Posts Tagged ‘Economic’
This is a rush transcript from On the Record, November 25, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SHANNON BREAM, FOX NEWS GUEST HOST: Wall Street Journals senior economic writer Steve Moore is with us now. All right, Steve, I dont have the stomach to brave Black Friday, but millions of Americans we hope do. I mean, what kind of impact do we know so far?
With Europes debt crisis deepening by the day, stock markets ended a miserable week on a down note.
In New York, where Fridays session ended early, the Samp;P 500 Index posted its worst Thanksgiving week performance since 1932.
The broadly based index fell about three points to 1,158.67, marking its seventh straight decline.
Meanwhile, the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26 points – its fourth consecutive drop – and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index shed 18 points, for its seventh straight loss.
Despite the recent slide, major US indexes remain well north of bear market territory. Thats not the case in Toronto, where this weeks losses left the TSXs benchmark index 20 per cent below its 2011 high.
The Samp;P/TSX Composite Index shed 23 points Friday on light volume to close at 11,462.06. That left it down 430 points for the week and 790 points or 6.4 per cent so far this month.
With growing signs that the sovereign debt crisis in Greece, Portugal and Italy is now being felt in France and even Germany, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warns that any contagion in credit markets will be felt far beyond Europes borders.
We are not immune to challenges that emanate from beyond our borders, says Flaherty.
Again today, we are staring a crisis in the face.
Flahertys increasingly gloomy assessment is reflected in the falling share values of Canadas top bank and insurance stocks, many of which sagged to new 52-week lows Friday.
The list of prominent losers includes Bank of Nova Scotia, TD Bank, Sun Life, National Bank and Royal Bank, among others.
European markets have entered a dangerous new phase of the crisis as bond auctions across core euromember states are no longer a sure bet, Scotiabanks economists warn, in a report released Friday.
This will be tested further next week as Italy, Belgium, Spain and France conduct bond auctions.
An auction of traditionally ultrasafe German bonds – known as bunds – failed to sell out last week, sparking fears that investors are now beginning to shift money away from Europe entirely.
Although yields on German bonds are still very low – unlike Italys, which are in the danger zone above seven per cent – theyve been edging up lately. Since Germany has to refinance a big chunk of its $4.7-trillion US external debt over the next three years, thats bound to be a growing worry for Angela Merkels government.
Despite pervasive fears that Europe is tipping into recession, depressing North American economic growth rates further, some analysts remain bullish on the outlook for oil, copper, gold and selected other commodities.
The physical copper market is tight and has tightened further over recent months. The same is true for oil. The physical crude oil market is extremely tight at present, which explains why crude oil prices have been very resilient, says a recent report issued by Societe Generale.
The tightness in some of the key commodity markets means that, in the absence of a global recession, the forthcoming global slowdown is, on balance, unlikely to result in much lower commodity prices.
Still, Societe Generale says the months ahead are likely to be bumpy and unpredictable, and that could spell further short-term weakness for commodities and related resource stocks – creating an even more attractive entry point.
Here are some other snippets from the report: ??Oil prices: Societe Generale sees the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude – the primary US
grade – averaging $103 US a barrel next year. Thats up sharply from its previous forecast, and reflects what it calls strong supply-demand fundamentals in the industrialized world and expectations of a reduced WTI discount to Brent crude.
Natural gas prices: Unfortunately, ? ? Societe Generale is far less upbeat about the outlook for natural gas.
For 2012, it predicts an average price of less than $3 per MMBtu (million British thermal units) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as a warm fall leaves the US with high inventories that will persist into the spring.
Gold prices: Societe Generale ex-? ? pects the price of the yellow metal – which has risen sharply since 2002 – to finally reach a peak by late 2012 or early 2013, at about $2,200 an ounce.
After soaring to a high of more than $1,900 per ounce earlier this year, gold has drifted lower in recent months, closing Friday at about $1,690 per ounce.
