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Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts

Monday, 14 February 2011

Airline group expects 3.3B air travelers by 2014

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UNITED STATES

Global airline travel will likely jump to 3.3 billion passengers by 2014 as Asia's fast economic growth drives the industry's expansion, the International Air Transport Association said Monday.

Asia will likely account for 45 percent of the 800 million increase in air travelers between 2009 and 2014, IATA Chief Executive Giovanni Bisignani said at a news conference. China will be the fastest growing market for international passengers, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Malaysia, Bisignani said.

Asian carriers should earn about $4.6 billion this year compared with just $100 million of profit for their European competitors, reflecting the gap between the economic growth rates of the two regions, Bisignani said.

"Look at one number, GDP" he said. "When you see Singapore ... and China have double digit growth and in Europe we're struggling between 1 and 2 percent, that's how the industry is going."

The association expects gross domestic product in the Asia Pacific area to grow 6.6 percent this year, Europe to expand 1 percent and the U.S. to grow 1.5 percent.

Asia overtook North America as the largest aviation market in 2009 and will account for 30 percent of air traffic by 2014, while North America will slip to 23 percent.

Bisignani reiterated that the global airline industry will likely earn $9.1 billion this year, down from $15.1 billion last year as higher fuel costs eat into profits.

Fuel oil accounts for about 27 percent of an airline's costs and the industry will likely spend $156 billion on fuel this year from $139 billion last year, he said. The Geneva-based IATA expects Brent crude to average $84 a barrel this year, and every $1 above that will increase the industry's costs by $1.6 billion.

"Higher oil prices could spoil our party," Bisignani said.

By ALEX KENNEDY, Associated Press Alex Kennedy, Associated Press

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Obama unveils $3.73 trillion budget for 2012

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UNITED STATES

President Barack Obama is sending Congress a $3.73 trillion spending blueprint that pledges $1.1 trillion in deficit savings over the next decade through spending cuts and tax increases.

Obama's new budget projects that the deficit for the current year will surge to an all-time high of $1.65 trillion. That reflects a sizable tax-cut agreement reached with Republicans in December. For 2012, the administration sees the imbalance declining to $1.1 trillion, giving the country a record four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits.

Senior administration officials say Obama would achieve two-thirds of his projected savings through spending cuts that include a five-year freeze on many domestic programs. The other one-third of the savings would come from tax increases, including limits on tax deductions for high-income taxpayers.

Even before Obama's new budget for 2012 was unveiled on Monday, Republicans were complaining that it did not go far enough. They branded Obama's budget solutions as far too timid for a country facing an unprecedented flood of red ink that has pushed annual deficits to all-time highs above $1 trillion.

"We're broke," House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." He was defending a Republican effort not only to squeeze more savings out of Obama's 2012 budget but also to seek $61 billion in cuts for the current budget year.

House Republicans, many of whom were elected on an anti-deficit pledge, forced their own leaders to nearly double the savings they will seek in the seven months left in the 2011 budget year. Congress has been unable to pass a budget for the current year, and the government has been operating on a stopgap spending bill that expires on March 11.

Jacob Lew, the president's budget director, appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," refused to say what size cuts for 2011 would be acceptable to the administration. He stressed a desire to find a compromise that would avoid a government shutdown, something that last occurred during a protracted budget battle between Congress and the Clinton administration.

Obama's new budget will put forward a plan to achieve $1.1 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the formal release of the budget.

Two-thirds of those savings would come from spending reductions including $400 billion in savings from a five-year freeze on spending in many domestic government agencies.

The other one-third of savings would come from tax increases. The biggest tax hike would come from a proposal to trim the deductions the wealthiest Americans can claim for charitable contributions, mortgage interest and state and local tax payments. The administration proposed this tax hike last year but it never advanced because of widespread congressional opposition.

In addition to cutting deficits, Obama's new budget would increase spending in selected areas such as education, infrastructure spending and research and development — areas where the administration believes spending must be boosted for the country to remain competitive in the global economy.

