Page 7 - Aruba Today
P. 7
U.S. NEWS A7
Friday 29 January 2016
US Financial Front:
Global slump, high dollar drag US durable goods in December
2015 Grand Cherokees appear on display at a Fiat Chrysler dealership in Doral, Fla. On Thursday, strong dollar and spreading cember orders was influ-
Jan. 28, 2016, the Commerce Department released its December report on durable goods. global economic weak- enced by some one-time
ness. Both factors have hurt factors, including a swing in
(AP Photo/Alan Diaz) export sales of durables, the mix of orders to Boeing
which are items intended in December to lower-val-
MARTIN CRUTSINGER ond straight month. plunge in demand for to last at least three years ued 737s. He attributed the
AP Economics Writer Durable goods orders commercial aircraft, a cat- such as refrigerators, cars plunge in the investment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Or- dropped 5.1 percent in De- egory that swings sharply and computers. category to the decline in
ders to U.S. factories for cember following a 0.5 per- from month to month. The category that serves oil prices to around $30 per
long-lasting manufactured cent decline in November, Durable goods orders have as a proxy for business in- barrel, down from around
goods tumbled in Decem- the Commerce Depart- fallen in four of the past vestment plans dropped $50 per barrel in the late
ber, with a key category ment said Thursday. five months, reflecting the 4.3 percent in December summer and early fall. That
that tracks business invest- The weakness was fueled pressures facing Ameri- after a 1.1 percent decline triggered further cutbacks
ment plans falling for a sec- in part by a 29.4 percent can manufacturers from a in November. American in- in investment in the oil and
dustry has struggled in re- gas industry, he said.
cent months, and econo- “No one should be sur-
mists do not expect a quick prised that manufacturing
turnaround. is fundamentally weak, giv-
They worry that export en the oil hit and the strong
sales will continue to strug- dollar,” he said.
gle as the dollar keeps ris- Overall orders were down
ing. There is also concern $12 billion in December to
about economic weakness a seasonally adjusted total
in such key export markets of $225.4 billion.
as China, the world’s sec- Demand was also down in a
ond-largest economy, and number of areas. Excluding
other emerging markets. the transportation sector,
Ian Shepherdson, chief orders still fell 1.2 percent
economist with Pantheon following a 0.5 percent de-
Macroeconomics, noted cline excluding transporta-
that the big drop in De- tion in November.q
California wrestles with self-driving car policy
JUSTIN PRITCHARD On Thursday, DMV offi- people minimal ability to
Associated Press cials in Sacramento began take over.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) hearing from advocates The DMV said cars must
— Companies that are de- and skeptics with strong have a steering wheel in
veloping self-driving cars opinions about precedent- case onboard computers
of the future want govern- setting draft regulations or sensors — including ra-
ment regulators to clear the agency released last dar, lasers and cameras —
the road for public access month. Those regulations fail. A licensed driver would
to the technology, once it will govern the cars’ even- need to sit in the driver’s
emerges from prototype tual rollout to residents. seat, ready to seize control
testing. So far, the agency has tak- in an emergency.
California’s Department of en a cautious approach Neither Google Inc. nor tra-
Motor Vehicles is wrestling — one that Google in par- ditional automakers have
with how to keep the pub- ticular says will stymie the said they think the cars are
lic safe as the imperfect technology. ready yet, but at least a
technology matures — but Google has concluded dozen companies are de-
not regulate so heavily that that human error is the big- veloping the technology.
the agency stifles develop- gest risk in driving, and the Google has suggested a
ment of vehicles with po- company wants to remove model could be ready for
tentially huge safety ben- the steering wheel and limited use sooner than the
efits. pedals from cars, giving public realizes..q