The market remains in surplus, with oversupply versus fundamental demand, and when investor momentum slows the gold price will come down, Societe Generale predicts.
The recession developing in the eurozone will support more riskhedging in 2012, especially as the ECB (European Central Bank) is likely to cut interest rates and liquidity will remain ample.
Although high gold prices and a stall-speed economy will slash jewelry purchases globally next year, the Chinese market is expected to remain buoyant, it adds.
The impact of further easing from the Fed, persistent inflationary fears and a weaker dollar will all combine to boost gold investment and take prices through $2,000 in 2012, with an assault on $2,200 likely before year-end.
glamphier@edmontonjournal.com
West to continue driving economic growth in Canada: report
Posted by: Admin
December 22nd, 2011 >> Economic
The commodity-rich Western provinces will continue leading Canadas economic growth in 2012, though British Columbia will be closer to the back of the top pack, according to a new forecast released Friday by the Conference Board of Canada.
Most, but not all, provinces should see more economic growth next year than theyve had this year, according to the report.
The difference is that the West will continue to benefit from higher commodity prices and related investments in the energy sector. Central and Eastern Canada, on the other hand, are expected to be hampered by provincial government efforts to reduce deficits, a weak US economy and sluggish consumer spending.
Private-sector activity will pick up in 2012, helping to offset sharp declines in federal and provincial infrastructure spending, Marie-Christine Bernard, the Conference Boards associate director of provincial forecasts, said in a statement.
However, for BC, the Conference Board is estimating that in the near term, declining government spending will somewhat offset private-sector investment in the construction sector.
Overall, the report forecast is for stable growth in BC at 2.6 per cent this year, which will fade slightly to 2.5 per cent in 2012 on more modest increases in consumer spending.
However, BCs picture improves in 2013 as industries ramp up to meet slightly better economic conditions in the United States, accelerating economic growth to 3.5 per cent that year. By 2013, the Conference Board noted, BCs manufacturing sector will start to see benefits from the shipbuilding activity of Seaspan Marines $8-billion contract with the federal government.
Alberta is expected to record the most economic growth among provinces next year at 3.6 per cent, up from 3.1 per cent this year. Growing energy demand from emerging markets is expected to keep oil prices high and help drive more dollars into projects that get oil and gas out of the ground. This should spill over to the construction and services industries, the Conference Board said.
Saskatchewan will end this year with the highest economic growth, at 5.1 per cent, but the Conference Board said that pace will slow to 2.8 per cent in 2012. Its expected to continue to benefit from the potash and energy sectors.
Growth in Manitoba is expected to rise from 2.1 per cent this year to 2.6 per cent next year with strength coming from the manufacturing of aerospace products and buses.
Ontario and Quebec are both expected to be hurt by government spending cuts in efforts to tame deficits. Ontarios economy is expected to grow 1.8 per cent this year and 2.2 per cent next year. Quebec is forecast to see an economic expansion of 1.5 per cent in 2011 and 1.8 per cent in 2012.
Newfoundland and Labrador is another one of the exceptions in anticipating slower economic growth next year – 0.4 per cent in 2012 compared to 4.5 per cent this year- as expansion slows in its mining industry.
The board expects the other Atlantic provinces will see their economic growth increase moderately next year compared to 2011.
However, growth remains contingent upon global conditions not becoming worse, regardless of whether particular provinces do much business with the worlds more troubled economic regions. Despite little direct exposure to European markets, provincial economies would be affected if the [European Union] sovereign debt crisis spread globally. As a result, risks to the forecast remain elevated, Bernard said.
Arab Economic & Social Council to Discuss Syria Economic Santcions
Posted by: Admin
December 1st, 2011 >> Economic
(MENAFN – Qatar News Agency) Arab economic and social council will meet in Cairo on Saturday to discuss possible economic sanctions on Syria following its failure to sign an Arab League agreement designed to end the violence in the country.
A statement by the Arab League said Friday that the League Chief Dr. Nabil Al Arabi had received a message from Syrias Foreign Minister Walid Al Mouallem asking for further clarifications before meeting the Arab Leagues deadline.