Republicans have called these proposals nonstarters, saying the government can't afford spending increases and should only be debating how much to cut. They have also challenged Obama's five-year freeze on many domestic programs, saying that the president wants to freeze spending at 2010 levels, after two years of sizable spending gains. They are pushing to take spending back to 2008 levels, before spending ballooned in response to a deep recession.

"Americans don't want a spending freeze at unsustainable levels," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. "They want cuts, dramatic cuts."

Boehner said that Obama's budget "will continue to destroy jobs by spending too much, borrowing too much and taxing too much."

Lew rejected criticism that the $1.1 trillion deficit-cutting goal fell far short of the $4 trillion in deficit cuts outlined by the president's own deficit commission in a plan unveiled last December. The commission urged an attack on the biggest causes of the deficits — spending on the benefit programs Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — and defense spending.

Obama's budget avoided painful choices in those areas although it does call for $78 billion in reductions to Pentagon spending over the next decade by trimming what it views as unnecessary weapons programs such as the C-17 aircraft, the alternative engine for the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and the Marine expeditionary vehicle.

Administration officials said that the savings from limiting tax deductions for high income taxpayers would be used to pay for keeping the Alternative Minimum Tax from hitting more middle-class families over the next two years.

Another $62 billion in savings would be devoted to preventing cuts in payments to doctors in the Medicare program over the next two years. Congress has for several years blocked the cuts from taking effect, but the effort drove the deficits higher because lawmakers did not find offsetting savings.

While the administration's budget will propose freezing domestic programs that account for about one-tenth of the total budget, some programs in this category will also see sizable declines in spending.

Community development block grants would be trimmed by $300 million, the government's program to help low-income people pay their heating bills would be cut in half for a savings of $2.5 billion and a Great Lakes environmental restoration program would be cut by 25 percent to save $125 million.

The budget will propose $1 billion in cuts in grants for large airports, almost $1 billion in reduced support to states for water treatment plants and other infrastructure programs and savings from consolidating public health programs run by the Center for Disease Control and various U.S. Forest Service programs.

The administration will also propose saving $100 billion over a decade from Pell Grants and other higher education programs through belt-tightening, with the savings used to keep the maximum college financial aid award at $5,550, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the budget's Monday release.

The $1.1 trillion in savings would reduce the deficit as a percentage of the total economy to close to 3 percent of GDP by the middle of this decade. The deficit is projected by the Congressional Budget Office to surge to an all-time high of $1.5 trillion this year, which would be 9.8 percent of the economy and mark the third consecutive $1 trillion-plus budget gap.

The surging deficits reflect the deep 2007-2009 recession, which cut into government tax revenues as millions were thrown out of work and prompted massive government spending to jump-start economic growth and stabilize the banking system.

While Republicans scored significant victories in the November elections by attacking the soaring deficits, the administration has argued that the spending was needed to keep the country from falling into an even deeper economic slump.
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

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Sunday, 6 February 2011

Obama's business outreach takes him to the Chamber

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UNITED STATES

When President Barack Obama named Gene Sperling as his chief economic adviser, two of Sperling's early calls went to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue.

Known for his pugilistic style, Donohue wasted no time. Come on over, he said.

When Sperling crossed Lafayette Square, the park that separates the White House from the business lobby's headquarters, Donohue welcomed him with characteristic bluntness:

"Glad to have someone over there I'm comfortable sparring with at 10 a.m. and sitting down with at 2 p.m. to work on policy."

The story, confirmed by White House and Chamber officials, helps illustrate the 2011 version of this relationship.

After two years of vociferous conflict over health care and financial regulations, the two have entered into something of a detente.

President Barack Obama has scheduled a speech Monday at the Chamber, a first for him. Not four months ago, he had attacked the huge, Republican-leaning trade organization for failing to disclose donors to its $32 million congressional political campaign, "Their lips are sealed," Obama said at the time, "but the floodgates are open."

Their bitter fights overshadowed areas of solid agreement, including the Chamber's support of Obama's 2009 economic stimulus plan and the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler. Obama played a populist hand, referring to bankers as "fat cats," rebuking corporate lobbyists and casting the insurance industry as an antagonist in the health care debate.

