Florence loses Maytag

Affecting 60 workers in the Pee Dee, Maytag’s laundry plant closing is due by early next year. Maytag shareholders vote on a proposed purchase by Whirlpool on December 16.

Greenspan is not leaving quietly

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is scheduled to retire January 31, but he can’t step down without issuing fiscal warnings. Last week he said the annual budget gap is too high at $319 billion, and continued deficit spending with continued tax cuts won’t work without budget cuts. The government’s borrowing could easily crowd out private borrowing, driving up interest rates and feeding inflation. The Federal Reserve raised its overnight lending rate to 4% last week, the 12th–consecutive increase. Most major banks followed by raising their prime rate to 7%.

2005, so far

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 2.42% so far this year. The Nasdaq is down 0.70% for the year. On the other hand, the DJ Wilshire 5000 is up 2.06% for the year.

Investment clubs

BetterInvesting, a national coordinator of investment clubs, is an investor’s resource available at www.betterinvesting.org/biconvention. In the US more than 200,000 investors are members of 17,600 investment clubs for a combined portfolio of $117 billion.

Employment

The US suffered a net loss in jobs in September, the first decline in two years. For October, there was a gain of 56,000 jobs. Most economists, however, were expecting maybe 100,000 job gains. In September, the jobless rate was 5.1%, and in October the rate lowered to 5%.

Timber

In 2005, the estimated annual financial–investor ownership of US timberland should total $28 billion. In 1990, only about $2 billion of timberland fell into that category. Harvard University’s $26 billion endowment keeps about 10% of its portfolio invested in timberland.

The mysterious East

China’s gross domestic product is expected to rise by 9.3% in 2005. In 2004, their economy expanded by 9.5%. Vietnam’s GDP for 2005 should grow by 7.5%. Japan is expected to expand by no more than 2.3%. The US GDP is running along at a 3.8% expansion.

Microfinance is Tufts stuff

Last week the founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar, announced a $100 million donation to Tufts University to use for making loans as little as $40 in developing countries. The targeted borrowers are beginning business owners.

Expensive body of work

Under a contract ending November 15, Kenyan International Emergency Services Inc. of Houston is removing Katrina’s dead at a per victim cost of $65,000, up from the per victim cost of $5,500 for the first 25 days of the contract.

If you have to ask, you can’t afford it

The New York Times ran a story recently on the cost of chartering yachts longer than 150 feet. Just the crew’s salaries and benefits, typically, cost $535,000 annually. A 188–foot yacht in Old Lyme, CT, is offering a weekly charter for $385,000. The owner claims to rent it for about 10 weeks a year, which covers his $3 million annual operating cost.

Toyota, GM, VW

The top Japanese automaker’s sales rose 9% for the month of October compared with the same month a year ago, while GM’s fell 23%. VW’s October sales fell 21%.

Greenville language gap

A former Greenville Technical College official lost his appeal to the State Budget and Control Board for job reinstatement. He was fired for speaking the term “yard apes” when referring to Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

US–China textile agreement

With controls on Chinese access to the American market through 2008, an agreement between the two countries was struck last week. For last June, July, and August, Chinese textile and apparel exports to the US were averaging more than $2 billion per month. The overall US trade deficit with China this year could top $200 billion.

Prints sales up

Christie’s and Sotheby’s, New York’s (and the world’s) largest art auction houses, sold a combined $47 million in prints in their major spring and fall sales this year. Since prints are part of multiple–copy issues, each print is typically lower in price than a painting. Last week at Christie’s, a screenprint “Target” by SC’s Jasper Johns sold for $216,000. Johns turned 75 last May, and few art collectors sell any works by a 75–year–old living artist.