Japan’s new prime minister has promised to restart nuclear plants following safety checks ordered after the crisis at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda also said Tuesday in his first policy speech since taking office two weeks ago that the country should reduce its reliance on atomic energy over the long term, but offered no specifics.
More than 30 of Japan’s 54 reactors have been idled, causing electricity shortages amid sweltering summer temperatures.
Noda also said he would press ahead with the recovery of the tsunami-battered northeastern region, calling on his fellow citizens not to forget “the spirit of dignity of all Japanese” in the face of disaster.
Hundreds of Longshore workers overpowered security guards in an aggressive raid on a Washington state grain terminal, officials said Thursday, and the action drew quick rebuke from a federal judge that has tried to curb the union’s escalating tactics in an ongoing labor dispute.
Workers have been battling for the right to work at the new terminal in Longview. But U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton issued a preliminary injunction to restrict union activity, saying there was no defense for the aggressive tactics used in recent days.
Protesters twice blocked the pathway of a train carrying grain to the terminal at the Port of Longview on Wednesday, and early Thursday morning hundreds of them stormed the facility, overwhelmed guards, dumped grain and broke windows, police said.
The dispute halted work at four other Washington ports, including Seattle, on Thursday as hundreds of longshoremen refused to show up or walked off the job.
Leighton said he felt like a paper tiger because the International Longshore and Warehouse Union clearly ignored a temporary restraining order he issued last week with similar limits. He scheduled a hearing for next Thursday to determine whether the union should be held in civil contempt.
“The regard for the law is absent here,” the judge said. “Somebody is going to be hurt seriously.”
Six guards were trapped for a couple of hours after at least 500 Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha said. He initially referred to the guards as “hostages,” but later retracted that after the guards clarified no one had threatened them.
“The guards absolutely could not get out,” Duscha said. “They feared for their lives because of the size of the crowd and the hostility of the crowd.”
No one was hurt, and nobody has been arrested _ although Duscha said that could change if police are able to use surveillance video or other means to identify the protesters.
Most of the protesters returned to their union hall after cutting train brake lines and spilling grain from a car at the EGT terminal, Duscha said. They also pushed a private security vehicle into a ditch.
The union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that’s staffing a workforce of laborers from another union, the Portland-based Operating Engineers Local 701 cheap pay day loans. Representatives of the engineers union did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
In Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and Anacortes, hundreds of Longshore workers failed to show up or walked off the job Thursday in apparent solidarity with the Longview activists, halting work at those ports. Union leaders said they had not called for any such actions.
“It appears the members have taken action on their own,” said ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees from union headquarters in San Francisco.
He said some workers might have been motivated by a photograph of ILWU President Bob McElrath in police custody in Longview on Wednesday.
McElrath was not arrested, but an Associated Press photo showed him being grabbed by several police officers before union activists intervened and grabbed him back.
Police arrested 19 protesters as they blocked railroad tracks on Wednesday night, allowing the train to finally arrive at the terminal.
The protesters in Longview have portrayed themselves as being on the front line in the struggle for jobs and benefits among American workers in an economic downturn. But while union strife has flared up around the country _ most notably in Wisconsin _ the aggressive tactics seen in Longview have been a rarity in recent labor disputes.
Labor activists insist that after receiving tax breaks and promising to create well-paying jobs at the new $200 million terminal, EGT initially tried to staff the terminal with nonunion workers. Following a series of protests by the Longshore workers this year, the company announced it would hire a contractor staffed by workers from a different union.
“Today, the ILWU took its criminal activity against EGT to an appalling level, including engaging in assault and significant property destruction,” the company’s chief executive, Larry Clarke, said in a written statement. “This type of violent attack at the export terminal has been condemned by a federal court, and we fully support prosecution of this criminal behavior to the fullest extent under the law.”
The eurozone needs a “quantum” leap toward economic integration, the incoming chief of the European Central Bank said Monday, as the bond yields of countries with shaky finances, like Greece and Italy, jumped amid increased investor tensions.