The White House and the Chamber now are highlighting areas of common ground and expressing a joint commitment to creating jobs. Obama has stressed his new economic agenda, featuring competitiveness, innovation, energy and entrepreneurship. Disagreements linger and are no less vehement, but they no longer are the subject of loud legislative battles and big dollar advertising campaigns by the Chamber.

"What's changed now. I would use four words," Donohue said in an interview with the Associated Press. "The election has changed."

The Republican wave in November wrested control of the House from Democrats. It created a need for a more compromising legislative process and for the type of outreach Obama did not seek — and Republicans did not offer — when Democrats were in total control.

White House officials say Obama's speech will not break new policy ground, nor will he offer an olive branch. In his radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said businesses have an obligation to stay in the United States, hire American workers and invest in the nation's future.

"That's the message I'll be bringing to American business leaders at the Chamber of Commerce on Monday — that government and businesses have mutual responsibilities, and that if we fulfill these obligations together, it benefits us all," he said.

The speech — part nudge, part courtship — is a message to business that is hardly limited to the Chamber of Commerce. Obama met with some of the nation's top 20 executives in December, gently prodding them to get cash off their balance sheets and use it to create jobs. Also in December, he negotiated a compromise with Republicans on tax cuts that won him some grudging boardroom support.

Obama has offered to undertake a wholesale review of regulations to see which ones work and which ones stifle innovation. The financial sector, facing an enormous dose of new rules, is waiting to see how the banking regulatory overhaul is put into place. Bankers like his words, even if they have yet to see tangible results.

"The change in tone is a positive step," said Scott Talbott, a senior lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, a major banking industry group.

Obama needs the centrist cloak that the business community offers. The Chamber can benefit by softening the sharp edges it developed fighting health care, tighter financial rules and attacking many Democrats in the midterm campaign.

Both sides need each other for policy, as well. The Chamber can help the Obama administration win congressional support of trade deals, particularly a recently renegotiated pact with South Korea. Both the White House and the Chamber face Republican opposition to increased spending on public works, from roads and bridges to wireless networks.

On trade, infrastructure, and mostly on regulations, Donohue said, companies want certainty from the government.

"The reason the companies are sitting on $2 trillion worth of cash is because of uncertainty," he said,

Obama long has had allies in the private sector. He has given corporate CEOs advisory roles, and throughout his first two years, he held periodic lunches with executives at the White House. But until now, he had not brought them into his inner circle.

Last month, that changed. Obama named former Bill Daley, a former commerce secretary and JP Morgan Chase executive, as his chief of staff. He promoted Sperling, a known quantity to the business community. He gave high-profile assignments to General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt and AOL founder Steve Case.

"Daley is a big time Democrat, but he's a sound guy," Donohue said. "He knows how the town works, he knows how business works. He knows how the system works."

Still, the Chamber can be a sharp-elbowed foe.

"The Chamber is an enormously sophisticated Washington insider organization and is run by very conservative Republican operatives, for the most part," said Matt Bennett, a vice president at the centrist but Democratic leaning Third Way. "That relationship is always going to be more difficult than the broader outreach to business,"

But the joint focus these days is jobs. In front of the 10 massive Corinthian columns that grace the front of the Chamber's building, Donohue has authorized the placement of giant banners that spell out J-O-B-S.

The letters are visible from the White House through the bare winter trees of Lafayette Square — offering both a sign of common purpose and a reminder to the White House occupant of the 9 percent unemployment rate that still bedevils him.
By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press

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Cheney urges ‘balance’ in U.S. response to Egyptian turmoil

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UNITED STATES

Former Vice President Dick Cheney praised Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a "good" ally to the United States and urged the Obama administration to proceed cautiously in its handling of the turmoil in the region.

Cheney, speaking at a tribute to Ronald Reagan, suggested that putting too much pressure on Mubarak to reign could backfire and send Egypt into further crisis.

"There is a reason why a lot of diplomacy is conducted in secret. There are good reasons for there to be confidentiality in some of those communications. And I think President Mubarak needs to be treated as he deserved over the years, because he has been a good friend," Cheney said, per the Associated Press's Michael R. Blood.

