US - Economic Data & News 01 (May 08 - Jul 08)

[kennynah]

recalcitrant !!!
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11 Jun 2008 11:32 GMT
US President Bush Says Has No Regrets On Invading Iraq
MESEBERG, Germany (AFP)--U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday he had absolutely no regrets about ordering the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

"I don't regret it at all, removing Saddam Hussein made the world a safer place," he said after talks here with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, noting "you don't get to do things over in my line of work."

[kennynah]

12 Jun 2008 12:48 GMT
US weekly jobless claims up 25,000 to 384,000; cont. claims at an over 4 yr high


WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The number of individuals filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose above expectations, while the number of those continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose to its highest level in over four years, the Labor Department said today.

The number of first-time claims filed in the week ending June 7 increased 25,000 to 384,000, well above the 365,000 claims economists polled by Thomson Reuters IFR Markets were expecting. Initial claims in the previous week were upwardly revised by 2,000 to 359,000.

A Labor Department official said some of the increase in today's report may have been due to volatility in the seasonal adjustment factors.

The four week moving average for initial claims increased 2,500 to 371,500. Economists prefer the four week moving average because it smoothes out fluctuations in weekly data.

For the week ending May 31, the number of individuals continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 58,000 to 3.139 mln, above the 3.120 mln claims economists were expecting. Continuing claims in the week reached their highest level since February 2004. Continuing claims in the previous week were downwardly revised by 12,000 to 3.081 mln.

The four week moving average for continuing unemployment claims increased 16,500 to 3.099 mln, the highest level since February 2004.

[kennynah]

Business Inventories Increase More Than Expected In April
6/12/2008 10:14 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Thursday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on business inventories and sales in the month of April, showing that inventories increased by more than expected while sales also showed a notable increase.

The report showed that business inventories rose 0.5 percent in April following a revised 0.2 percent increase in March. Economists had been expecting a more modest increase of about 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected increase in business inventories was largely due to a 1.3 percent increase in inventories for merchant wholesalers. Retailers' inventories edged up 0.4 percent, while manufacturers' inventories were unchanged.

With the monthly increase, business inventories in April were up 5.4 percent compared to the same month last year.

The Commerce Department also said that business sales jumped 1.4 percent in April after showing a 1.2 percent increase in March. The increase reflected strong sales by both manufacturers and merchant wholesalers.

With business sales growth outpacing business inventories growth, the total business inventories/sales ratio edged down to 1.25 in April from 1.26 in March. The ratio came in at 1.27 in April of 2007.

[kennynah]

12 Jun 2008 15:29 GMT
DOE says natural-gas supplies rose last week

WASHINGTON (AP) - Natural gas in storage in the U.S. rose last week but is 1 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, a government report said Thursday.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural-gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 80 billion cubic feet to nearly 1.89 trillion cubic feet for the week ending June 6.

The inventory level was slightly below the five-year average of about 1.91 trillion cubic feet, and well below last year's storage level of 2.23 trillion cubic feet, according to the government data.

In morning trading, natural gas for July delivery rose more than 20 cents to over $12.86 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

[kennynah]

following on Winston's post..on the wise bud..


Inbev is dreaming... in the first place, their stella artois is like our anchor beer... cheaper and people are generally embarrassed to be seen drinking it... plus it was really "body-less", and hence the demise of anchor now...artois is always those buy 1 get 5 for free at pubs....that's the level of attractiveness..

budweiser...maybe suitable for americans...they like it "light", better still....just paste the word "beer" a bottle of water...they'd love it... i mean, have u ever tried drinking Bud-Light... jeez... it's worse than anchor...

but, i guess...it's personal taste... afterall, there are people who like drinking foam than real beer, such as kilkenny.
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12 Jun 2008 15:26 GMT
InBev Hopes Budweiser Will Become "Global Flagship Brand"


BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- InBev (INB.BT) wants to turn Budweiser into its "global flagship brand" as part of the Belgian brewer's plan to buy Anheuser-Busch & Co. (BUD) for $47 billion, InBev executives said on a conference call Thursday.

The merger, which values of Anheuser at $65 a share, would create the first global beer company, combining InBev's sales in Western Europe, Latin America and Canada with Anheuser's dominant position in the U.S. market.

InBev, maker of Stella Artois, Beck's and Brahma, will use its global distribution networks to boost sales of Budweiser, the iconic U.S. beer, in places such as China, Canada and Latin America, InBev executives said on the conference call. The goal is to capitalize on a growing demand for imported beers that can be sold as premium products.

((truncated))...

[blid2def]

but, i guess...it's personal taste... afterall, there are people who like drinking foam than real beer, such as kilkenny.

Winning statement.

[kennynah]

in case you misunderstand...from my badly constructed sentence...kilkenny is foam...and it's not classified under "beer, spirits, wines" category...more towards "soda and pops" grouping...

[blid2def]

Then I'll crucify you.

[kennynah]

but for you...always an exception.... boss mah...wat to do...LL... u wan anchor beer, i can also go sembawang lorong farway mamashop to get them... or next time, when the beer cake is about empty..i tell the bartender... i jug of foam, please

[HengHeng]

hmmm still prefer my pu er tea than beer ... too much beer liao getting fat

*edited after kenny's prompting ... haiz .. brain not working liaoz .. haiz .. brain think one hand do another.