Morning Economic News - November 18, 2008

Asian stock markets traded down Tuesday, while US stock market futures are down a fraction of a percent [3:30 AM Eastern]. The Nikkei was down more than 2%, while the Hang Seng was down more than 5%. Oil is up 1%. The dollar is up against the Canadian dollar, the yen and the euro; down against the pound.

Empire State Manufacturing Survey - November 2008

• Business Conditions Index: -25.4


• Monthly Change: Down 0.8


• New Orders Index: -22.2

Industrial Production - October 2008

• Industrial Production Index: 107.3


• (Base year 2002, Seasonally Adjusted)


• Monthly Change: Up 1.4 (1.3%)


• Manufacturing Change: Up 0.6%

Paulson: New Rescue Efforts Unlikely

Paulson, in an interview, said he prefers to use the
remaining funds from the $700 billion rescue for emergencies rather
than new programs.

Chidambaram Says India's Economic Growth to `Bounce Back' to 9% Next Year India's economy will ``bounce back'' to
9 percent growth next year as local demand holds up amid a global
recession, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.

Paulson Says `Good Bit' Needed for Economy; Summers Urges 3-Year Stimulus U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson and two of President-elect Barack Obama's top economic
advisers agreed that further steps are needed to shore up the
economy, while clashing over tax policies.

Nakagawa Says Japan May Consider Further Steps to Jolt Economy From Slump Japan's government may consider
further measures to jolt the economy out of a recession, Finance
Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said.

U.S. Industrial Output Rises More Than Forecast as Oil Refineries Recover Industrial production rebounded in
October after refinery shutdowns from Gulf Coast hurricanes
caused the biggest drop since 1946 the month before.

Japan's `Least Ugly' Economy May Outpace U.S., Europe in Financial Crisis Japan's newly declared recession may
be a chance to show that the world's second-largest economy can
finally outperform the U.S. and Europe.

Bank of Japan May Seek `Double Impact' When Selling Yen, BNP Paribas Says The Bank of Japan may seek the
``double impact'' of supporting exporters and increasing money
supply by selling its own currency without absorbing funds after
the intervention, BNP Paribas Securities Japan Ltd. said.

Chinese Manufacturers May Suffer as Lenders Channel Money to Public Works China's small manufacturers are
likely to be starved of cash even after the government directed
banks to increase lending as part of its 4 trillion yuan ($586
billion) plan to buoy the economy.

Crude Oil Rises as U.S. Industrial Production Gain May Raise Fuel Demand Crude oil rose from a 21-month low
after U.S. industrial production gained, increasing expectations
that fuel demand may improve in the world's largest consumer.

Forecasters: US in 14 month recession, Q4 looks rough