World Stocks Down Again; US Retail Sales Drop
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Stock prices were down again Wednesday, on Wall Street and in Europe and Asia. As VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington, investors seem to doubt that plans to help troubled financial institutions will be enough to fight off a deep recession.
Pedestrians take a look at stock indicators in Tokyo, 15 Oct 2008 Wall Street followed Europe and most Asian exchanges in losing ground on Wednesday. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 300 points, or three percent, early in the day. London's FTSE 100 index, the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris were all down more than five percent in afternoon trading.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index gained 100 points, or more than one percent, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped almost five percent (835 points).
A report that U.S. retail sales plunged in September accented global concerns that the United States is either moving toward a recession or already in one. The Commerce Department said Wednesday retail sales dropped by 1.2 percent last month. It was the biggest decline in three years, and almost double what experts were expecting. Consumer spending is two-thirds of the total U.S. economic activity.
Another report showed that U.S. wholesale prices dropped for the second straight month, led by retreating energy costs. But aside from energy and food, all other wholesale prices had their biggest annual increase in more than 17 years.
President Bush remarks on the economy as he meets with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House, 15 Oct 2008 U.S. President George Bush says he believes the nation's economy will rebound. As the president met with his Cabinet Wednesday to discuss the financial crisis, he said his administration has taken bold actions to strengthen financial institutions.
"These are extraordinary measures, no question about it," he said. "But they are well thought out, they are necessary and I am confident in the long run this economy will come back."
On Tuesday, Mr. Bush announced plans for the government to buy $250 billion in stock in private banks, in hopes of getting credit flowing again.
Meanwhile, the European Union is holding a summit in Brussels, focused on the financial crisis. EU officials want to increase the amount of money protected by insurance, among other initiatives. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the world's financial institutions need major changes.
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, (r), addresses the media together with Britain's PM Gordon Brown in Brussels, 15 Oct. 2008 "To build confidence about the future, which is essential for every saver and every depositor and every business, we have to show that we are dealing with the problems that caused the events of the last few months in the first place," he said.
In other business news, U.S. antitrust regulators have approved Bank of America's $35 billion purchase of Merrill Lynch. The deal combines the largest U.S. bank by deposits with the world's largest brokerage. The acquisition must still be approved by the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve.
Also, J.P. Morgan Chase's profit plunged by 84 percent in the third quarter, due largely to bad mortgage investments, leveraged loans and home loans. Still, profits at the New York-based bank were higher than expected.
And one big U.S.-based company has some good news. Coca-Cola reports its third-quarter profits were up 14 percent. Sales in emerging markets offset weakness in North America.
Wall Street followed Europe and most Asian exchanges in losing ground on Wednesday. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 300 points, or three percent, early in the day. London's FTSE 100 index, the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris were all down more than five percent in afternoon trading.In Tokyo, the Nikkei index gained 100 points, or more than one percent, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped almost five percent (835 points).A report that U.S. retail sales plunged in September accented global concerns that the United States is either moving toward a recession or already in one. The Commerce Department said Wednesday retail sales dropped by 1.2 percent last month. It was the biggest decline in three years, and almost double what experts were expecting. Consumer spending is two-thirds of the total U.S. economic activity.Another report showed that U.S. wholesale prices dropped for the second straight month, led by retreating energy costs. But aside from energy and food, all other wholesale prices had their biggest annual increase in more than 17 years.U.S. President George Bush says he believes the nation's economy will rebound. As the president met with his Cabinet Wednesday to discuss the financial crisis, he said his administration has taken bold actions to strengthen financial institutions."These are extraordinary measures, no question about it," he said. "But they are well thought out, they are necessary and I am confident in the long run this economy will come back."On Tuesday, Mr. Bush announced plans for the government to buy $250 billion in stock in private banks, in hopes of getting credit flowing again.Meanwhile, the European Union is holding a summit in Brussels, focused on the financial crisis. EU officials want to increase the amount of money protected by insurance, among other initiatives. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the world's financial institutions need major changes."To build confidence about the future, which is essential for every saver and every depositor and every business, we have to show that we are dealing with the problems that caused the events of the last few months in the first place," he said.In other business news, U.S. antitrust regulators have approved Bank of America's $35 billion purchase of Merrill Lynch. The deal combines the largest U.S. bank by deposits with the world's largest brokerage. The acquisition must still be approved by the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve.Also, J.P. Morgan Chase's profit plunged by 84 percent in the third quarter, due largely to bad mortgage investments, leveraged loans and home loans. Still, profits at the New York-based bank were higher than expected.And one big U.S.-based company has some good news. Coca-Cola reports its third-quarter profits were up 14 percent. Sales in emerging markets offset weakness in North America.
Wall Street cedía en gran porcentaje esta jornada.


