Nov 28
Containers are stacked at a shipping terminal in Tokyo on July 17, 2008. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg News
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — Japan’s recession deepened last month as companies cut production, consumers spent less and fewer people looked for work.
Factory output fell 3.1 percent from September, when it rose 1.1 percent, the Trade Ministry said today in Tokyo. Household spending slid 3.8 percent, the eighth consecutive drop.
Companies surveyed said they plan the sharpest production cuts in 35 years as exports decline in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Sharp Corp. said it may make fewer televisions and fire workers; Toyota Motor Corp. will lay off half of its temporary staff; and Canon Inc. has postponed building a 100 billion yen ($1 billion) printer cartridge factory in southwestern Japan.
“This is an unprecedented export recession,” said Richard Jerram, chief economist at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. “The world stopped turning for about a month and a half after the middle of September, so it’s not surprising you’re seeing horrendous numbers.”
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Tags: consumer, Economy, financial crisis, Japan, Recession
Sep 18
Agency Will Accept Industry Proposals To Sell The Public Animals With Mixed DNA
Two featherless chickens peck around in some grass at the Hebrew University in Rehovot. Israeli scientists at the Agriculture department of the university have genetically engineered bare-skinned chickens as part of a research project to develop succulent, low fat poultry that is environmentally friendly. (AP)
(CBS/AP) The U.S. government will start considering industry proposals to sell genetically engineered animals as human food.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday a government review will ensure that such animals are safe to eat.
Genetically engineered animals are created when scientists insert a gene from one species of animal into the DNA of another animal to reprogam some of its characteristics.
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Tags: animals, Congress, consumer, DNA, FDA, Food, Genetically Modified Organisms, GMO, Government, Politics, U.S.
Sep 06
Supermarket food prices are soaring, with the price of key items rising at several times the rate of inflation, figures show.
The rising cost of the shopping basket
The price of fresh food has risen by 12 per cent since the start of the year, while meat and fish now costs 23 per cent more on average. Meanwhile chicken and ham have risen by 42 and 45 per cent since January, placing the former staples out of many consumers’ price range.
The rises in the price of both basic pasta and basmati rice have also smashed through the 40 per cent barrier.
Even so-called slump proof tinned foods have registered a price rise of 15 per cent - more than three times the Government’s official inflation rate of 4.4 per cent.
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Tags: Bank of England, consumer, Consumer Price Index, Economy, Food, Government, Inflation, Meat, Meat Prices, rice, rice price, U.K.
Aug 31
· Up to 34% rise as last two big suppliers get into line
· Government urged to act as more face fuel poverty
Photograph: Steve Taylor/Getty Images
This summer’s misery for energy consumers reached a climax yesterday when the last two of the big six suppliers raised prices for millions of household customers.
ScottishPower, which has just over 5 million customers, said gas bills would rise by 34% from the beginning of next month, and electricity by 9%. Npower said it was putting up gas prices by 26% and electricity by 14% for its 6.6 million customers with immediate effect.
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Tags: consumer, corporations, Economy, electricity, energy, energy costs, Gas, Gas prices, Government, pension, Politics, retirement, U.K.
Apr 04
American Bankruptcy Institute says first-quarter filings rose as households creak under heavy debt load.
NEW YORK - The number of individuals filing for bankruptcy surged during the first-quarter as American households struggled to stay on top of debt, according to a report released Wednesday.
The American Bankruptcy Institute said that consumer bankruptcy filings increased 27% nationwide in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period last year. In March alone, 86,165 individuals filed for consumer bankruptcy - a 13% increase over the 76,120 cases filed in February.
“Bankruptcies are rising due to the heavy burden of household debt and growing mortgage problems,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “We expect this trend to continue through 2008.”
The ABI found that nearly 32% of all consumer bankruptcy cases were Chapter 13 filings, which is available to individuals with regular income and calls for budgeting some of the debtor’s future earnings to pay off creditors.
April 2, 2008: 12:15 PM EDT
Source: CNN Money
Tags: bankruptcy, consumer