Mario Draghi warned that measures like the bank’s buying of bonds to stabilize markets were only temporary fixes and that only substantially more integration would address the fundamental problem of a lack of coordination of the eurozone’s fiscal policies.
The movement in bond yields on Monday showed just how varied investors’ confidence was in different eurozone countries. Borrowing rates jumped in countries considered high-risk, such as Greece, Italy and Spain and fell in Germany, widely considered a safe haven in times of financial turmoil.
Speaking at a conference in Paris, Draghi dismissed the idea of eurobonds _ debt issued jointly by the eurozone countries. Some have argued this would help weaker countries borrow more easily because they wouldn’t have to pay such high interest rates, which in turn make their debts bigger. But stable countries like Germany would likely see their rates rise.
Instead, Draghi suggested the eurozone should adopt rules that would require more budget discipline. There is already a proposal that would require all eurozone countries to balance their budgets. Profligate spending during boom times funded by cheap debt is one of the root causes of the current crisis.
Market tensions were high on Monday, both due to worries about some countries’ debt problems and a global financial sell-off triggered by concerns that the U.S. economy may slip back into recession.
The difference in interest rates between the Greek and benchmark German 10-year bonds, known as the spread, spiraled to new records on Monday, topping 17.3 percentage points. Yields on the Greek bonds were above 18 percent.
High yields mean borrowing is more expensive for Greece, making it even harder to reduce its debt load.
In fact, its yields are so high that Greece has been relying since last year on funds from a euro110 billion ($157 billion) package of bailout loans from other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund. On July 21, European leaders agreed on a second bailout, worth an additional euro109 billion.
Italy’s own 10-year bond yields jumped to 5.45 percent amid signs that the government in Rome is wavering in its commitment to enforce its austerity program.
ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet in recent days has called on Silvio Berlusconi’s government to push through with the deficit-cutting measures promised in August.
Italy’s stability is of particular concern because it would be too expensive to rescue for the eurozone. In an effort to steady the yields, the ECB has been buying Italian and Spanish bonds in recent weeks, driving down the interest rates fast cash without a hassle.
On Monday, the bank announced that it had increased its purchases last week to euro13.3 billion ($18.8 billion). That’s double the euro6.65 billion spent the previous week.
Draghi indicated that such makeshift measures would continue, including making sure the European Financial Stability Facility _ the eurozone’s bailout fund _ takes over the bond purchases and has enough cash in it.
But, not forever.
“The Programme (of bond-buying) is temporary and fully sterilized,” he said in the version of his speech published on the Bank of Italy’s website. “In other words, it should not be taken for granted by member states.”
The eurozone needs to quickly solve the root of their problems, he said.
“The crisis starts from the incompleteness of the European construction,” he said, and important reforms need to be made to solve it. “Overall, the aim of this effort should be a quantum step up in European economic integration.”
Draghi’s remarks echoed those made by the current ECB chief, who spoke at the same conference.
Trichet said that one solution for the debt crisis would be to eventually create a “federation” with a central finance ministry for the continent that would have the power to force countries to make the difficult decisions that European leaders can only now pressure them to make.
He did not mention Italy, but he and other European officials have recently had to urge Rome to make budget cuts or risk destabilizing the entire eurozone.
“We can imagine a federal government with a federal finance minister,” he said, who would “be capable of imposing this or that decision on any country that is not acting in the interest of the greater good of the federation.”
In the heyday of the boom, several European countries spent more than the EU rules allowed. After the global financial crisis further hurt their finances, countries like Greece and Portugal came close to bankruptcy and were saved only by international rescue packages.
New legislation that would give budget rules more teeth has been floundering for months as the European Parliament and EU member states have failed to agree on more automatic sanctions.
Trichet called Monday for those news rules to be strengthened further.
Separately in Brussels, a group of former European leaders and economists also called for closer economic and fiscal integration to save the currency union.
But the group, which includes former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. economist Nouriel Roubini _ went further, demanding the creation of eurobonds. France and Germany, the eurozone heavy weights, have so far rejected issuing such bonds.
