http://myfinnotes.com Economic and Finance Sat, 06 Sep 2008 06:12:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Consumers nervous about the weak economy abandoned higher-end clothing store chains for discount retail giants such as Wal-Mart, Costco and BJ's, which reaped back-to-school sales in August."Americans haven't slowed their spending," said Ken Brown, president and retail analyst with ResearchConnect.com. "They just moved their spending, from some of ... http://myfinnotes.com/discount-stores-score-big-in-august/ Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., expects third quarter financial reports for the banking industry in the United States to worsen. “We haven’t seen the bottom of the credit cycle yet,” Bair said at a press event in Sarasota prior to a speech before 550 members of ... http://myfinnotes.com/fdic%e2%80%99s-sheila-bair-says-tough-times-still-ahead/ At a dinner with Korea Development Bank (KDB) staff last month, CEO Min Euoo-sung sang his favorite song, "Leopard in Mt. Kilimanjaro", a reflection of his desire to be a hunter in the volatile financial world. And after taking over the staid, state-run bank this summer, he began ... http://myfinnotes.com/kdbs-ceo-a-leopard-on-the-hunt-for-lehman/ Despite customers lining up for back-to-school buys, Target Corp. said its same-store sales fell 2.1 percent in August. Minneapolis-based retailer Target (NYSE: TGT), which has four Wichita locations, said its results were within its planned range; analysts had expected a drop of 2.6 percent. In a recorded call, the company ... http://myfinnotes.com/target-august-sales-down-21/ Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's top retailer, is considering its first stores in Southeast Asia and expects to approach 10 percent growth in international sales to $100 billion this fiscal year despite a global economic slowdown. The retailer, a perennial runner-up to ... http://myfinnotes.com/wal-mart-upbeat-on-asia-drive-amid-us-woes/ European producer prices increased the most in at least 18 years in July as crude oil reached a record before easing last month. The 9 percent increase from a year earlier in the 15 euro countries was the biggest since the series began in 1990 and followed ... http://myfinnotes.com/european-factory-prices-rose-9-in-july-on-oil-record/ U.K. mortgage approvals dropped to the lowest since at least 1999 and manufacturing contracted for a fourth month as the economy staggered toward a recession. Banks granted 33,000 loans for house purchases in July, the fewest since comparable data began nine years ago, the Bank of England ... http://myfinnotes.com/uk-mortgage-approvals-drop-manufacturing-contracts/ Hundreds of Zoom Airlines passengers were stranded Thursday in Canada and the UK after the cash-strapped Canadian airline suddenly canceled all of its flights after creditors took action to get money owed them.Zoom said the economic downturn and the unprecedented rise in the price of aviation fuel made ... http://myfinnotes.com/passengers-stranded-after-zoom-planes-grounded/ The U.S. is facing the worst financial crisis since the Depression. You would never know that from the Democrats' platform in Denver or its Republican counterpart, or from listening to Barack Obama or John McCain. While both candidates have bemoaned the ravages of the subprime crisis, they ... http://myfinnotes.com/financial-crisis-is-absent-from-agendas-of-parties-candidates/ Zhang Guoqing says the air quality in Beijing is better since the government clamped down on tailpipes, smokestacks and construction cranes for the Olympics. ``The traffic condition became less crowded and the air quality also improved,'' Zhang, 58, said while watching ice skaters at the China World ... http://myfinnotes.com/blue-skies-for-beijing-need-marathon-plan-that-may-slow-economy/