| Oklahoma economic prospects better in face of possible recession
The experience came with many lessons learned for those strong enough to survive after the economic shattering. Bell is co-owner of Edrio Oil Company based in Oklahoma City. He studies the market and has seen more caution on the part of banks lending money to oil companies and a slower drilling process because of fear of reverting to the fallout of a couple of decades ago. The threat of a national recession has people in Oklahoma wondering how they may fair if economic conditions worsen."The concern for Oklahoma would be as long as energy prices stay good, our economy should continue to do well. But if something happens on that side, unforeseen, that would be very bad for our economy and what's going on with the national economy would pull us down much quicker," said Oklahoma State Treasurer Scott Meacham.National OutlookMeacham does not believe the nation is in a recession, but said the U.S.
The week ahead
Taylor Wimpey will be the next housebuilder to report on the gloomy state of the new homes market. Investors will be hoping for signs of a pick-up ahead of the vital spring selling season. - Tesco is expected to follow J Sainsbury in issuing healthy Christmas trading figures, despite worries over the declining consumer environment. Market expectations for like-for-like sales growth - excluding fuel - in the six-week period to January 5 range between 3.8-4.5pc, compared with 4.1pc in the prior quarter. Interims Best of the Best. Finals Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, Travelzest, Vectrix Corporation. AGMs ATH Resources. EGMs Northern Rock, Xtract Energy. Trading statements Ashmore Group, Burberry, Burren Energy, Blacks Leisure, Debenhams, Galliford Try, Game Group, Jetion, Northern Foods, Taylor Wimpey, Tesco.
Michael J Howell: Reasons to be cheerful... pessimism is not always ...
Christmas cheer was left on the shelves this year. Scrooge is back. Or, so it would seem, if only the opinions of financial markets counted. In fact, we have never seen such pessimism among investors looking into the new year. After shaking their chicken bones, the consensus of American economists puts 40 per cent odds on a US recession next year. What would that mean for the beleaguered housing market and sub-prime woes? Surely, sitting on cash looks king again? But hold on. Internal indicators of investor sentiment from my company, CrossBorder Capital, show some of the weakest readings since the bear market lows of 1982 and 2001. Plainly a lot of bad news is already in share prices, and history shows a consensus this strong is never right. Not surprisingly, America's shrewdest investor, Warren Buffet is ploughing his money back into the stock market.
Conclusions 1991-2000
Since the project was launched, we have written about 20 of the most important industries of the Russian economy. These are the chemical industry, ferrous metallurgy, the food industry, the auto industry, nonferrous metallurgy, the oil industry, air transport, light industry, the power industry, water transport, the gas industry, the military-industrial complex, banking, mass media and advertising, telecommunications, railway transport, the forest industry, the coal industry, show business, and the engineering industry. The report on each industry includes its history, the situation in the industry today, and its prospects. We have also defined the term "oligarch."
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Pre-owned home sales up 0.4% nationally
Existing-home sales rose slightly in November, a hopeful sign of stabilization in the wake of mortgage disruptions earlier this year, according to the National Association of Realtors, which performed the study. Across the nation, pre-home sales rose 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 5 million units, up a bit from the 4.98 million units sold in October 2007. Still, the sales figures pale in comparison to the 6.25 million-unit level recorded in November 2006 -- representing a 20-percent drop. "Near term, existing-home sales should continue to hover in a narrow range, just as they have since September," said NAR economist Lawrence Yun in a statement released Dec. 31. "And that's good news because it will be a further sign that the housing market is stabilizing." Mortgage interest rates are near historic lows, and the most current data shows decelerating price declines, Yun said, along with a modest reduction in the number of homes on the market.
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