The former vice president reminded the audience of Mubarak's past aid to the United States, including assistance during the 1991 Gulf War, and called on the Obama administration to have "balance" in its approach to the situation.

"He's been a good man, a good friend and ally to the United States. We need to remember that." Cheney said. "It's also important when you get into these circumstances that you try to have an open channel of communications that is private to whoever it is you are dealing with out there. It is very hard for some foreign leader to act on U.S. advice in a visible way."

(Photo of Cheney: Michael Moriatis/The News-Press via AP)

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Friday, 4 February 2011

Unemployment falls to 9.0 pct., only 36K new jobs

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UNITED STATES

The unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 9 percent, based on a government survey that found that more than a half-million people found work.

A separate survey of company payrolls showed a scant increase of 36,000 net jobs as snowstorms likely hampered hiring. That survey doesn't count the self-employed.

Harsh snowstorms last month cut into construction employment, which fell by 32,000, the most since May. Transportation and warehousing was also likely affected and fell by 38,000 — the most in a year.

"The thumbprints of the weather were all over this report," said Neil Dutta, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Hiring was suppressed last month and will likely rebound in February, he said.

In one bright spot, manufacturing added 49,000 jobs, the most since August 1998. And retailers added 28,000 jobs, the largest number in a year.

The unemployment rate has fallen by eight-tenths of a percentage point in the past two months. That's the steepest two-month drop in nearly 53 years.

But part of that drop has occurred as many of those out of work gave up on their job searches. When unemployed people stop looking for jobs, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

The number of people unemployed fell by more than 600,000 in January to 13.9 million. That's still about double the total that were out of work before the recession began in December 2007.

In early trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,075. The S&P 500 gained 2 to 1,309. The Nasdaq composite index added 5 to 2,759.

The January jobs report also includes the government's annual revisions to the employment data, which showed that fewer jobs were created in 2010 than previously thought. All told, about 950,000 net new jobs were added last year, down from a previous estimate of 1.1 million. The economy lost about 8 million jobs in 2008 and 2009.

In the past three months, the economy generated an average of 83,000 net jobs per month. That's not enough to keep up with population growth.

The weakness in hiring was widespread. Restaurants and hotels cut 2,200 jobs. Governments shed 14,000 positions. And temporary help agencies eliminated 11,000 jobs. Financial services lost 10,000 positions.

Education and health care services, one of the few steady job generators through the downturn, added 13,000 jobs, the fewest in almost two years. Financial services lost 10,000 jobs.

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Write

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Monday, 6 December 2010

GOP, Dems nearing deal on taxes, jobless benefits

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UNITED STATES

An outline of a bipartisan economic package is emerging that would temporarily extend the Bush-era tax rates for all taxpayers, while extending jobless benefits for millions of Americans.

Differences remained over details, including White House demands for middle- and low-income tax credits. But Republicans and Democrats appeared to come together Sunday, raising the possibility of a deal in Congress by the end of the week.

Some Democrats continued to object to extending current tax rates for high earners.

But without action, lawmakers face the prospect of delivering a tax hike to all taxpayers at the end of the year, when the current rates expire and revert to higher pre-2001 and 2003 levels.

Negotiations between the Obama administration and a bipartisan group of lawmakers centered on a two-year extension of current rates.

At the same time, a jump in the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent is putting pressure on Republicans to accede to President Barack Obama's demand that Congress extend unemployment insurance for a year. GOP congressional leaders had opposed an extension of benefits without cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.

"I think most folks believe the recipe would include at least an extension of unemployment benefits for those who are unemployed and an extension of all of the tax rates for all Americans for some period of time," said Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate's Republican negotiator in the talks.

"Without unemployment benefits being extended, personally, this is a nonstarter," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership.

Republicans have insisted that any extension of jobless aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. The White House opposes that, saying such cuts are economically damaging during a weak recovery.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Republicans would probably cede that point to the Democrats.

"Let's take care of the unemployment compensation even if it isn't ... backed up by real finances," Hatch said. "We've got to do it. So let's do it. But that ought to be it."

