Word: ortner
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...base. Yet consumers saved only 4.6% of their disposable personal income in 1985, compared with 7.5% in 1981, the year before IRAs were expanded. Economists have not despaired, though. "On balance, the IRAs have worked well. Maybe the savings rate would have dropped even more without them," says Robert Ortner, chief economist at the Commerce Department. Experts generally believe that most initial IRA contributions consisted of money that consumers had already saved anyway. But after that cash is tucked away, the IRA program is expected eventually to stimulate more and more new savings...
...whole, cheap oil has far more positive effects than negative ones. Says Robert Ortner, chief economist for the Commerce Department: "It is a very potent boost for the economy." Since energy costs make up about 10% of the Consumer Price Index, smaller oil bills provide the economic elixir of growth without inflation. Many businesses get a huge profit lift from lower energy costs. The airline industry, for example, saves $110 million for every 1 cents drop in jet-fuel prices...
...fell 27% in the three months ending in October, but said that sales picked up in the first days after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the all important Christmas shopping season. Several other retail chains, including Dayton-Hudson and K mart, are also reporting brisk holiday business. Concludes Robert Ortner, chief economist of the Commerce Department: "The odds still favor a very good Christmas." He thinks the drop in interest rates will bolster consumer confidence...
...heavy machinery and new factories needed for long-term growth. Spending for construction of industrial plants fell 24% last year, and is expected to be flat in 1984. Businessmen seem to be reluctant to make investments that will not return a sure profit within a short time. Explains Robert Ortner, chief economist of the U.S. Commerce Department: "There is a fear that deficits will strangle the economy, which creates uncertainty. And uncertainty is always detrimental to long-term business decisions...
...imported goods ranging from French wines to Japanese videotape recorders. A top-of-the-line German camera that cost $1,159 last year now sells for about $950. Experts estimate that the strong dollar has cut some $700 from the sticker price of a new Toyota Corolla. Robert Ortner, chief economist for the Commerce Department, says that the dollar's strength "makes the vast majority of consumers very happy. But they don't have a spokesman...