> BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2000:
>
> Today's News Release: MULTIFACTOR PRODUCTIVITY TRENDS, 1998, Private
> Business, Private Nonfarm Business and Manufacturing, indicates that
> multifactor productivity differs from labor productivity (output per hour)
> measures that are published quarterly by BLS. Multifactor productivity,
> unlike labor productivity, requires information on capital services and
> other data that are available on a quarterly basis. Multifactor
> productivity is designed to measure the joint influences on economic
> growth of technological change, efficiency improvements, returns to scale
> reallocation of resources, and other factors. In the most recent year
> available, multifactor productivity in the private business and private
> nonfarm business sectors changed at the following percentage rates:
> Private business: 1.5; private nonfarm business: 1.5. Multifactor
> productivity increased for the seventh consecutive year in both the
> private business and private nonfarm business sectors.
>
> The U.S. economy continued to expand at a moderate pace in August, and
> early this month, but with "further signs of slowing growth" in several
> parts of the country, according to the Federal Reserve's latest national
> survey of economic conditions released yesterday. The findings of the
> survey, conducted by the Fed's 12 regional banks, were in line with other
> recent economic reports, which have painted a picture of slowing but still
> solid growth with only modest inflation outside of the energy area. The
> survey results will be used by Fed officials at a policymaking session
> October 3, at which they are widely expected to make no change in their
> target for short-term interest rates (John M. Berry in The Washington
> Post, page E3).
> __The Federal Reserve's latest regional economic survey showed signs of
> continued moderation in growth, but served as a reminder that the economy
> still has significant momentum. The so-called beige book report found
> that growth had slowed in four of the central bank's 12 regional
> districts, with only the Richmond, Va. bank saying that growth had
> accelerated significantly. The U.S. economy continues to enjoy strong
> growth, just not at the breakneck pace of the first half of the year. Of
> continued concern to the inflation wary Fed, however, are reports of price
> pressures. The tight labor market has long meant higher costs for wages
> and benefits, but those have been offset by huge gains in productivity.
> Still, rising oil prices have added to the pressure on producers (The Wall
> 'Street Journal, page A2).
>
> The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record $31.9 billion in July as oil
> prices climbed to a 10-year high, the Commerce Department reported
> yesterday. The country had record deficits in trade with China, Japan,
> Western Europe and Canada. The department said the July deficit was 6.9
> percent higher than a revised $29.8 billion imbalance in June. It
> surpassed the old record of $30.4 billion, set in March. Trade continues
> to be the one blot on an otherwise sterling U.S. economic performance (The
> Associated Press in The Washington Post, page E6).
> __The United States trade deficit widened to a record in July as demand
> for autos, oil, and Chinese toys and clothes pushed imports to their
> highest level ever, government figures showed today (Bloomberg News in The
> New York Times, page C12).
> __The U.S. trade deficit hit record territory in July, ballooning to
> $31.89 billion as oil prices and imports surged. It was America's worst
> trade performance since the Commerce Department started compiling the
> monthly figures in 1992. But once again, economists remained sanguine.
> The reason is simple: The U.S. economy is far stronger than the economies
> of America's trading partners, and American consumers continue to outspend
> their global counterparts (The Wall Street Journal, page A2).
>
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