The sanctions would include suspending flights to Syria as well as freezing financial transactions with its central bank and commercial deals with the government except for basic goods.
The sanctions could also include freezing the financial assets of the Syrian government.
Meanwhile, Arab foreign ministers will hold meeting to be chaired by HE Qatars Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani on Sunday for further talks on Syria.
Outside Tahrir, Egyptians yearn for economic revolution
Posted by: Admin
November 30th, 2011 >> Economic
4 days ago
CAIRO — Abdullah Rizk works in a car spare parts shop in central Cairo and sympathises with the youths demonstrating in nearby Tahrir Square, but Egypt’s “second revolution” has not helped his business.
“In January, I protested against the regime of (ousted president Hosni) Mubarak and everything it represented. But today we don’t need another revolution,” said the 26-year-old.
“We just want the economy to recover. That is the change that we need.”
Like so many Egyptians, Rizk backs the spirit of the protests that have swept the country in the past week and called for an immediate end to military rule, but he yearns for stability to enable Egypt to move forward.
On Khaliq al-Khor, the street where Rizk works, a subdued atmosphere hangs over the dozens of import-export businesses as employees spend most of the day sitting around waiting for customers.
“Our exports have fallen by 80 percent since January,” Rizk explained, adding that the latest clashes which broke out on Saturday and claimed so far 41 lives, were “really not in the interests of the country.”
“Egypt is not Tahrir,” he said.
“Of course there is corruption and injustice, which all these people want to get rid of,” Rizk told AFP, alluding to the ruling military council and its leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, whose removal protesters are demanding.
“But nothing is going to change overnight. We need to be patient.”
In the latest sign of the economic damage wrought by the political turmoil, Standard and Poor’s ratings agency announced on Thursday that it had cut its long-term rating on Egypt by one notch to ‘B+’.
“The downgrade reflects our opinion that Egypt’s weak political and economic profile… has deteriorated further” following this week’s deadly unrest, S&P said.
Unemployment, one of the main reasons behind the mass protests that drove Mubarak from power, also shows no sign of improving.
Rizk says that for four years after graduating he was out of work.
“My friends have degrees in engineering, in literature, but none of them found jobs. Many young people in Egypt think about leaving the country,” he said.
In addition to the violence and political uncertainty sweeping the country, a wave of strikes since January has severely disrupted life in post-Mubarak Egypt, whose vital tourism sector has also taken a battering.
The industry, which supports around 10 percent of the Egyptian population directly or indirectly, is expected to lose three billion dollars this year.
Expected growth for the 2011-2012 financial year is forecast not to exceed two percent, compared with five to seven percent in recent years, while prices continue to rise and the budget deficit is estimated at 9.5 percent of GDP for 2010-2011, up from 8.1 percent a year earlier.
For many Egyptians protesters, just as the political system remains essentially unchanged from the time of Mubarak, so the corruption that has widened the gaping divide between the rich and poor persists.
“For 30 years we’ve had theft and corruption, and the revolution has not changed that,” said Ibrahim, 31, a grocer on Ramses Avenue, near Tahrir Square.
“The rich don’t care about those living beneath them.”
According to estimates nearly 40 million Egyptians, representing 51 percent of the population of the Arab world’s most populated country, live below the poverty line surviving on $2 or less a day.
On the other side of the Nile, life on the busy downmarket street of Suleiman Gawhar continues uninterrupted by the mass protests convulsing parts of Egypt.
But Mustafa, a vendor of tomatoes and potatoes, described a collapse in the market since the political upheaval, saying that he only sells two boxes a day compared with around five beforehand.
“We want stability, we want a president,” he said.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
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Convention Center Project Called Economic Stimulator
Posted by: Admin
September 5th, 2011 >> Economic
OCEAN CITY — Gov. Martin OMalley and other city and state officials gathered at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center last weekend said the buildings renovation and expansion will benefit the economy through generating additional revenue and jobs.
