Saying that moving quickly is imperative, President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday offered an outline of his economic recovery plan to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, saying American workers will rebuild the nation’s roads and bridges, modernize its schools and create more sources of alternative energy.
"These aren’t just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis," Obama said in the weekly Democratic address, posted on his Web site. "These are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long."
Details of the plan are still being worked out by his economic team, Obama said, but he hopes to sign the two-year, nationwide plan shortly after taking office January 20.
He referred to figures out this week showing that new home purchases in October were the lowest in 50 years, and that 540,000 new unemployment claims had been filed — the highest in 16 years.
"We must do more to put people back to work and get our economy moving again," he said. More than a million jobs have been lost this year, he said, and "if we don’t act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year."
The plan will be aimed at jump-starting job creation, Obama said, and laying the foundation for a stronger economy.
"We’ll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children and building wind farms and solar panels, fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technology that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years head," he said businesscards.
He noted he will need support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass such a plan, and said he welcomes suggestions from both sides of the aisle.
"But what is not negotiable is the need for immediate action," he said. "Right now, there are millions of mothers and fathers who are lying awake at night wondering if next week’s paycheck will cover next month’s bills. There are Americans showing up to work in the morning, only to have cleared out their desks by the afternoon. Retirees are watching their life savings disappear, and students are seeing their college dreams deferred. These Americans need help, and they need it now."
Throughout history, he said, Americans have been able to rise above their divisions to work together, he said.
"That is the chance our new beginning now offers us, and that is the challenge we must rise to in the days to come," Obama said. "It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will."
Mass layoffs. A dismal outlook for retailers. The prospect of state budget cuts. An economy in contraction, and forecasts that the decline will accelerate.
If lawmakers are going to pass measures to boost the economy, time is of the essence. Congress is meeting this week in a lame-duck session, but it is not precluded from coming back before the end of the year.
Despite lawmakers from both sides of the aisle agreeing that something must be done, Congress may not pass a substantial stimulus package for another two months at the earliest given all the disputes over what kind of stimulus is best, how much is needed and how to pay for it. Also consuming their time: debate over whether to offer rescue money to the Big Three automakers.
"The lame-duck session of Congress will earn its ‘lame’ label and pass only a grab-bag of modest stimulus, leaving the heavy lifting until early 2009," said Greg Valliere, chief political strategist for the Stanford Group, a policy research firm based in Washington, D.C.
And the delay could mute the impact of any package - or parts of it - and affect how states are likely to fare as a result.
Democrats are pushing government spending to boost state aid and food stamps, extend unemployment benefits and fund infrastructure projects. A leading Republican proposal pushes for greater tax relief for businesses and individuals and energy reform measures.
At a Wall Street Journal conference on Monday, Lawrence Summers - who is considered to be a leading candidate for Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration - said he believes stimulus measures will need to be "speedy, substantial and sustained over a several-year interval." He said estimates for how much stimulus is needed in aggregate went as high as the $500 billion to $700 billion range.
Another economist - fiscal conservative Martin Feldstein, who served as President Reagan’s chief economic adviser, didn’t put a price tag on how much stimulus would be needed but said a big effort was needed.
"The nation needs a program of government spending for at least the next two years to offset the large decline in consumer spending and business investment," Feldstein said at a congressional hearing Tuesday. "To be successful, it must be big, quick and targeted at increasing production and employment."
While it’s very possible lawmakers might push through an extension of unemployment benefits before the year is out, it’s likely that this Congress will punt the big stimulus decisions to the next Congress, which would aim to have a package ready for President-elect Barack Obama’s signature when he’s sworn into office on Jan. 20.
A delay in enacting stimulus could force painful decisions by states and businesses that they otherwise would not have to make, and that, in turn, could exacerbate the recession, some economists say.
Consider, for example, fiscal aid to states so they won’t have to raise taxes or cut services. On the one hand, states’ economic recoveries typically lag national comebacks by a year or two, and most of their fiscal years don’t start until July.
The lag suggests that lawmakers have time to get money to states and still have it be useful.
But in reality, "spending decisions have to be made now fast cash in one hour. … The longer we wait [for commitments of federal aid] the more cuts will occur," said David Quam, director of federal relations for the National Governors Association.
That’s because governors typically put together their budget proposals for the next fiscal year in December and their legislatures take them up starting in January.
