Hi All,
One wonders where all the Holiday Magic of Bush's economy has gone as the following stories attest. Mortgage Refinancing, Telecommunications, Retailing, The Dollar, Aviation, Business Analysis, and Home Products all take a hit.
Truly, Bush's economy is the gift that keeps on giving!
Enjoy
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http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B4409121F%2DD06C%2D45A3%2D861F%2DA9D34CBDD056%7D&siteid=mktwWaMu cuts 5,400 jobs, warns on EPS
Seattle-based thrift says mortgage business slowing
By David Weidner, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 9:44 AM ET Dec. 9, 2003
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Washington Mutual said Tuesday it will cut a total of 5,400 jobs in an effort to slash costs amid a slowing mortgage business, and said its 2003 earnings per share will miss Wall Street estimates.
The news, combined with a lower earnings estimate by the company, sent WaMu shares down $2.98, or 6.8 percent, to $40.87
The Seattle-based thrift said it cut 4,500 jobs between August and November and will slash an additional 900 jobs in the coming weeks. The jobs represent about 10 percent of WaMu's (WM: news, chart, profile) workforce.
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http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B1B178B0E%2D60A5%2D400D%2D97DB%2DE4EA84892A9F%7D&siteid=mktwSBC to cut 3,000 to 4,000 jobs
By Jeffry Bartash, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 9:25 AM ET Dec. 9, 2003
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- SBC Communications on Tuesday said it plans to eliminate 3,000 to 4,000 jobs as part of its continued effort to cut costs and streamline its operations.
SBC (SBC: news, chart, profile) said it will offer early-retirement packages to some employees, while it plans to leave other positions unfilled when workers retire or voluntarily leave the company.
The reductions will cost as much as $150 million in pretax expenses, the equivalent of 3 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, the phone carrier said. See News Release.
Last month, SBC announced that it will close more call centers and reduce its work force. At the time, the company did not specify how many jobs would be eliminated.
In the past two years, the company has sliced 28,000 jobs to offset an industrywide slump triggered by a global economic slowdown and intensified competition.
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http://money.cnn.com/2003/12/09/news/companies/penney_closing/Penney to shut a dozen stores
Department store chain to close a few more namesake outlets by year's end.
December 9, 2003: 9:27 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Department store chain J.C. Penney plans to close 12 more of its namesake department stores by the end of the year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Plano, Texas-based company did not specify in which states or cities the closings would take place. In its quarterly report filed late Monday, the retailer said it would have closed a total of 25 of U.S.-based department stores by the end of the year, with 13 of the closings having already taken place.
"The stores that are in the process of closing are scattered all over the country and they're our lower performing stores," said Penney spokesman Tim Lyons.
Separately, Penney recently announced it was looking for buyers for its troubled Eckerd drugstore chain, which has continued to face problems with pricing, store locations and inventory. Penney posted a lower third-quarter profit last month, citing Eckerd's woes.
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http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031209/IBUSDOLL09/TPBusiness/InternationalU.S. dollar continues to weaken
Greenback falls to record low against euro for seventh consecutive session
By ANUSHA SHRIVASTAVA
Associated Press
Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - Page B8
NEW YORK -- The U.S. dollar fell to multiyear lows against its major foreign rivals yesterday amid persistent worries over the U.S. economy, setting a record low against the euro for the seventh consecutive day.
The euro's surge against the dollar yesterday brought its gains against the greenback this year to more than 16 per cent. Some analysts said the fall of the dollar, which slipped as far as $1.2238 (U.S.) against the euro before strengthening slightly, has taken on a momentum of its own.
The dollar also sank to an 11-year low against the British pound, which hit a high of $1.7361, and a three-year low against the yen.
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http://www.cjonline.com/stories/111403/bus_suffer.shtmlRecession Fallout -- Aerospace workers suffer
House foreclosures soaring in Wichita
By Roxana Hegeman
The Associated Press
WICHITA -- Each week, the recession that grips Wichita becomes more evident in the most painful of ways, as 30 to 40 families, unable to make their mortgage payments, lose their homes to sheriff's auctions.
Given the fact that the Wichita area has long been dependent on the now-struggling aviation industry, home foreclosures are to be expected. Unemployment benefits and family savings have run out for thousands of laid-off aircraft workers and others unable to find work two years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks triggered massive layoffs in Wichita's four aircraft manufacturing plants.
As of Oct. 1, Sedgwick County had recorded 1,231 foreclosures of homes and businesses, far outpacing all of last year and twice the number of foreclosures in 2000, according to figures compiled by Security Title in Wichita. Most of those were home foreclosures, the company said.
Wichita is home to plants for The Boeing Co., Cessna Aircraft, Bombardier Aerospace and Raytheon Aircraft. The companies have cut more than 14,000 jobs since aircraft sales went soft in 2001.
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http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/Business/EEB83B0DA9F9292686256DF70008D20E?OpenDocument&Headline=Gartner+will+cut+200+jobs+to+trim+costsGartner will cut 200 jobs to trim costs
BLOOMBERG NEWS
12/09/2003
Gartner Inc. of Stamford, Conn., which sells research on the information-technology market, said it will cut 200 jobs, or 5.3 percent of its 3,800-person work force, to trim costs and streamline operations.
The cuts will result in an expense of $28 million to $32 million, Gartner said. The costs will be recorded in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of next year.
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=Rubbermaid%20LayoffsTuesday, December 9, 2003 · Last updated 9:07 a.m. PT
Rubbermaid will eliminate 850 Ohio jobs
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WOOSTER, Ohio -- Newell Rubbermaid said Tuesday that it will eliminate 850 jobs in Wooster, once the showpiece headquarters city of Rubbermaid Inc.
Plant damage from last month's tornado was one of several factors and sped up the decision to end plastics production at the facility, spokeswoman Keri Butler said.
Five years ago, before its takeover by Newell Corp., Rubbermaid had its headquarters in Wooster and employed 1,400 people in the northeast Ohio community.
The layoffs will leave Wooster with about 350 administrative staff employees, Butler said.
The company said it expects to phase out the jobs by June 30.
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