Last Saturday, officials convened on the back deck of the convention center to officially break ground on the convention center project.
It is exciting that we are getting ready and have actually begun the new construction for the renovation for the expansion of the convention hall, Mayor Rick Meehan said.
The Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) is working with the Town of Ocean City on this years reconstruction of the convention center, as it did during the buildings 1997 renovations.
Ocean City is pleased to partner with the Maryland Stadium Authority on this project, Meehan said. This expansion will further enhance the town and the states economy.
The convention center is used to book many group and event gatherings near and far to assist Ocean City become more of a four-season destination. The convention center is named after former Mayor Roland Fish Powell.
The person [Powell] really responsible for us being able to do that [1997] renovation and because of all the other contributions he made to the town of Ocean City, Meehan said. We have a great relationship and a great deal with the State of Maryland on the operation of the convention center, thanks again to Fish Powell, and we are moving forward with that.
Meehan said before 1997 the only bay view in the facility was when both doors of the freight elevator were open at the same time. The renovation at that time expanded the convention center to produce large open areas creating a better view of the bay front.
Theyre taking the convention center to a new level, Meehan said.
The new renovation will add 32,000 square feet and the two-level expansion will create an even more spectacular view of the Isle Wight Bay, creating the needed multi-purpose space for exhibits and events.
The second phase of the convention centers expansion includes a performing arts center, which is scheduled to be completed at a later date. The full renovation and expansion of the facility will give Ocean City a competitive edge over surrounding destinations, officials say.
We are going to continue to move forward in Ocean City with the convention center, Meehan said. We are moving forward toward the second phase where we will do the performing arts auditorium and that will be opened up and provide additional space and opportunity for us to have more entertainment here in Ocean City.
The start date of the construction was in the beginning of this month and expected to finish by October 2012. The project began in 2008 with a feasibility study performed by the MSA and based on the market analysis it was determined that a multi-purpose auditorium with ballroom space would be most appropriate for the myriad of activities sought by the convention center.
The Maryland Stadium Authority is again happy to work with the Town of Ocean City to improve their convention center, MSA Chairman John Morton said. Ocean City is a reliable revenue producer for the State of Maryland, with the convention center as the engine for year-round activity. We look forward to making this excellent facility even better.
The Roland E. Powell Convention Center renovation and expansion is estimated to cost $8.15 million and the cost will be shared by the Town of Ocean City and the State of Maryland. The estimated new tax revenue for the State upon completion is $1.1 to $1.6 million annually.
The construction of the building is estimated to generate 300 to 400 full-time jobs. During a Board of Public Works meeting in July, OMalley was appreciative of the projects job formation.
Wherever 300 jobs are gathered, so too shall we gather, he said at that time.
During last weekends ceremony, the governors gratitude over the creation of an abundant amount of job positions continued.
We also know that a modern economy requires modern investments in order to create jobs and the most important investments we create are job creating investments like the ones we are going to make here to expand this convention center, OMalley said.
OMalley added that the renovation and expansion of the convention center is a team effort between the city government, the county and the state.
Its important because of the jobs it creates and there is no government program as important, as essential, or as empowering, as a job for a family to put food on their table and hope in their childrens eyes for the future, he said.
McGinn: Seattle to take ‘high road’ to economic development
Posted by: Admin
September 3rd, 2011 >> Economic
Seattle must take the high road in its jobs and infrastructure efforts to effectively compete in the new world economy, Mayor Mike McGinn said Thursday as he gave a one-year report card on his administrations efforts to bring the city out of the Great Recession.
A focus on the economy has to be our highest priority, McGinn said at a news conference just south of Pioneer Square. The economic situation we face, and growing jobs locally and taking action locally is about the most important thing that city government can do.
