Page 25 - Aruba Today

BUSINESS A25
Thursday 3 December 2015

Fed says more consumer spending, housing boost US growth

C. S. RUGABER tober through mid-Novem- frombusinesses in each of rent pace and hiring stays level positions that were
AP Economics Writer ber. The New York Fed said the 12 districts. healthy. filled by staffing firms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The growth leveled off, while it It will be used for discussion The November jobs report In most districts, wages rose
Federal Reserve says the slowed in Boston and was when the central bank next will be released Friday, and only for skilled positions that
U.S. economy grew at a mixed in Kansas City. meets Dec. 15-16. Fed offi- economists forecast that companies were having
modest pace this fall, lifted The Fed’s report suggests cials at that meeting are it will show that employers difficulty filling. The Atlanta
by higher consumer spend- that healthy consumer widely expected to raise in- added 200,000 jobs, while Fed, however, said there
ing and more home sales spending is offsetting over- terest rates for the first time the unemployment rate re- were signs that employers
and construction. seas headwinds that have in nine years. mained 5 percent. are paying more for entry-
The Fed said Wednesday weighed on U.S. manufac- In a speech Wednesday, All 12 of the Fed’s districts level, lower-skilled jobs.
in its latest snapshot of the turers. Federal Reserve Chair Ja- reported that hiring picked Home sales rose in seven of
economy that nine of its The report, known as the net Yellen signaled that a up in the past two months. 12 districts, the Beige Book
12 regional banks report- Beige Book, is released rate increase is likely, pro- Many, however, said that said, while housing con-
ed growth was modest or eight times a year and con- vided that the economy the job gains were driven struction increased in most
moderate from early Oc- sists of anecdotal reports continues to grow at its cur- by temporary and entry- Fed districts as well.q

Record Cyber Monday online spending tops $3 billion

In this Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, photo, Mark Oldenburg processes outgoing orders at Amazon. comScore chairman emeri- overall retail sales, but that
com’s fulfillment center in DuPont, Wash. Shoppers spent more than $3 billion online this “Cyber tus Gian Fulgoni. increases to 15 percent
Monday,” making it the biggest online shopping day ever. It’s the sixth year in a row during the holidays as on-
that Cyber Monday has line shoppers snap up Black
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) been top online sales day Friday and Cyber Monday
on record. deals, according to re-
MAE ANDERSON Monday, fueled by a 53 minds of enough shoppers Mobile spending, or sales search firm Forrester.
Associated Press percent surge in spending and it endures as the top via smartphones and tab- The name “Cyber Mon-
NEW YORK (AP) — Shop- via mobile devices. online spending day of the lets, jumped 53 percent day” was coined in 2005
pers spent more than $3 bil- The 10-year-old shopping year. to $838 million, making up by the National Retail Fed-
lion online this “Cyber Mon- holiday has lost some of “Despite some talk of Cy- 27 percent of total online eration’s online arm, called
day,” making it the biggest its luster as retailers start ber Monday declining in spending. Shop.org, to encourage
online shopping day ever. sales even earlier than the importance, the day’s his- Top online shopping desti- people to shop online.
Research firm comScore traditional Thanksgiving torical highs and continued nations included Amazon, The name was also a nod
said shopping by phone, and Black Friday sprees. strong growth rates confirm Walmart, eBay, Target and to online shopping being
laptop or tablet jumped Yet “Cyber Monday” has it is still a hugely impor- Best Buy. done at work where faster
21 percent to $3.11 billion become engrained in the tant shopping event,” said The spending spree comes connections made it easier
even as several retailers to browse. Now, even with
had problems during Cy- broadband access, Cyber
ber Monday. Amazon said Monday continues to be a
some orders in the U.S. and day when retailers pull out
Canada had incorrectly big promotions.
applied shipping charges, The NRF estimates overall
but it discovered the error sales for November and
and refunded the charges. December will rise 3.7 per-
Target’s Web site was brief- cent to $630.5 billion com-
ly offline due to high traffic. pared with last year.
ComScore expects online Another firm that tracks on-
sales to rise 14 percent to line spending, MasterCard
$70.06 billion during the Advisors, said e-commerce
November and December sales for last month and the
shopping period, slowing Thanksgiving weekend rose
slightly from last year’s 15 13.4 percent compared
percent rise. Online sales with the year-ago period.
make up 10 percent of q

Survey: US businesses hired at healthy pace last month

C. S. RUGABER added 204,000, while man- Federal Reserve would is struggling with faltering mist at Moody’s Analytics,
AP Economics Writer ufacturers hired just 6,000. raise short-term interest economies overseas and which compiles the ADP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amer- The figures come just two rates later this month for the the strong dollar. data, said that hiring was
ican businesses stepped days before the govern- first time in nine years. The ADP survey covers only strong in nearly all industries
up hiring last month, led ment issues its official jobs Steady consumer spending private businesses and fre- outside the oil and gas sec-
by strong gains in retail, fi- report for November. Econ- is supporting greater hiring quently diverges from the tor, which has been bat-
nance and other service omists forecast that it will in services, which includes official figures. ADP’s hiring tered by low oil prices, and
industries, a private survey show employers added higher-paying professional tallies were much higher factories that compete
found. 200,000 jobs last month and positions such as informa- than the government’s in with overseas producers.
Payroll processor ADP said the unemployment rate re- tion technology and engi- August and September, The dollar has jumped
Wednesday that compa- mained 5 percent. neering jobs. and then were far below about 13 percent in value
nies added 217,000 jobs A robust jobs report at the That is helping to offset the government’s estimate this year, which makes U.S.
last month, the most in five end of this week would weak job gains in sectors last month. goods more expensive
months. Service sector firms make it very likely that the like manufacturing, which Mark Zandi, chief econo- overseas.q