Como se combate o populismo? "Com eleições", responde Fukuyama

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8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. SEPT. NATURAL GAS PRICES RISE 28.8%
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. SEPT. IMPORTED PETROLEUM PRICES CLIMB 7.3%
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. AUG. TRADE GAP WITH CHINA RECORD $18.5 BLN
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. AUG. TRADE GAP ROUGHLY IN LINE WITH CONSENSUS $59.5 BLN
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. AUG. TRADE GAP WIDENS 1.8% TO $59.0 BLN
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. SEPT. EXPORT PRICE INDEX RISES 0.9%
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. SEPT. IMPORT PRICES EX-OIL RISES RECORD 1.2%
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. SEPT. IMPORT PRICE INCREASE HIGHEST IN 15 YEARS
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. SEPT. IMPORT PRICE INDEX RISES 2.3%

8:30am 10/13/05 CUMULATIVE TOLL OF HURRICANES: 438,000 JOBLESS CLAIMS
8:30am 10/13/05 HURRICANES BOOST JOBLESS CLAIMS BY 75,000: DOL
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. CONTINUING JOBLESS CLAIMS OFF 5,000 TO 2.87 MLN
8:30am 10/13/05 U.S. INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL 2,000 TO 389,000


ECONOMIC REPORT: Jobless claims sink 2,000 to 389,000; Hurricane-related job losses reach cumulative 438,000
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last Update: 8:44 AM ET Oct. 13, 2005

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Initial jobless claims remained at an elevated level last week as a result of two devastating storms in the Gulf Coast.

First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 to 389,000 in the week ending Oct. 8, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita contributed an estimated 75,000 to last week's filings. A total of 438,000 hurricane-related jobless claims have been filed since Katrina stormed ashore on Aug. 29, an average of 73,000 extra claims for each of the six weeks since then.

The four-week average fell by 8,750 to 395,750. The average number of claims before Katrina hit was 317,000.

In September, U.S. nonfarm payrolls were reduced by an estimated 230,000 by the storms.

The jobless claims data indicate that October payrolls could be reduced by a similar amount by the direct impact of the storms, with labor markets elsewhere in the nation relatively unaffected by the storms.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans collecting jobless benefits fell by 5,000 to 2.87 million in the week ending Oct. 1. The insured unemployment rate fell by a tenth of a percentage point to 2.2%.



ECONOMIC REPORT: Trade gap widens in August; Rising petroleum prices account for much of deterioration
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
Last Update: 8:34 AM ET Oct. 13, 2005

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. trade gap widened in August as the high cost of imported oil offset another month of record exports, the government reported Thursday.

The U.S. trade deficit widened 1.8% in August to $59.0 billion, the Commerce Department said.

The trade deficit was in line with the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists.

There was no discernable impact on the August trade data from Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29 and closed the Port of New Orleans.

Economists expect the hurricane will have a significant impact on the trade balance in September. The government will release its first estimate of the damage from the hurricanes on trade in the Gulf Coast region on Oct. 21.

In August, imports rose slightly faster than exports. August's imports rose 1.8% to a record $167.2 billion, while exports rose 1.6% to a record $108.2 billion.

Rising petroleum prices was a major factor in the report. The petroleum deficit widened $1.5 billion to $20.6 billion.

The value of U.S. oil imports rose to a record $17.2 billion in August from $15.3 billion in July. The price of a barrel of oil was a record $52.65.

Imports of goods alone rose 2.1% to $140.5 billion, as auto imports rose sharply. However imports of consumer goods declined in August.

Exports of goods alone rose 2.1% to $76.7 billion, led by Boeing Co (BA:news, chart, profile) 67.65+0.951.4%deliveries. Civilian aircraft exports rose 25% in August and are up 30% so far this year.

The U.S. trade deficit with China widened to a record $18.5 billion in August and totals $126.2 billion so far this year.

The U.S. also reported record monthly deficits with the European Union, South/Central America and OPEC.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said import prices rose the most in 15 years in September. In addition, jobless claims fell slightly in the latest week.