Since 49 states have balanced budget requirements - meaning if their revenues fall, they must compensate by making cuts or raising taxes and fees - state lawmakers may slate cuts or tax increases that otherwise might not be needed because they won’t have confirmation that federal aid is on the way, Quam explained.
Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, also urges the federal government to act immediately to offer fiscal aid to states and local governments.
"Now is not the time for either to falter as it will only make the quickly intensifying recession much worse," Achuthan said.
As for other stimulus measures Congress may pass, they should be ready to go as soon as several bellwether economic measures begin to turn upward, Achuthan said. "That would greatly increase the chance … [for] the type of recovery that produces jobs."
A job-based recovery, in turn, can help combat the housing crisis.
"Without a better job market, foreclosures will continue to mount," he explained.
Currently, the annualized growth rate on the research institute’s Weekly Leading Index is the lowest it has been since 1949. Achuthan has said he doesn’t see an economic recovery on the horizon yet.
Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research, takes a more optimistic view about a possible delay in stimulus.
"Ideally you get it all done now," Yamarone said. "But it’s not an overwhelming negative [if you don’t]. This quarter is already written off. You can’t save it now."
Yamarone was one of 51 economists surveyed recently by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The economy contracted in the third quarter and the majority of economists surveyed said they expect the same for the next two quarters. Thirty-five of the 51 economists made their predictions assuming a roughly $200 billion stimulus package would be in place.
To make sure they can put to maximum use whatever federal aid they’re slated to get, states and private sector recipients should have the money in hand or access to tax relief by mid-February, according to Yamarone.
With infrastructure projects, it typically takes between three and four months for states and localities to put the money to use in "ready-to-go" projects, meaning they can get started as soon as funding is provided.
He believes if money is disbursed by mid-February, jobs will start to be created by spring. "Then it starts to snowball and build on itself," said Yamarone, who doesn’t buy the argument that the economy will be in the tank for as long as some of the most gloom-and-doom forecasters.
"I think there’s gloom, but I don’t think there’s doom. I discount the doom," Yamarone said.
Singapore's exports posted the biggest decline in more than six years in October as recession in Japan, Europe and the U.S. hurt demand for the island's electronics and drugs.
Non-oil domestic exports fell 15.3 percent from a year earlier, after contracting 5.7 percent in September, the trade promotion agency said in a statement today. Economists had expected an 8.2 percent drop. Total exports, including oil shipments and re-exports, fell 4.2 percent.
Singapore plans to bring forward its budget announcement, help small and medium-sized companies obtain financing and provide training for retrenched workers amid the global economic slowdown, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday. The economy fell into its first recession since 2002 in the last quarter, prompting the central bank to end a policy favoring gains in its currency.
Worsening trade “will put additional pressure on the Monetary Authority of Singapore to make an intra-meeting adjustment to its currency band,'' said Robert Prior-Wandesforde, an economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Singapore. “It also helps justify the government's decision to bring forward the budget to January, where companies, in particular, can look forward to a series of goodies.''
The Singapore dollar fell to as low as S$1.5256 today, the weakest level since September 2007.
Slow Growth
Singapore's recession will last about a year and it may take several years of slow growth before the economy returns to normal, the Straits Times cited Lee as saying in a report today. The government expects overseas shipments to decline as much as 4 percent this year, the worst performance since 2001 freecreditscore.
Exports dropped a seasonally adjusted 7.4 percent last month from September, when they fell a revised 0.9 percent, today's report showed. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent decline.
“Electronics exports have been contracting for about two years and the pace of decline has in fact worsened in recent months,'' said Irvin Seah, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore. “Given the current global economic conditions, the outlook for this sector in Singapore is exceptionally bleak going forward.''
Electronics shipments slipped 15 percent in October from a year earlier, the 21st consecutive drop, following a 10.7 percent decline in September. Sales of electronics products by companies including Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. were worth S$5.64 billion ($3.7 billion) last month.
Singapore's semiconductor shipments fell 7.3 percent from a year earlier in October. Chartered, the world's third-largest maker of customized chips, said last month losses in the current three-month period will mount as demand slumps. The maker of chips for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 game player has halted overtime work, cut wages and scaled back spending.
Non-electronics shipments, which include petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, fell 15.5 percent in October from a year earlier. Pharmaceutical shipments plunged 38.9 percent last month.
Pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts said Tuesday several of its customers have received letters threatening to expose patients’ records.
The announcement comes less than a week after the company disclosed it is the target of an anonymous extortion threat.
