Morning Economic News - October 23, 2008

In overnight trading, US stock market futures are up a bit over 1%, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average future up 104 points. Japan's Nikkei index has fallen 2.5% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell more than 4%. Oil is up just under 1% and the dollar is trading mixed, down against the yen and the pound, up against the euro and the Canadian buck. [3:38 AM Eastern Time]

Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey - October 23, 2008

Market Composite Index: 408.1

Change: Down 16.6%

Purchase Index: 279.3

Change: Down 10.9%

US proved oil and gas reserves rise, gasoline inventories improve

There was more good news for US gasoline consumers in the weekly oil
report, as gasoline inventories edged into the average range for the
season for the first time since early August. With gasoline demand down
4.3% from last year, this should put gasoline well within the average
range in terms of days of supply.

Mixed news continues as mortgage applications drop

Wednesday brought more mixed news in the housing market as
the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications
fell last week despite a drop in rates and the National Association of
Home Builders predicted housing demand would pick up early next year.

French leading index fell for 10th month

The Leading Index for France fell 0.3% in August, following a 0.7% drop in the index in July
and bringing the number of consecutive declines in the index to 10. The
Coincident Index, which rose 0.1% in July, was unchanged in August.
Only 2 leading indicators and 1 coincident indicator improved in August.

U.S. Layoffs Surged in September

The number of U.S. workers laid off last month climbed to the highest level since just after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Fed Will Pay More on Reserves

The Federal Reserve said it would pay a higher interest rate on certain reserves that banks keep with the central bank.

Bernanke May Rely on Fresh Tactics to Aid Economy as Fed Rate Heads to 1% Federal Reserve officials are likely
to bring interest rates down so aggressively over the next few
months that they will have to search for fresh tactics to
continue easing credit.

Greenspan Urges More Regulation After Market `Breakdown'; Rescue Adequate Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan called for tighter regulation of financial companies,
distancing himself from the free-market culture that he helped to
create.

Japan Exports Rise Less-Than-Expected 1.5% as Global Financial Woes Deepen Japan's exports rose less than
economists estimated in September as overseas demand weakened in
the wake of a deepening global financial crisis.

New Zealand Cuts Benchmark Interest Rate a Record 100 Basis Points to 6.5% New Zealand's central bank cut its
benchmark interest rate by a record 1 percentage point to 6.5
percent and foreshadowed further reductions to limit damage from
the worldwide financial crisis and a slump in the global economy.

Finnish Finance Minister Katainen Says Europe May Face Years of Recession The European economy may be headed for
a recession that could last two to three years, Finland's Finance
Minister Jyrki Katainen said.

Spain's small businesses topple in crisis

Japan exports stall as crisis bites