British police say a sixth man has been charged with murder in the deaths of three men in a hit-and-run attack during riots in the English city of Birmingham.
West Midlands Police said Wednesday the 29-year-old man will appear at Birmingham Magistrates court on Thursday in connection with the murders of 20-year-old Haroon Jahan and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31.
The trio were killed after a car, allegedly containing several looters, struck them at high speed as they stood guard in front of a row of Pakistani-owned shops paydayloans.
Five other men ranging in age from 17 to 30 have already been charged with murder. All remain in custody.
Damage from Irene appears to be less than feared, a bit of reassuring news for a fragile economy.
Insured damage from Irene will range between $2 billion and $3 billion, and the total losses will likely be about $7 billion, according to preliminary estimates by Kinetic Analysis Corp. a consulting firm. Both figures are less than had been feared and will likely have little impact on the nation’s $14 trillion economy.
“Irene left several places with black eyes, but it doesn’t seem to have delivered an economic knockout,” said Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics.
The estimates from Kinetic Analysis, based in Silver Spring, Md., suggest that Irene will have caused far less insured damage than the $6 billion the industry paid out after Hurricane Isabel struck the East Coast in 2003.
The long-term costs of Irene will grow as storm-ravaged areas deal with lost business, insurance claims, dislocated workers and transportation disruptions _ costs that will take months to fully calculate.
Still, rebuilding and repairing the damage from the storm will likely be enough to boost economic output in the final three months of this year, economists say.
For now, power outages and flooding will close some businesses, costing workers lost pay and likely boosting temporary layoffs. Transportation and shipping may also be disrupted.
Chuck Watson, Kinetic’s director of research and development, noted that the impact on businesses was limited, in part, because the impact was felt on a weekend payday loan. Even so, Watson and Sweet said small businesses on the North Carolina coast will likely lose two weekends of tourist activity, including the travel-heavy Labor Day weekend.
Millions of people have lost power from the storm, and analysts said the length of the outages and the extent of disruption to public transportation in cities like New York will help determine the economic damage.
Crews are already restoring power in Southern states hit by the storm and are starting work in the northeast.
Irene slammed into a region that is key to the nation’s economic health. The mid-Atlantic and New England are home to several major cities and account for about 16 percent of the nation’s economic output, Sweet said. The region also has about 14 percent of the country’s workforce.
That led many analysts to worry about the potential impact of a major hurricane. The economy is struggling. Any major shock could tip it back into recession. The economy expanded at a meager 0.7 percent annual rate in the first six months of the year.
Watson said his firm initially feared Irene would be much more powerful when it made landfall in North Carolina and would remain strong by the time it pummeled New York City. That could have caused damage of as much as $30 billion, he said.
But by Friday it was apparent the storm had weakened and would cause much less damage.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended another turbulent week with a strong gain Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. was headed for long-term economic growth. It was the first winning week in a month.
Trading volume was light, a sign that many traders were leaving New York ahead of Hurricane Irene. The storm is expected to reach the region late Saturday night. A spokesman for the New York Stock Exchange said trading is expected to open as usual Monday.
Bernanke announced no new economic stimulus measures during his speech at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., as some investors had hoped. He did leave open the possibility of more action if another recession looks likely.
Indexes fell sharply as the speech was released at 10 a.m. and it became clear that Bernanke was not promising additional support of the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 78 points shortly before the speech started and slumped as many as 220 points shortly after Bernanke started speaking. It recovered within an hour and stayed higher the rest of the day.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 134.72 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 11,284.54. It was up 4.3 percent for the week after being down the past four.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 17.53, or 1.5 percent, to 1,176.80. It rose 4.7 percent for the week, its biggest gain since the week ended July 1. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 60.22, or 2.5 percent, to 2,479.85.
Boeing Co. rose 2.8 percent, the most of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow. Tiffany & Co. rose 9 percent, the most of any of the 500 stocks in the S&P index, after the luxury retailer raised its profit forecast for the year.
In his speech, Bernanke focused on the long-term strengths of the U.S. economy. He said the “do not appear to have been permanently altered by the shocks of the past four years.” That shot of optimism helped lift markets.