Express Scripts said the new letters were received by several clients in recent days and are similar to the letter it first received. That letter included personal information on 75 people covered by Express Scripts, including birth dates, social security numbers and prescription information. The sender demanded money from the company, under the threat of exposing records of millions of patients.
The company said it has turned the new letters over to federal investigators.
Express Scripts manages prescription benefits for roughly 50 million people through thousands of clients, including health insurers, employers and union-sponsored health plans payday advance services.
The company said Tuesday it also would pay a $1 million reward to anyone would could provide information leading to the arrest of the people making the threats.
"We are cooperating fully with the FBI to assist them in their investigation and doing what we can to protect our members," said Express Scripts Chief Executive George Paz. "We hope that establishing a reward will bring forward useful information."
Shares of Express Scripts (ESRX, Fortune 500) fell 22 cents to $60.61 in afterhours trading. The stock closed the regular session down 42 cents at $60.83.
Australia's central bank signaled it's prepared to add to the most aggressive interest-rate cuts in 17 years as it tries to ensure the economy sidesteps a looming global recession.
The bank today cut its 2008 economic expansion forecast to 1.5 percent from 2 percent and said it had been forced to make “unusually large'' reductions in the overnight cash rate target in October and November because renewed global turmoil raised the risk growth will stall.
Governor Glenn Stevens has slashed the benchmark lending rate since early September by 200 basis points to 5.25 percent in the biggest round of cuts since a recession in 1991. Australia's weakening economy also means underlying inflation is now reaching a peak and will begin to slow in coming months, the bank said in its quarterly policy statement released in Sydney.
“There is still considerable scope for monetary policy to help the economy over the next 12 to 18 months,'' said Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie Group Ltd. in Sydney. “They are saying the economy will keep expanding, but it will be seriously affected by the global slowdown.''
Traders are betting Reserve Bank policy makers will cut the benchmark rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to 4.5 percent on Dec. 2, according to a Credit Suisse index based on overnight swaps trading. There is a 63 percent chance of a 1 percentage point cut, the index showed at 3:53 p.m. in Sydney.
`Appropriate Balance'
“The board will be seeking to strike the appropriate balance between avoiding an unduly sharp weakening in demand and the need for inflation to fall back'' within its target range of 2 percent to 3 percent “over a reasonable period,'' today's statement said.
The Australian dollar traded at 68.70 U.S. cents at 3:55 p.m. in Sydney from 68.95 cents just before the statement was released. The two-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 3.83 percent. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
The bank said falling global demand for commodities, with base metals prices down by an average of more than 30 percent this year, means “it's clear that Australia's terms of trade have now peaked.''
Income from foreign sales is “likely to subtract noticeably from national income growth over the year ahead,'' it said.
Growth Forecast
Gross domestic product will rise 1.75 percent in 2009, less than the 2.5 percent expansion forecast by the bank in its August statement. The bank also said GDP will gain 2 pay advance in 24 hour.5 percent in 2010, compared with its previous prediction of 2.75 percent.
“A more rapid unwinding of the resources boom than has been assumed would have significant negative effects throughout the economy, resulting in softer growth in domestic incomes and spending,'' today's statement said.
“A number of resource companies are reconsidering their capital expenditure intentions for 2009, and smaller mining firms in particular are likely to cut back their investment,'' the bank said. That will “flow through into slower activity in other sectors of the economy.''
Australian companies, including builders, are finding it harder to borrow money, the central bank said.
The International Monetary Fund is forecasting that the U.K., Japan, the euro region and the U.K. economies will all contract next year in their first simultaneous recession since World War II.
G-20 Action
The Group of 20 nations said in a statement yesterday following a meeting in Sao Paulo that it's prepared to act “urgently'' to bolster growth and called on governments to cut interest rates and raise spending as the world's leading industrialized economies battle the threat of a recession.
Ongoing stress in financial markets means it is “possible that the deterioration in the external environment could continue,'' the Reserve Bank said. “Even if this did not occur, the effects on domestic activity of the deterioration that has already occurred could be deeper or more persistent than expected in this outlook.''
Australia's economy grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter, the slowest pace in more than three years, as households cut spending for the first time since 1993.
Recent reports showed house prices fell 1.8 percent in the third quarter, the biggest drop since 1978, retail sales tumbled in September by the most in three years and job advertisements slid for a sixth month.
Home-loan approvals fell 2.7 percent in September, the eighth month of declines, a separate report showed today.
