fell sharply. Swiss Re, Munich Re and Hannover Re ? so-called "reinsurers" which provide backup insurance to other insurers ? were also trading lower.

"It is too early to tell what the impact will be," said Tom Armitage, a spokesman for Swiss Re. "It usually takes one to two weeks until we can tell."

As a developed country, insurance coverage is relatively widespread in Japan. Following the 1995 quake in Kobe, for example, insurance claims came to $3 billion on estimated total damages of $100 billion, according to Munich Re. The 2008 earthquake that devastated Sichuan, China, by contast, resulted in total damages of $85 billion, only $300 million of which was covered by insurance. In the U.S., roughly a third of the $45 billion in losses from the 1994 Northridge, Calif., quake was covered.

The insurance industry is still tallying up losses from the powerful earthquake that struck New Zealand last month, with total insured losses projected at between $8 billion and $12 billion from that disaster.

Oil prices, which have been a concern recently as turmoil in the Middle East has pushed prices well above $100 a barrel, fell below that number for the first time in weeks on Friday. ?

Japan is the third-largest oil importer in the world. It's unclear how much its economy will be affected by the disaster. The news helped slow down what had been a sharp, three-week rally in oil markets.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April delivery tumbled $2.06 to $100.64 per barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped as low as $99.01 per barrel earlier in electronic trading.

(CNBC, AP, and Reuters contributed.)

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