“In the American economy, the only thing that’s really lacking right now is confidence,” said David Kelly, chief market strategist at JPMorgan funds. “People who understand the limits of monetary policy also understand that the economy has what it takes to grow.”
Other analysts said Bernanke’s speech helped lift investor sentiment. Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, said Bernanke’s speech was an “acknowledgement that the Fed is not out of tools and that they stand ready” to act if needed.
Underscoring how fragile the U.S. economic recovery is, early Friday the government said the nation’s economy grew at an annual rate of just 1 percent in the April-June quarter, weaker than the government’s first estimate of 1.3 percent. The report renewed concerns that the U.S. might be headed for another recession.
The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates low until mid-2013. Low rates on investments like bonds make higher-risk bets such as stocks more attractive. At last year’s conference in Jackson Hole, Bernanke signaled the central bank would buy more government bonds to lower long-term interest rates.
The government lowered its estimate for economic growth in the April-June quarter because of fewer exports and weaker growth in business stockpiles. That means the economy expanded at an annual rate of only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year, the worst pace since the recession ended in June 2009.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note spiked in the hour after Bernanke’s speech. It was 2.13 percent just before the speech and rose to 2.22 percent in the hour after the text was released. The yield was 2.19 percent late Friday.
The last time the New York Stock Exchange was closed due to weather was Jan 8., 1996, when the opening was delayed until 11 a.m. due to a snowstorm. Hurricane Gloria caused a shutdown on Sept. 27, 1985.
Five stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was relatively light at 4.2 billion.
Annual retail sales rose 4.6 per cent to $37.8 billion in June, compared to the year earlier period, driven mainly by strong gains in sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
On a monthly basis, sales rose 0.7 per cent in June compared to May, the third month in a row that retail sales made gains, the agency said.
All of the gains were driven by strong sales in automotive and gasoline. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales decreased 0.1 per cent month over month.
Higher sales and lower prices at new car dealers accounted for most of the 1.6 per cent increase in volume terms over May.
Gains were reported in 6 of 11 subsectors. On a month over month basis, the largest increase was registered by motor vehicle and parts dealers, up 3.4 per cent. New car dealers led the gain with growth in sales of 3.3 per cent, the third increase in four months. Sales at used car dealers rose 10.4 per cent in June, more than offsetting the declines in the three previous months.
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers registered a second consecutive increase, rising 2 no faxing 1 hour payday loans.1 per cent. Stronger sales of hardware and home renovation products continued in June.
Sales at food and beverage stores rose 0.3 per cent, after three months of declines. Higher sales at supermarkets and other grocery stores accounted for most of the gain.
Receipts at gasoline stations fell 1.3 per cent after four consecutive monthly increases. This was the second decline in 12 months.
Electronics and appliance store sales declined 3 per cent in June. Sales in this subsector have been relatively flat since the third quarter of 2010.
Miscellaneous store retailers reported a 2.4 per cent decline in sales, offsetting gains made in April and May. Stores in this subsector include office supplies and stationery stores, gift stores and pet supplies stores.
Retail sales rose in seven provinces in June. Ontario retailers registered sales gains of 0.5%, a third consecutive monthly gain. Sales in this province have been on an upward trend since early 2009.
So your 401(k) has shrunk into a 301(k)
Stocks are falling at the close of trading as investors’ attention returns to the weak economy and Europe’s debt problems.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 519, or 4.6 percent, to 10,720. It’s the third time in the last five trading days that the Dow lost more than 500 points. The S&P 500 is down 51 points, or 4.4 percent, to 1,121. The Nasdaq is down 101, or 4.1 percent, to 2,381.
European bank stocks fell on worries that the region’s debt problems are getting worse bad credit payday advance. That pulled down U.S. bank stocks. Financial stocks in the S&P 500 lost more than 7 percent.
The drop erases Tuesday’s big gain following a Federal Reserve pledge to keep rates low. The Fed said it expects the recovery to remain slow.
WASHINGTON
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