Business Inventories Fall 0.1 Percent.
The 0.1 percent decline in August inventories followed a 0.5 percent decrease in July and was a fairly healthy sign for the economy which had suffered earlier this year from a buildup of unsold goods. However, since the report covers a time period before the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon, it provided only limited information about economic trends going forward. .
The attacks provoke existing weakness in the economy as nervous consumers neglect shopping malls and car dealerships. The sudden drop in demand could throw inventories out of kilter again.
Low Mortgage Rates Seen Through '02.
U.S. mortgage rates should remain below 7 percent through 2002 because there is little fear of inflation, economists for mortgage finance.
Between declines in consumer confidence and job cuts in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington that left more than 5,000 people dead or missing and caused billions of dollars' worth of damage. .
Estimating, the U.S. economy will return to growth of 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2002, and will record a 2.9 percent growth rate over the entire year.
Some Retailers had the worst month since '91.
Sales figures released Thursday by most of the biggest chains showed that September was their worst month since 1991. The cause of this was obviously the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11.
The trend, however, remained as it has been since January. Department and specialty stores continue to suffer.
199,000 U.S. jobs evaporate .
In a sign of how shaky the economy was before last month's terrorist attacks, the nation lost 199,000 jobs in September, and the largest monthly total in a decade, the Labor Department reported today. .
The national unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent. Experts said the failure of the rate to rise was a statistical quirk that masked the sharp downturn of the labor market.