About 2 million unemployed workers will run out of benefits this month if they are not renewed, and the administration estimates 7 million will be affected if the payments are not extended for a year.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday said discussions are still under way on a variety of unresolved issues.

The White House wants to include renewal of several other tax provisions that are expiring. These were initially included in the 2009 economic stimulus bill and include a tax credit for lower- and middle-class wage earners, even if they don't make enough to pay federal income taxes, breaks to offset college tuition and breaks for companies that hire the unemployed.

Any deal would require the approval of the House and Senate, and the president's signature. Obama told Democratic congressional leaders Saturday that he would oppose any extension of tax rates that did not include jobless benefits and other assistance his administration was seeking.

The short-term tax and spending debate is unfolding even as Congress and the Obama administration confront growing anxieties over the federal government's growing deficits.

A presidential commission studying the deficit identified austere measures last week to cut $4 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade.

The movement toward a possible compromise came after Republicans blocked Democratic efforts in the Senate Saturday to extend the current tax rates on all but the highest income levels. Republicans prefer extending all the tax rates permanently, but that cannot win legislative approval either. Even if it did, Obama would be sure to veto.

As part of a compromise, the Obama administration prefers a two-year extension of the tax rates. Officials say a one-year extension would place Congress and the president in the midst of a similar debate in a mere six months. A three-year extension, officials say, would cost too much and lose support from liberals.

For Obama, the deal would mean relinquishing, at least for now, his long-held view that only middle-class voters should continue to benefit from Bush-era tax cuts. And Democrats, while resigned to a deal, were not eager to embrace one.

Durbin and Kyl spoke Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," while Hatch appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and McConnell on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Associated Press

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Rock Center Christmas tree just one of many in NYC

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UNITED STATES

Rockefeller Center is home to what is probably New York's most famous Christmas tree. But the 74-foot-tall Norway spruce is just one of a number of trees worth visiting around the city. You can even make your own Christmas tree tour, using each stop as a jumping-off point to explore other attractions.

Braving the considerable crowds at Rockefeller Center for a glimpse of the tree, which was lit Tuesday night, also offers opportunities for ice skating, for catching the view from 70 floors up at 30 Rock's Top of the Rock observation deck, and for shopping at stores like Rain, 59 W. 49th St., which sells bath and body products with African origins. Also nearby: Radio City Music Hall, Sixth Avenue near 50th Street; St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue near 51st Street; and the Museum of Modern Art, 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

As you walk up Fifth Avenue toward Central Park, you'll pass famous stores like Harry Winston at 56th Street, Tiffany at 57th Street, Bergdorf Goodman at 58th Street, and FAO Schwarz and the Apple store at 59th Street. Across the way is the Plaza Hotel, with an Eloise at the Plaza store in its shopping concourse.

Next on the itinerary: a pair of trees located inside museums, like bookends on either side of Central Park. On the west side, at Central Park West and 79th Street, the American Museum of Natural History is home to a Christmas tree decorated with origami. On the east side, at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, the tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is adorned with angels and a Nativity scene. Its colorful, lifelike figures, six to 20 inches tall, were made in 18th-century Naples and depict shepherds, townspeople, animals and the three wise men.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Met display is the diversity of the figures, who appear to represent as many different ethnic backgrounds and social classes as New York itself. Naples in the 18th century "was a melting pot of different cultures," explained Wolfram Koeppe, curator of the museum's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts. The exhibit's range of African and Asian figures, along with local fishermen and vendors offering their wares, "really shows you the normal country and city life of an 18th-century metropolis in the south of Italy," he said.

The display also offers a sanctuary from the bustle of the holidays. "It's a totally different atmosphere from the very busy life outside of the museum," he said.

Across the park, the Natural History museum's tree is decorated with folded paper ornaments made by volunteers from an organization called Origami USA. A fun activity with kids is to pick out origami representing familiar objects from the museum's collection. This year's paper decorations include depictions of items related to space exploration to mark the 10th anniversary of the museum's Rose Center for Earth and Space; items from "Race to the End of the Earth," an exhibit about journeys by rival explorers to reach the South Pole; and items from the museum's collections of dinosaurs and other animals.