Core inflation is likely to remain “around 4.5 percent'' during the year through December 2008 and then “decline gradually'' to 3.25 percent by mid-2010 and 2.5 percent by mid 2011, the bank said.
Three months ago, it forecast inflation would slow to 3 percent by the middle of 2010.
Mexican Deputy Finance Minister Alejandro Werner said a slowing economy and lower food and commodities prices justify a reduction in the country's benchmark interest rate in the coming months.
While Banco de Mexico should keep in mind that a rate cut may weaken the peso and speed inflation, exchange rate volatility has a smaller effect on consumer prices in Mexico than it did in the 1990s, Werner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
“Medium-term inflationary pressures associated with raw- material prices and the situation in the international economy and its impact on the Mexican economy mean interest rates like the one we have now are no longer necessary,'' Werner said.
Inflation accelerated to a seven-year high in October, led by higher costs for electricity, gasoline and food. Economists who cover Mexico predict policy makers will reduce the key lending rate to 7 percent from its current 8.25 percent by the end of 2009, according to the median estimate of analysts surveyed Nov. 4 by Citigroup Inc.'s Banamex unit.
Mexico's government cut its 2009 economic growth forecast to 1.8 percent from 3 percent last month because of the global credit crisis. The central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its last meeting as policy makers weighed concerns the economy will slow with predictions inflation may quicken cheapest cash advance. The next rate decision is on Nov. 28.
The majority of companies that suffered losses tied to currency derivatives when the peso fell the most in 14 years last month have closed their positions or acquired enough dollars to cover their positions, Werner said. Some companies have yet to finalize negotiations with banks and quantify losses, making it difficult to estimate the total losses from derivatives, he said.
Impact `Digested'
“The main impact of these operations on the currency market has been digested,'' Werner said. “We don't think this will be the cause of any additional surprises.''
Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission is reviewing whether banks that sold financial derivatives, and companies that bought them, violated regulations on disclosure or other rules. Losses on such contracts caused the bankruptcy of retailer Controladora Comercial Mexicana SAB.
Mexican companies including Grupo Posadas SAB, Alfa SAB and Vitro SAB last month disclosed losses tied to derivatives, which are financial instruments used to hedge risks or for speculation.
President-elect Barack Obama picked Julius Genachowski, who has links to Ask.com parent IAC/InterActiveCorp and to New Resource Bank, to help him choose people for a new administration in Washington.
The choice convinced some that technology policy and a favorable attitude toward high-tech business could be a big part of Obama’s focus as president.
Genachowski worked for the Federal Communications Commission and had already been giving Obama advice on technology issues during the campaign for the presidency companies making payday loans. The two know each other from Harvard Law School.
Genachowski worked eight years at IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), which now owns Oakland-based search engine Ask.com Inc.
He helped start New Resource Bank — a “green” startup bank in San Francisco — Rock Creek Ventures and also LaunchBox Digital in Washington, D.C.
Oil prices rose above $70 a barrel Tuesday, propelled by a slipping dollar, a stronger equities market and OPEC production cuts, as Americans went to the polls.
U.S. crude for December delivery ended the day $6.62 higher to $70.53 a barrel in New York, but not before spiking to $71.77 as thawing credit boosted stocks and eased crude investors’ worries about market risk.
The equities market rebounded, sending the Dow up by as much as 300 points, as interbank lending loosened, allowing more cash to flow through the system.
"If we continue to see improvements in the credit markets, we could see oil stabilize or gain more ground," said Rachel Ziemba, energy analyst at economic research firm RGE Monitor.
Credit and rate cuts: The London interbank lending rate (Libor), a measurement of how much banks charge to lend money to each other, has been on the decline thanks to efforts by the world’s governments and central banks.
The Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate last Wednesday to 1%, a low not seen since 2003. The Bank of Japan followed on Friday, cutting rates for the first time in 7 years.
The 3-month Libor rate had fallen to 2.71% from 2.86% on Monday. The lower the rate, the cheaper it is for banks to borrow cash, and the more dollars are available to the market.
Additionally, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank are expected to cut rates on Thursday, according to Ziemba.
Stocks: Stock markets rallied Tuesday on anticipation of rate cuts from Europe’s central banks, and after several major companies reported better than expected earnings.
Credit card giant MasterCard (MA) reported stronger than expected earnings, not including a massive legal settlement with rival Discover Financial Services (DFS), which analysts discount when trying to determine the health of the company.
