May 8, 2008New records for gas prices
At the same time, a new record was set for gasoline prices at the national level. This is from the Associated Press: Gas prices jumped nearly 3 cents overnight to a new national record of nearly $3.65 a gallon Thursday, while oil prices paused from their own climb to record highs and succumbed to mild profit-taking. At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular gas nationwide rose 2.7 cents to a record $3.645, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel prices also rose, adding 0.9 cent to match a record national average of $4.251 a gallon. Busy week for local public companiesIn the next seven days, two Roanoke-based publicly traded companies will announce financial results. Luna Innovations will unveil its first-quarter earnings after the market closes today and will discuss the results with analysts via conference call at 5 p.m. The company's annual shareholders' meeting in next Thursday in D.C. Advance Auto Parts, meanwhile, plans to have its annual shareholders meeting at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center next Thursday morning, and will release its first-quarter results on May 16. FreightCar told to pay millions to settle claimsA manufacturer with a major Roanoke facility, FreightCar America, has been told to pay millions to the nearly 400 employees it laid off at a Pennsylvania facility. FreightCar moved production from the Johnstown plant to its facilities in Roanoke and Danville, Ill. Here is more info from Reuters: U.S. railroad car maker FreightCar America Inc said on Thursday that it would take a charge of $20 million to $24.5 million after an arbitrator ruled that it was liable for back pay and benefits to workers at a Johnstown, Pennsylvania, factory that it said in December 2007 it intends to close. It said the charge would reduce first-quarter results by $1.11 to $1.32 per share. The Chicago-based manufacturer earlier this month reported profit for that period of $1.1 million, or 10 cents per share. Workers at the factory represented by the United Steelworkers of America are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that runs through May 15. The ruling found FreightCar responsible for back pay and benefits to more than half of the workers at the plant, the company said. When FreightCar disclosed plans to close the 390-worker unionized facility, saying it would move functions performed at that factory to Danville, Illinois, and Roanoke, Virginia. May 2, 2008Local unemployment up in MarchA timing oddity, the March employment figures were released this week from the state of Virginia, just as the numbers nationwide were reported for April. The state's unemployment rose to 3.9 percent in March, up from 3.8 percent in February and 2.9 percent last March, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. State officials blamed the rise of the past year (which amounts to nearly 41,000 more unemployed statewide) to a drop in construction employment because of a slow housing market and labor unrest at Midwest factories that led to local layoffs at suppliers. The strike at the Volvo plant in Dublin did not affect the results, as state law prevents unemployment benefits going to striking workers. Locally, unemployment in the Roanoke metro rose to 4 percent (from 3.9 in February and 3.0 in March 2007). A similar increase took place in the Christiansburg-Blacksburg-Radford metro, where unemployment rose to 4.5 percent (from 4.4 in February and 3.9 last March). April 30, 2008GDP says: Quit that recession talkWhile things are certainly difficult for a lot of Americans right now, I wish we would put the notion of a recession behind us for a bit. The economy continued to grow in the first quarter, which means we're at least six months away from declaring a recession. Odds are, by that time, we won't be suffering from the same problems. WASHINGTON - The bruised economy limped through the first quarter, growing at just a 0.6 percent pace as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down. The country’s economic growth during January through March was the same as in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The statistic did not meet what economists consider the definition of a recession, which is a contraction of the economy. This means that although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to grow, even if slightly. Many analysts were predicting that the gross domestic product (GDP) would weaken a bit more — to a pace of just 0.5 percent — in the first quarter. Earlier this year, some thought the economy would actually lurch into reverse during the opening quarter. Now, they say they believe that will likely happen during the current April-to-June period. Have you talked about a recession without understanding the definition (two consecutive quarters of GDP drop)? Take three steps back. |
About this blog
As the U.S. economy struggles to find its footing -- and experts debate daily whether or not we are in a recession, heading toward a recession or neither -- business editor Chris Winston writes this blog to provide local, state and national information to help you make heads or tails of the headlines. .....Advertisement.....
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