In August of last year, McGinn announced a plan to create 10,000 jobs over several years, with $70 million in new financing for businesses and investments in the green building industry. McGinns Thursday press event came at a time when there are questions about the initial effectiveness of a city green jobs program, which is part of a $20 million federal grant. Seattlepi.com reported last week that only three homes had been retrofitted and just 14 jobs created from the program, which has a goal of creating 2,000 jobs and refurbishing 2,000 homes in poor neighborhoods. (For more on that, click here).
On Thursday, McGinn said his overall jobs plan had:
- (Created or retained) 3,270 jobs (919 through city lending programs that delivered $36.5 million in loans to 84 businesses, 1,990 jobs in City construction improvement projects and 361 jobs in City Light and its conservation programs).
- Invested $1 million 18 neighborhoods through the Office of Economic Development.Worked to pass the expansion of street food vendors in the city.M
- Moved forward with a proposal to extend drinking hours and other efforts to create a more vibrant bar and nightlife scene.
- Delivered a pilot broadband project for Pioneer Square, as well as moving to allow increased density in South Downtown.
McGinn said the downturn in the economy had hit Seattle hard, with the city losing 35,000 jobs between 2007-2009. In the past year, McGinn said the city had seen a net gain of 10,000 jobs, and that 85 percent of the new apartment construction in King and Snohomish County was happening here.
A year ago, we had no cranes. You look around now and you see hard hats and cranes, the mayor said.
McGinn emphasized it was important to take the long view when doing economic planning.
There are choices. One choice is the low road..what we do is we go for low-cost, low wages…push environmental costs onto the community or into the future to try to compete on the basis of low price. Ill tell you, the City of Seattle and our region is never going to beat the rest of the world by competing in a race to the bottom. We cant win that.
McGinn said Seattle has to take the high road.
Compete on the basis of quality, compete on the basis of innovation, the intelligence, savvy and hard work of the people that are here. It means that look to address the income inequality that we see, McGinn said. he cities that figure out first how to exist in a high-energy cost future are the ones that are going to thrive. Everybodys trying to figure out, how do we get off of carbon? The cities that figure that out are not just going to have lower costs locally and a healthier lifestyle, but theyre also going to be the places that export this knowledge to other places. Just like we export airplanes and software, were going to export our knowledge and vision of how you create a high-road economy.
Kevin Daniels, owner of a Pioneer Square real estate company, said City investments in his neighborhood – like bringing in broadband and doing density rezones – had helped revitalize it, leading to new companies like online-diamond retailer Blue Nile moving in.
The Square has picked itself up off the ground, he said.
Looming Hurricane, Economic Fears Strike; Stocks Sell Off
Posted by: Admin
September 2nd, 2011 >> Economic
FOX Business: The Power to Prosper
Fears over the financial impact of the hurricane that is forecast to barrel up the Eastern seaboard this weekend, coupled with dreary economic sentiment, sparked a broad selloff that snapped a three-day winning streak for Wall Street.
Todays Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 171 points, or 1.5%, to 11,150, the SP 500 slid 18.3 points, or 1.6%, 1,159 and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 48.1 points, or 2%, to 2,420. The FOX 50 dipped 9.6 points to 843.
Travelers (TRV) was the worst-performing issue on the Dow, and other big-name insurers Chubb (CB) fell considerably amid concerns hurricane Irene, which is forecast to make landfall this weekend, could make a financial splash. Other companies that have exposure to areas on the East coast that are expected to be slammed, such as retailer SuperValu (SVU) took hits as well.
Technology stocks like Oracle (ORCL) and utilities such as FirstEnergy (FE) were under pressure on the day too.
One bright spot was Bank of America (BAC) which had seen its shares plunge close to 30% since the beginning of August amid concerns the bank may need to raise a substantial amount of capital. However, Berkshire Hathaway made a major vote of confidence in the countrys biggest bank by assets by purchasing $5 billion worth of preferred shares at a considerable 6% dividend in a private offering and acquiring warrants to buy 700 million shares of common stock.Indeed, the bank was one of two Dow components to close in the green.
