Word: quartered
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...state economy is still contracting, but an economic index released by the University of Massachusetts projects that the rate of decline is becoming less severe. According to the MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index, the state economy declined at an annualized rate of 4.2 percent in the first quarter of the year—less than the 4.7 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2008. The index also forecasted declines of 3.1 percent in the second quarter and 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2009. But despite the encouraging projected trend, economists said that the news was far from positive...
...improbable rally which should have been affected by concerns about the spread of the Swine flu virus and the fact that several large American banks may need tremendous infusions of capital. GDP numbers issued by the government were also shockingly bad. The economy contracted 6.1% in the first quarter which was more than any of the estimates of sane analysts. This GDP drop followed a drop of 6.3% in the last quarter of 2008. Experts tried to calm the masses by saying that some of the fall-off was due to a dip in inventories. That could mean that...
...everyone is following that advice. Despite recent gains, the average Aussie today eats less than a quarter of a kilo of kangaroo a year, compared with more than 37 kg of beef and veal. In 2007, the entire kangaroo industry, which includes pet-food and hide sales, was valued at about $30 million, compared to over $1.4 billion for Australia's sheep business. "I'm sure those producing kangaroo got a bounce out of [Garnaut's report], if you'll pardon the pun," says Brett Heffernan, a spokesman for the National Farmers' Federation. "But it's not likely to take...
...surprising is how rapid the decline has been," says Scott Berman, U.S. leader of hospitality and leisure consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Even time-shares at top lodging companies are taking hits: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide reported a 48% decline in revenues from its vacation-ownership business in the fourth quarter, with the average price per unit plunging 31%. Similarly, Marriott International posted a 32% revenue drop in time-share sales. David Loeb, a senior analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co., sees more pain ahead. He projects Starwood's vacation-ownership sales revenues to fall an additional 27% and Marriott...
...rebound. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose in April by the most since 2005, signaling that American shoppers might be ready to start buying again. The U.S. government also revealed in late April that inventories in the U.S. fell by a record amount in the first quarter, which could mean inventories have been reduced so much that companies will have to start placing more orders to replenish them. That could spur Asian production and exports...