Las acciones se derritieron, nuevamente, este miércoles. Los inversores temen que las instituciones financieras no puedan ser rescatadas por las medidas tomadas por los gobiernos, al paso de que el temor a que haya una recesión mundial crece cada día más.

Wall Street siguió a Europa y Asia en la jornada negra. El Dow Jones y el Nasdaq cerraron en baja del 7,87% y 8,47% respectivamente. El DAX, el CAC 40 y el FTSE 100, junto con la mayor parte de los índices europeos, habían caído en más del 5%. La jornada fue mixta en Asia: el Nikkei aumentó en 1,06%, aunque el Hang Seng cedió 4,96%.

El rebote a Latinoamérica fue más fuerte: el Bovespa de Brasil retrocedió 11,39%. También el Merval de Argentina cedió fuertemente, en 12,15%, perdiendo las ganancias que había logrado ayer.

Un reporte de una funcionaria de la Reserva Federal (Fed) decía que los Estados Unidos se encontraban en el inminente camino hacia una recesión, si es que no se hallaban ya en una. El titular de la Fed reforzó los miedos luego de que aseverara que el sistema estaba bajo una "amenaza significativa", al paso de que la economía desacelera más aún.



Entre tanto, el Presidente George W. Bush declaró que cree que la economía volverá a crecer. En su reunión con su gabinete, el miércoles, dijo que la administración ha tomado acciones certeras para reforzar las instituciones financieras.

Bush reunido con su gabinete.

"Estas son medidas extraordinarias, sin lugar a dudas", dijo. "Pero están bien pensadas, son necesarias y estoy seguro de que en el largo plazo la economía volverá a crecer". La administración Bush había anunciado el lunes que compraría activos "tóxicos" a bancos privados, en un total de $250.000 millones, con esperanzas de restablecer el flujo de crédito nuevamente.

Al mismo tiempo, líderes de la Unión Europea se reunían en Bruselas para tratar la crisis e intentar aplicar, en los 27 países totales que constituyen la UE, el plan diseñado por los 15 países de la zona euro.



"Para que haya confianza en el futuro, que es esencial para cada ahorrista ... y cada negocio, necesitamos mostrar que estamos tratando los problemas que causaron los eventos de los últimos meses", declaró el Primer Ministro Gordon Brown del Reino Unido. Asimismo, el premier británicos declaró que se necesitaba una reestructuración del Fondo Monetario Internacional para ayudar a regular los mercados financieros.

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Asimismo, el G8 lanzó un comunicado en el cual se anunciaba que el grupo de las ocho naciones más industrializadas se reuniría para discutir una reestructuración financiera, invitando a otros países a la reunión; esta misma se realizará "antes de fin de año", según informó la Canciller de Alemania, Angela Merkel.

Los cambios, decía el comunicado, deben ser realizados en los "regímenes regulatorios e institucionales de los sectores financieros mundiales para remediar las deficiencias expuestas por la actual crisis".

La compra Bank of America de $35.000 millones a Merrill Lynch fue aprobada por reguladores.

"Buscamos una reunión de los líderes con países clave en un tiempo apropiado en un futuro cercano para adoptar una agenda para hacer reformas que cumplan con los desafíos del siglo XXI", agregaba.

En otras noticias, reguladores de Estados Unidos aprobaron la adquisición de Merrill Lynch por parte de Bank of America a un costo de $35.000 millones; la compra aún debe ser aprobada por la Fed.

Asimismo, JPMorgan Chase anunció que sus ganancias se recortaron en un 84% en el tercer cuatrimestre –debido primariamente a malas inversiones hipotecarias–, pero el banco dijo que, a pesar de esto, fueron mayores a los esperado.

Por su parte, una compañía gigante americana tuvo buenas noticias en el turbulento día: Coca-Cola anunció que sus ganancias habían aumentado en un 14% este tercer cuatrimestre, aclarando que las ventas en mercados emergentes apaciguaron los problemas en Norteamérica.