"It's so different from every other tree," said Sam Riviello, administrator for Origami USA. "It's more whimsical."

While you're visiting the trees, be sure to see other areas of the museums, whether it's the Met's Egyptian collection and the recently opened "Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand" photo show, or the Natural History museum's blue whale, planetarium or Native American exhibits. Details at http://www.amnh.org/ or http://www.metmuseum.org/.

Farther uptown, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue hosts a "Peace Tree," decorated with origami paper cranes. The tree will be on view beginning Dec. 17. The cranes symbolize peace and are dedicated to the memory of a Japanese girl who died from leukemia after being exposed to radiation from the World War II Hiroshima bombing.

"We at the Cathedral hope that the folding of 1,000 origami cranes and hanging them on the tree will contribute to awareness and reflection about peace and of course friendship between peoples of all backgrounds and faiths," said cathedral spokeswoman Tenzin Dharlo. The cathedral is open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and also hosts concerts and other holiday events; details at http://www.stjohndivine.org/.

Christmas in the Big Apple doesn't just mean Manhattan. In the Bronx, the New York Botanical Garden is best-known this time of year for its annual Holiday Train Show, which showcases model trains amid replicas of New York landmarks, all made from plant materials. But the garden also hosts a display of nine lit-up fir trees, the biggest rising 25 feet. The garden can be reached by the B, D or No. 4 train to the Bedford Park Boulevard station or by Metro-North Commuter Railroad from Grand Central; details at http://www.nybg.org.

At the other end of the city, in Brooklyn, homeowners in the neighborhood of Dyker Heights are known for over-the-top decorations including trees and homes strung with rows of lights, huge blow-up Santas, Nativity scenes and other extravagant displays. But you don't have to be a local to enjoy the spectacle. Buses leave from Union Square in Manhattan to take visitors on a "Christmas Lights & Cannoli Tour," run by Tony Muia, who also offers "A Slice of Brooklyn" pizza tour. The Christmas tour runs through Dec. 30, leaving at 7 p.m. and returning 10:30 p.m., adults, $55, children under 12, $45; check http://www.asliceofbrooklyn.com/ for exact schedule and availability. The trip includes a stop at a pastry shop for cannoli and cappuccino.

By BETH J. HARPAZ, Associated Press

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NYC store holiday windows from tech to traditional

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UNITED STATES

It's a Christmastime tradition for shoppers, New Yorkers and tourists alike: Checking out store windows decorated for the holidays. Many of this year's windows use high-tech displays to showcase traditional stories and symbols of the season.

At Saks Fifth Avenue, at Fifth Avenue near 49th Street, digital projectors beam images of translucent white snowflakes and bubbles onto the store's facade. The images interact with the architecture in a magical two and a-half minute light show that takes place every 10 minutes from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. nightly. With a musical score playing in the background, the visual effects include snow gathering on ledges, bubbles emerging from windows, and the building exterior appearing to freeze over.

Macy's windows, on Broadway between 34th and 35th streets, are also a mix of high-tech media and traditional holiday themes, taking spectators on a journey through the eyes of 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, who wrote to a newspaper in 1897 asking for proof of Santa Claus and got the famous response, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

Each window hosts a mini-theatrical show with scene changes, lighting, video and voiceover. The animation in the windows consists of digital video of intricate figures made from paper, and in each set, a small screen shows a scene within a scene, filled with Christmas trees, Santas and other symbols of the holiday.

"It has that old-fashioned feel, but there's a lot of technology in it as well," said Macy's director of windows, Paul Olszewski. The use of paper and the bright colors give the display a "storybook feel," but the windows are also "highly theatrical, each one offering its own little show," he said.

Windows at Lord & Taylor, at Fifth Avenue near 38th Street, offer 12 mechanical tableaus illustrating Christmas scenes set in New York City, inspired by favorite memories that customers shared with the store. The theme of the display is "Share the Joy," and the displays include candy canes, wrapped gifts, snowy streets, snowmen, wreath-bedecked homes, Santa's sleigh with reindeer and decorated trees.