Meanwhile Illinois-based food producer Archer Daniels Midland Co. said its quarterly profit more than doubled as selling prices rose.
Markets have also been buoyed by the fact that, over the past several weeks, the financial markets have not seen any of the large bank blowups that have characterized the economic crisis since Bear Stearns crumbled in March.
"You’re not getting that big heavy body blow to the market," said Tom Orr, head of research for investment brokerage Weeden & Co.
Potential collapses of global financial institutions such as UBS (UBS) and Barclays (BCS) have been averted by influxes of foreign cash, or by government action.
Stock market advances point out a "willingness by investors to take on more risk," said Ziemba.
However the bump may only be temporary, she added, since the global economy is still slow.
Over the past several months, worry about a stagnating global economy, and the corresponding decline in fuel demand, helped drive oil prices down from a record high of $147 cash advances pay day loan.27 a barrel in July.
Dollar: A slipping dollar also helped support crude prices.
The U.S. dollar fell compared to the 15-nation euro as investors sought the more lucrative returns of stocks and commodities. Investors often buy the dollar as a safe investment to avoid risk in other markets.
Oil, like most commodities, is traded in U.S. dollars. So when the value of the dollar falls, oil becomes more affordable to non-U.S. investors, and its dollar-denominated price goes up.
OPEC cuts: Also pushing oil higher were reports that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had begun implementing the cartel’s planned production cuts.
Saudi Arabia cut exports by 900,000 barrels per day, according to media reports. Iran also said it was committed to cutting 199,000 barrels a day, according to reports.
While OPEC pledged in October to cut production by a total of 1.5 million barrels a day, there was real concern among investors about whether or not members would comply with the guideline, according to Ziemba.
The production cuts, along with strength in the equities markets have led many commodity investors to re-examine oil’s supply and demand picture, according to Orr.
"People are starting to look a little more rationally about where commodity prices should be," said Orr.
However concerns remain that cuts may not be enough to give oil a bottom.
"Despite the production cuts, we’re still in a global recession, and that’s bad for oil demand," said Ziemba.
U.S. demand: A report on U.S. crude supplies from the Energy Department, a key measurement of demand for the week, is expected to show a 500,000 barrel increase for last week, according to research firm Platts.
An increase in crude supplies sometimes indicates that refineries won’t need to purchase as much oil over the next week to meet production goals.
"There’s no rush to go out and buy oil," said Orr. It may take between 5 and 8 weeks before OPEC’s supply reduction begins to have an impact, he added.
Platts also predicted refineries were operating at 85.5% of capacity last week, which is abnormally low.
The low refinery levels could be due to maintenance issues, repairs resulting from the summer hurricane season, as well as lack of demand, according to Orr.
A report of gas station credit card swipes from MasterCard showed that demand for gasoline was down 3.9% from last year for the week ended Oct. 31.
Gas demand increased by 1.3% compared to the week before, but it was the 28th straight week in which the report showed a decline in fuel demand from the prior year.
Australia's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a larger-than-expected three quarters of a percentage point, the third reduction in as many months, amid evidence global financial turmoil is buffeting the economy.
Governor Glenn Stevens lowered the overnight cash rate target to a 3 1/2-year low 5.25 percent in Sydney today, adding to last month's 1 percentage point reduction. Fifteen of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a half-point cut and one tipped a quarter-point drop.
Falling house prices and retail sales plus October's 14 percent slump in the All Ordinaries stock index, the biggest drop since 1987, have prompted Stevens to undertake the most aggressive round of rate cuts since the economy was last in a recession in 1991. The U.S., China, India, Japan and South Korea all lowered borrowing costs in the past week.
“The Reserve Bank will have to ease policy further,'' said Helen Kevans, an economist a JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Sydney. “We are forecasting a recession.''
Weighing up international and domestic developments, the central bank “board judged that a further significant reduction in the cash rate was warranted,'' Stevens said in a statement today.
“It appears likely that spending and activity will be weaker than earlier expected,'' he added.
Currency Falls
The Australian dollar fell to 66.51 U.S. cents at 4:16 p.m. in Sydney from 67.17 cents before the decision was announced. The currency has tumbled 32 percent since hitting a 25-year high of 98.49 cents on July 16.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 stock index, which was 1.2 percent lower immediately before the cut, pared losses to fall 0.2 percent to 4,215.1 at the 4:10 p.m. close in Sydney. Shares of Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd., the nation's biggest furniture and electronics retailer, jumped 11 percent, the most in 15 years.