Bank of America is a strong, well-led company, said Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett. I am impressed with the profit-generating abilities of this franchise, and that they are acting aggressively to put their challenges behind them.
Buffet also expressed confidence that the bank has a strong liquidity and capital position.The cost of insuring the banks debt against default pulled back, indicating market participants were more hopeful about Bank of Americas prospects.Conviction in the buying was strong, with volume reaching 854 million shares — the highest since December 2009.
Lingering Economic Malaise
With European market turmoil fading from the picture this week, Wall Street has focused heavily on the global economy, which, while recovering, has hit a soft patch.
The International Monetary Fund sees global economic output becoming weaker and more uneven, causing a deterioration in its economic output, according to a report by Reuters.However, in contrast, Kansas Federal Reserve President Thomas Hoenig told FOX Business that he predicts slow, steady growth for the US economy.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to 417,000 last week, from a prior reading of 412,000. The strike at Verizon added at least 8,500 claims, the Labor Department said. Weekly jobless claims have been hovering about the 400,000-level for weeks, which has added further evidence to the thesis that the labor market is improving at a very slow pace:
We see recent initial jobless claims reports as indicative that firms have not started laying off in response to recent market volatility; however, we suspect that they have put hiring plans on hold, economists at Nomura wrote in a research note.
Continuing claims, however, fell to 3.64 million from 3.72 million — the lowest level since September 2008.
Market participants are also keeping a close eye on Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to make a speech on Friday. There has been speculation that the central bank may unleash another round of quantitative easing in a bid to buoy the economy.
Following the sharp deterioration in the economic outlook, we now see a greater-than-even chance that the Federal Open Market Committee will resume quantitative easing later this year or in early 2012, economists at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients.
The last round of easing, referred to as QE2, ended in June, and is generally seen by economists to have loosened very tight financial conditions, and helped boost economic expansion.
Gold, which made its biggest plunge on a percentage basis since 2008 in the prior session, was modestly higher. The precious metal rose $5.70, or 0.32%, to $1,760 a troy ounce.
Energy markets were in the green. The greenback gained 0.24% against a basket of world currencies, while the euro fell 0.29%.
Light, sweet crude climbed 14 cents, or 0.16%, to $85.30 a barrel. Wholesale RBOB gasoline soared 8 cents, or 3.1%, to $2.97 a gallon.
Corporate News
Apple (AAPL) Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs resigned from his post, and announced Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook would replace him. Jobs had shepherded the technology behemoth from the brink of bankruptcy to being on the the worlds biggest companies; however, technology analysts remained bullish on the companys future prospects.
Foreign Markets
The English FTSE 100 fell 1.4% to 5,131, the French CAC 40 dipped 0.65% to 3,119 and the German DAX slid 1.7% to 5,584.
In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5% 8,772 and the Chinese Hang Seng climbed 1.5% to 19,753.
Poll watchers: Rick Perry’s GOP shuffle, economic gloom and Steve Jobs
Posted by: Admin
September 1st, 2011 >> Economic
Poll watchers: Rick Perry’s GOP shuffle, economic gloom and Steve Jobs
By Peyton M. Craighill
GOP shuffle –
Texas Gov. Rick Perry surged to the top of the field in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in a Gallup poll released Wednesday. This is the first high quality national poll in which former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has not been at the top among Republicans and GOP leaning independents. Perry wins 29 percent support to 17 percent for Romney, followed by Ron Paul (R-Texas) at 13 percent and Michele Bachmann (R.-Minn.) at 10 percent. The rest of the announced GOP candidates were in single digits. Perry is up 11 percentage points from July, before he had officially announced his candidacy.
Perry is drawing strength from two key Republican constituencies – conservatives and Southerners. Perry doubles the level of Romney’s support among conservatives, 33 to 16 percent. And he more than triples the support of Romney in the South, 39 to 12 percent.
