Zbusiness
SATURDAY,NOVEMBER 15,2008
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
10A
Crude continues decline Stocks retreat with focus despite signals from OPEC on economy renewed By MARK WILLIAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Oil prices slumped Friday, despite signals from OPEC that it may slash production again, with the markets instead focused on the most recent reports showing drastic cutbacks in spending and consumption by businesses and consumers. Gasoline prices again fell overnight, prompting one analyst to note a “half price holiday sale on gas” with Americans fueling up for the Thanksgiving holiday
at half the price they did in July. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $1.20 to settle at $57.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Commerce Department on Friday reported the largestever October plunge for retail sales and a sharp drop in business inventories. It said retail sales fell by 2.8 percent last month, surpassing the old mark of a 2.65 percent drop in November 2001 in the wake of the terrorist attacks that year. The decline in sales was led by a huge drop in auto purchases,
but sales of all types of products from furniture to clothing fell as consumers retrenched. That likely means fewer vehicle miles driven because of job losses, fewer trips to the shopping mall and less money spent on vacations. Businesses are slowing down as consumption drags. The Commerce Department reported business inventories dropped by 0.2 percent in September. It was the first decline since March 2007 and the biggest drop in more than three years, since inventories fell by 0.3 percent in July 2005.
By JOE BEL BRUNO and SARA LEPRO ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Wall Street retreated from the previous session’s big gains Friday as investors absorbed another wave of downbeat economic news and took little solace from hints that an additional interest rate cut might be possible. Some retrenchment was to be expected after such a big advance Thursday, in which the Dow Jones industrials rallied more than 550 points after falling near their low for the year. But there was
also plenty of discouraging news for investors to focus on, including comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the markets remain under “severe strain” and a sobering report on October retail sales. The Fed chief said during a speech in Frankfurt, Germany, that he would work closely with other central banks to try to alleviate the global financial crisis and left open the door to a fresh interest rate cut. The Fed is scheduled to meet Dec. 16 at its last regularly scheduled meeting this year.