Economists forecast the European Central Bank will cut its benchmark rate from 3.75 percent to 2.5 percent by April, with the next reduction coming on Nov. 6. The Bank of England will probably reduce its key rate on the same day by half a point to 4 percent, according to a separate survey.
Stevens and his board have lowered borrowing costs by 200 basis points since the start of September. The combined reductions will cut repayments on an average A$300,000 ($200,000) home loan by about A$400 a month, according to Treasurer Wayne Swan, who said today's decision will help strengthen the economy cash till payday.
Inflation Fight
“I want to see banks pass on this cut in full as rapidly as possible,'' Swan told reporters in Canberra.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, said it will cut its variable home-loan rates by 58 basis points, 17 basis points less than today's central bank reduction.
Policy makers raised the benchmark rate 12 times between 2002 and March this year to a 12-year high of 7.25 percent to curb inflation that has surged to 5 percent.
The Reserve Bank in August said inflation will probably peak in the fourth quarter, before easing back within its target range of between 2 percent and 3 percent in 2010.
“It is reasonable to expect that inflation in Australia will soon start to fall,'' Stevens said today.
“Global disinflationary forces will assist in this regard, though the depreciation of the exchange rate means that the decline of the inflation rate to the target could take longer than would otherwise be the case.''
House Prices
Australia's gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in the second quarter, the weakest growth in more than three years, as consumers cut spending for the first time since 1993.
House prices fell 1.8 percent in the third quarter, the biggest drop since the late 1970s. Retail sales tumbled in September by the most in three years and job advertisements slid for a sixth month, reports showed yesterday
An index of manufacturing slumped in October to the lowest level since the Australian Industry Group began measuring output in 1992, another report showed yesterday.
Unemployment, which dropped to a three-decade low of 3.9 percent in February amid a China-fueled mining boom, probably rose to 4.4 percent last month from 4.3 percent in September, according to the median estimate of 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of a Nov. 6 report.
While the central bank's recent rate reductions will assist growth in the period ahead, “deteriorating international conditions and falling commodity prices will have a dampening influence,'' Stevens said today.
“There have been further signs that China and other parts of the developing world are slowing as well,'' he added.
Fresh off the opening of its M&T Bank Rainforest Exhibit, the Buffalo Zoo is preparing to take on its newest series of construction projects.
Zoo representatives will meet with the Buffalo Planning Board Nov. 5 to provide an overview of new projects valued at nearly $3.55 million. They include a 2,300-square-foot expansion of the veterinary hospital and construction of a new children’s exhibit. Both should be completed within a year.
The vet hospital, at a cost of $1.8 million, is needed for the zoo to meet new standards established by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. The project has been funded primarily through private donations, including an aggressive fund-raising campaign by area veterinary hospitals. The zoo still needs to secure $150,000, however, due to an unexpected rise in construction costs.
The children’s zoo, set for a central location on the Delaware Park campus, will be constructed at the current site of the mouflon sheep and guanaco llama exhibits. Both sets of animals are being shipped to other zoos. The children’s zoo carries a $1.75 million development price tag.
Funding comes from New York state, Erie County and NexGen, an affiliate of the East Hill Foundation. Benderson Development Co., through its Delta-Sonic Car Wash division, also is helping to fund the project and created a $250,000 endowment for an on-site educator.
The new zoo will feature an historic Erie Canal motif, including a miniature canal that flows into some wetlands areas, President Donna Fernandes said freecreditreport. It will feature breeds of animals that were commonly found along the canal, including short-horned devon cattle, a berkshire pig, sheep, rabbits and chickens. The zoo is working with the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy to bring in the appropriate species, Fernandes said.
The children’s zoo will feature a 2,000-square-foot barn, designed in a late-1800s style, to play off the Erie Canal theme and make the exhibit a year-round destination.
The M&T Bank Rainforest Exhibit, which opened in September, also may play a part in the zoo attracting visitors year-round.
Since opening, the exhibit has helped the zoo return to a pace that equals or tops 2007’s record attendance of 412,000. The wet spring and summer put the zoo behind by roughly 30,000 visitors, compared to the previous year. In a little more than one month, however, it picked up 25,000 additional visitors including, for the first time, a bridal party that used the exhibit as a photo backdrop. Fernandes said several area photography clubs have visited the exhibit since it opened.
“We’re back on pace,” she said.
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