Economic gloom, Obama holds tight –
An AP poll released Thursday finds almost half the public saying the economy worsened in the past month. That’s the worst monthly assessment by more than 21 percentage points in AP polls going back to September 2009. Only 21 percent think the country is heading in the right direction, close to AP’s all time low of 17 percent in the wake of the financial meltdown in October 2008.
President Obama’s job approval rating has dipped to 46 percent and is 10 points lower for his handling of the economy, both new low points in AP polls. Despite these deep troubles, slight majorities still have a favorable impression of the president, believe he understands people’s problems, is caring and is a strong leader. What that means come November 2012 is a toss-up. Just as many say he deserves to be re-elected as should be voted out.
Steve Jobs and Apple – Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs abruptly announced his retirement Wednesday. Jobs drew a high profile and high praise in the business world as a technology executive of an iconic and immensely profitable company. But he was well known to the general public too. Over four in 10 correctly named him as CEO of Apple in a June 2010 Pew poll. That’s almost twice the number able to identify Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney General in the same poll. The popularity of Apple’s products speaks for itself based on booming sales. But a 2007 Pew poll rating a variety of major U.S. corporations found 71 percent had a favorable opinion of the company, before the release of the iPhone or iPad.
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01:18 PM ET, 08/25/2011
Categories:
GOP nomination,
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Many Americans still blame President George W. Bush for the dismal state of the economy, according to a poll released Thursday, findings that help explain why President Obamas re-election hopes remain unchanged amid widespread economic turmoil.
The Associated Press-GfK poll shows that 51 percent of those surveyed said Bush should bear the brunt of the blame for the stagnant economy. In comparison, 31 percent say Obama is most responsible.
If that attitude persists, it could bolster the presidents chances for re-election in a campaign that is most certainly going to be dominated by the sagging economy and the stubborn jobless rate that have left so many Americans anxious and insecure.
Republicans, however, question how much longer Obama will be able to blame Bush for economic problems that Obama has yet to fix.
After two and a half years, its President Obamas economy, Elaine Chao, Bushs secretary of labor, told The Washington Examiner. The administrations love affair with big government [is] resulting in excessive government spending, taxes, and regulations [that] are dragging down the private sector and discouraging employers from hiring.
Chao noted that the average unemployment rate from 2001 to 2008 was 5.2 percent compared with todays 9.1 percent. However, Bush was in the White House when Wall Street began to collapse, ushering in a wave of government bailouts that remain unpopular with voters.
With projections showing that high unemployment will continue through 2012, Republican presidential candidates have zeroed in on Obamas economic record, saying that a failed stimulus package and series of big-government spending measures have done little or nothing to produce jobs.
The poll reflects a souring economic mood created by an unprecedented credit downgrade, fears of a double-dip recession and a debt crisis engulfing Europe. It also provides warnings for a president whose approval rating has fallen to around 40 percent.
More than 85 percent of adults surveyed describe the economy as poor and nearly half say the situation has been exacerbated in the past month. Sixty-three percent disapprove of Obamas handling of the economy, with 48 percent saying they strongly disapprove.
Even Democratic operatives acknowledge that public skepticism of Obamas handling of the economy will be difficult to overcome.
Intelligent-thinking people should realize that Bush was in charge when we hit the iceberg, said one prominent Democrat strategist not affiliated with Obama. But Ill admit, that message will be more difficult to sell as we get closer to what everyone acknowledges will be a closely contested election.
As voters continue to focus on the economy, Obamas re-election campaign on Thursday announced a new initiative — Project Vote — to increase turnout among traditionally liberal constituencies. Campaign officials say it will give them a leg up over Republicans, who remain months away from nominating a challenger.
The president needs to shore up support among his base. The AP poll showed that Democratic support for Obama dropped from 82 percent to 74 percent since June while Republican support fell from 22 percent to 11 percent.
The minor bounce Obama got in the polls following the successful mission to kill Osama bin Laden has already faded. Immediately after the May mission, 65 percent of the public described Obama as a strong leader. That has since dropped to 51 percent.
bhughes@washingtonexaminer.com