forecast

Forecasted US economic growth for the rest of this year and next was cut again for a third month in a row by a panel of about 50 economists.

Thus far, the latest Blue Chip Economic Indicators report released Thursday reflected the weaker outlook for second-half 2010 growth stemmed from lower anticipations for consumer spending, business investment and private construction.

Two top European banks, HSBC and BNP Paribas, excel their earnings outlooks as bad debts fell sharply to make up for slowing investment banking growth.

Citigroup has lowered its full-year global growth forecasts for 2010 and 2011, releasing its strategy report Thursday. Besides, the bank also cut its outlook for China’s 2010 economic expansion by 1%.

 IE Market Research Corporation has announced the release of its 3Q.2010 Global Mobile Payment Market Forecast, 2010 – 2014, based on its Global Consumer Telecommunications Survey covering 50,000 mobile users in 50 markets worldwide.

Fed’s forecasts for growth and inflation, that concluded the economic recovery to be proceeding more slowly than it was expected in the spring, appeared to be understated. However, members of Federal Reserve policymaking committee consider that the slowdown did not guarantee new policy actions.

Nevertheless, the Fed leaders agreed to explore options for supporting the economy further if conditions worsen.

According to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for July, investors’ forecast over the global economy and corporate earnings turned bearish.

According to industry analysts, putting the squeeze on PC producers who are trying to recover from a recession, PC components prices are expected to increase.

Gartner analyst Ben Lee reported parts costs are expected to increase by 2.8% this year. On average, the price of parts has dropped by 7.8% annually since 2000.

High demand is to blame for pricier components, particularly with DRAM, which makes up 10% of a computer's cost.

Online retail sales will return to growth in 2010 and to double-digit growth by 2011, eMarketer Inc. predicts. The eMarketer forecast calls for an increase in e-retail sales to over $189 billion by 2013, which would represent a 9.56% compound annual growth rate from 2009 to 2013.
The firm forecasts U.S. e-retail sales this year will total $131.4 billion, down about 0.7% from $132.3 billion last year, but will grow 7.5% next year to $141.3 billion. The firm projects growth rates of 11.5% in 2011 and 10.0% in 2012, before slipping back to 9.2% in 2013 as e-commerce matures.

Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economist, alerts US economy will face the new wave of recession in the second half of next year. "There is a significant chance that the number will be in the negative range."

So, Stiglitz urged the government to prepare a second stimulus package to spur job creation.

Survey, conducted by Dow Jones Newswires, showed India's economy continued its rapid expansion in the latest quarter. The results even exceeded analysts' expectations for growth of 6.3%.

 Thus, nation's GDP surged by 7.9% during the July-to-September period compared to the year-ago quarter, an acceleration from 6.1% rise in the April-June quarter.

 According to the Central Statistical Organization, "significant growth" have also been seen in the mining, manufacturing, construction and energy sectors.

 China reported surprisingly strong trade figures on Wednesday, providing fresh evidence that the world's third-largest economy is firmly on the path to recovery and that global demand is improving too.

Exports in September fell 15.2 percent from a year earlier, beating forecasts of a 21 percent fall, while imports fell just 3.5 percent -- well short of expectations of a 15.3 percent decline, the General Administration of Customs said.

As the International Monetary Fund deputy Murilo Portugal announced Monday, the fund intends to increase its forecast for 2010 global growth to about 3% from 2,5% next year to mark a faster recovery in major economies.

The revised forecast is to come as soon as Tuesday.

As Portugal, a former deputy finance minister in Brazil, told on the sidelines of a business seminar, the recovery is stronger than initially forecast. Thus, Brazil's economy should grow more than the global average as Portugal believes.