Which one of these is not like the others?
We’ve all encountered those questions. They’re in the pseudo-IQ-tests you can find online; they’re definitely in my dotter’s homework now and then. You’re supposed to look at a group of items and find the one that "doesn’t fit".
So, with that in mind, here are real headlines from MSNBC’s Business section today. That’s one day. I’m not going to link them all, just send you to the Business main page:
"Automakers see sales fall during March" - GM sales down 19% year-over-year, Ford down 14%, Toyota down 10%, Nissan and Honda sales down, too.
"Truckers protest high fuel prices" - Remember the song "Convoy"? (Yes, I’m dating myself here, that’s a big 10-4!) NJ truckers formed a convoy to protest high diesel prices. Diesel is going for $3.99 per gallon at our local gas stations.
"European banks see $23 billion subprime hit" - UBS Bank (Switzerland) expects $19 billion in write-downs, Deutsche Bank to write-down an additional $4 billion. Since January 2007, banks have seen write-downs or credit losses off $232 billion; that’s a lot!
"Construction spending falls again in Feb." - Residential construction spending has dropped for 24 months straight. Recent news indicates that commercial construction spending is starting to turn down, too.
"Manufacturing activity contracted in March" - An index of manufacturer economic activity was at 46.5 for March (above 50 means growth, below 50 means no growth).
"Just how bad can the economy get?" - Worried readers ask questions of the business desk folk at MSNBC. The response? "First off, we have yet to see confirmation that the economy has entered even a mild recession, let alone a severe downturn."
"Auto industry workers face hard choices" - Chrysler, GM, and Ford have recently announced cutbacks and closures. How is this affecting auto industry workers?
"Food price hikes changing eating habits" - The average price of a loaf of bread has increased 32% over the past three years. Eggs have gone up 50% over the past year. People are making fewer trips to the stores, eating out less, cutting coupons more.
"New home sales fall to a 13-year low in Feb." - Sales dropped to an annual rate of 590,000 units, with inventory of new houses at the highest level in 26 years.
"Some homes worth less than their pipes" - People are breaking into empty foreclosed houses to rip out the copper plumbing and electric wiring. The headline, of course, is a bit off; they’re talking houses in some really really rundown areas of rundown cities.
"Analysts see 200,000 banking industry layoffs" - More layoffs are inevitable, say banking industry pundits.
"Wall Street soars amid economic optimism" - "Wall Street began the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday as investors rushed back into stocks, optimistic that the worst of the credit crisis has passed and that the economy is faring better than expected. The Dow Jones industrials surged nearly 400 points, and all the major indexes were up more than 3 percent." Another news source calls it the best first-quarter end for the DJIA since 1938.
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