The windows at Bergdorf Goodman, Fifth Avenue and 58th Street, were inspired by fantasy travel to farflung places and are titled "Wish You Were Here." David Hoey, Bergdorf Goodman senior director of visual presentation and window design, describes the windows as a mash-up of unexpected arrivals and departures, drawing on influences as varied as Roman mythology and the movies.

In one scene featuring a mannequin in an Oscar de la Renta gown, an antique caboose pulls out of a station; in another, a ship rolls on the sea while a figure in a striped outfit keeps company with miniature sailors. A third window offers a glittery lunar dreamscape inspired by a 1902 science fiction silent movie, while the fourth features air travel by winged horse. The final window has a Victorian-style flying machine, part bicycle, part carriage, part balloon.

The windows at Henri Bendel, Fifth Avenue and 56th Street, were inspired by "The Nutcracker" with a fun, high-fashion twist. The New York City Ballet partnered with the store on the display, which shows a 6-foot-tall female nutcracker and mannequins posed to look like ballerinas from the classic Christmas story. Inside the store, figures in tutus are suspended from the ceiling.

Finally, at Bloomingdale's, at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, a mosaic of computer-generated animation on 100 digital screens depicts a dreamy winter landscape.

___

AP Retail Writer Ellen Gibson contributed to this report.

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Monday, 25 October 2010

Wall St advances on dollar weakness, Fed bets

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UNITED STATES


U.S. stocks rose to a five-and-a-half month high on Monday as a falling dollar, partly driven by expectations of further stimulus by the Federal Reserve, prompted investors to buy riskier assets.

The slide in the greenback continued after a weekend meeting of the Group of 20 stopped short of setting targets to reduce trade imbalances. Bets the Fed will stimulate growth by effectively printing money to buy assets has weakened the dollar, which in turn has lifted commodity prices.

"We have a lower dollar, we have low and benign interest rates, and you can't beat that combination for reflating the economy or stock prices," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany, New York.

Equities and the dollar have formed an inverse relationship, so as the dollar drops, equities often advance. Since September 1, the S&P has risen 13 percent while the dollar index (.DXY), which measures its value against major currencies, has lost 7.4 percent.

The S&P materials sector (.GSPM), which is particularly sensitive to the weak dollar, gained 1.7 percent and was the index's best performing group. Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc (FCX.N) advanced 2.2 percent to $96.07.

But stocks finished the session well off their highs as the dollar came off its lows late and the euro pared gains.

"It's all about the currency -- the dollar strengthened and euro faded," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

"Commodities, including copper, also did the same thing, their gains were lost toward the market close."

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 31.49 points, or 0.28 percent, to 11,164.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) added 2.54 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,185.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) advanced 11.46 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,490.85.

The benchmark S&P 500 index ended at its highest since May 3.

In a research report, Goldman Sachs said the Federal Open Market Committee is almost certain to announce renewed monetary easing at its November 2-3 meeting.

Goldman analysts calculated the Fed may have to buy up to $4 trillion in assets to achieve desired growth and inflation targets.

Further boosting materials stocks was Eastman Chemical Co (EMN.N), which climbed 5.1 percent to $82.59 after it agreed to sell three plants to Mexican conglomerate Alfa (ALFAA.MX) for $600 million.

After the closing bell, chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.N) shed 0.4 percent to $28.86 while biotech company Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) lost 0.6 percent to $57.60 after posting quarterly results.

During the session, Office Depot Inc (ODP.N) and tobacco company Lorillard Inc (LO.N) rallied after posting stronger-than-expected profits. Office Depot also said that its embattled chief executive would be stepping down, sending the stock up 3.5 percent to $4.79. Lorillard advanced 1.3 percent to $85.14.

D.R. Horton Inc (DHI.N) edged up 0.7 percent to $10.68 after data showed existing-home sales rose more than expected in September.

Volume was light with about 7.2 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below the year-to-date moving average of 8.76 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq, by about 3 to 2.

(Reuters)

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