Reply #54: Snowjob

[54anickel]

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ant0UfcKfDwg&refer=top_world_news

U.S. exports dropped to $92.8 billion in June. Foreign businesses bought $26.2 billion worth of capital goods from the U.S., an 8.9 percent decline from the previous month and the biggest decline since September 2000.

The report ``reflects...that growth in the rest of the world appears to be slowing,'' Snow told reporters in Boca Raton, Florida. ``The United States is growing much faster than the rest of the world, and what that causes, of course, is this imbalance: we have more income and more prosperity. And part of that is used to buy goods and services from around the world.''

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/100763/1/.html

WASHINGTON : US Treasury Secretary John Snow said a "mild deceleration" in US job creation will be short-lived.

"The President (George W. Bush) and I want all job-seekers to be rewarded with paychecks and we know that the reward cannot come soon enough for them and their families," Snow told business leaders in Boca Raton, Florida, according to prepared remarks released here Friday.

"Even though lots of new jobs have been created in the last year, we're not satisfied," he said.

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"I believe the recent mild deceleration in job creation will be short-lived," Snow said.

The underlying fundamentals of the economy were "very strong," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=5971767

"The causes of higher oil prices are varied. In part it's the economy itself. The world economy is growing. China is growing and we've created a stronger demand for oil as a result," Snow said.

"Uncertainty about the Middle East has created a premium of maybe $6 to $8 to $10 a barrel, depending on which analyst you speak to," he said.

In response to questions about the increasing influence of China in the global economy, Snow said the Bush administration was making every effort to push China off its current policy of pegging its yuan currency to the dollar, which U.S. manufacturers claim gives it an unfair trade advantage.

"We've said very clearly, very forcefully... they need to move off this peg," Snow said.

"They can't do it immediately but they're taking steps to get there. There are signs of progress in a lot of areas but we can't let up, we won't let up," he said.

Snow was asked to comment on recent reports that some form of national sales tax might be implemented to replace income taxes, an idea the Bush administration has sought to distance itself from.

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