US retail sales fell in September by the largest amount in 2009

The Commerce Department said sales slid 1.5%, not as bad as expected, but the biggest drop since December last year.
Car sales dropped by 10.4% but when vehicles were stripped out, retail sales actually rose by 0.5%, better than the 0.2% which had been forecast.
Consumer spending makes up more than two thirds of US economic activity.
A late Labor Day holiday helped retailers last month because consumers purchased some items in September that they would normally have bought in August, analysts said.
'Expected'
The 1.5% drop in September's retail sales followed a 2.2% rise in August, which was revised down from an earlier estimate of 2.7%.
That came as demand for new cars surged in August as buyers took advantage of the final month of the government's incentives of up to $4,500 to trade in old models for more fuel-efficient cars.
The Commerce Department figures showed that sales in furniture stores jumped 1.4%, reflecting the rebound in the housing industry. Meanwhile, sales at general merchandise stores such as Wal-Mart and Target, rose 0.9%.
"Certainly the numbers were better than expected," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James Associates.
"You did see a big drop in vehicle sales as cash for clunkers expired, which was in line with expectations."

New York Late Money Rates

New York Late Money Rates ,,,,,,
Wall Street Journal ...........
Money Rates Monday, July 6, 2009 The key U. S. and foreign annual interest rates below are a guide to general levels but don't always represent actual transactions. Prime Rate: 3.25% (effective 12/16/08). The base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 75% of the nation's 30 largest banks. Discount Rate (Primary): 0.50% (effective 12/16/08). Call Money: 2.00% (effective 12/16/08). Commercial Paper: Placed directly by General Electric Capital Corp.: 0.21% 30 to 30 days; n.q.31 to 49 days; n.q.50 to 89 days; n.q.90 to 119 days; n.q.120 to 125 days; n.q.126 to 141 days; n.q.142 to 151 days; n.q.152 to 161 days; n.q.162 to 270 days. Euro Commercial Paper: Placed directly by General Electric Capital Corp.: 0.36% 30 days; 0.56% two months; 0.75% three months; 0.83% four months; 0.90% five months; 0.98% six months. Dealer Commercial Paper: High-grade unsecured notes sold through dealers by major corporations: 0.35% 30 days; 0.40% 60 days; 0.45% 90 days. Certificates of Deposit: 0.35% one month; 0.45% three months; 0.80% six months. Bankers Acceptances: 0.40% 30 days; 0.48% 60 days; 0.55% 90 days; 0.55% 120 days; 0.75% 150 days; 0.85% 180 days. Source: Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. Eurodollars: 0.65% - 0.25% one month; 0.75% - 0.35% two months; 1.00% - 0.40% three months; 1.00% - 0.40% four months; 1.15% - 0.45% five months; 1.25% - 0.55% six months. Source: Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. London Interbank Offered Rates (Libor): 0.30188% one month; 0.54813% three months; 1.03125% six months; 1.51375% one year. Effective rate for contracts entered into two days from date appearing at top of this column. Euro Libor: 0.66000% one month; 1.03625% three months; 1.26500% six months; 1.45375% one year. Effective rate for contracts entered into two days from date appearing at top of this column. Euro Interbank Offered Rates (Euribor): 0.684% one month; 1.048% three months; 1.268% six months; 1.456% one year. Source: Reuters. Foreign Prime Rates: Canada 2.25%; European Central Bank 1.00%; Japan 1.475%; Switzerland 0.51%; Britain 0.50%. Treasury Bills: Results of the Monday, July 6, 2009, auction of short-term U.S. government bills, sold at a discount from face value in units of $1,000 to $1 million: 0.190% 13 weeks; 0.285% 26 weeks. Tuesday, June 30, 2009 auction: 0.160% 4 weeks. Overnight Repurchase Rate: 0.23%. Source: Garban Intercapital. Freddie Mac: Posted yields on 30-year mortgage commitments. Delivery within 30 days 4.95%, 60 days 5.05%, standard conventional fixed-rate mortgages: 2.50%, 2% rate capped one-year adjustable rate mortgages. Fannie Mae: Posted yields on 30 year mortgage commitments (priced at par) for delivery within 30 days 4.932%, 60 days 5.027%, standard conventional fixed-rate mortgages. Merrill Lynch Ready Assets Trust: 0.05%. Consumer Price Index: May, 213.9, down 1.3% from a year ago. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Federal Funds: 0.313% high, 0.125% low, 0.150% near closing bid, 0.250% offered. Source: Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd. Federal-funds target rate: 0.000% (effective 12/16/08).

Microsoft Money Plus ....

As proof that a combination of a large bank account and persistence aren’t everything, Microsoft is discontinuing its Microsoft Money software. The notification has officially been released:

With banks, brokerage firms and Web sites now providing a range of options for managing personal finances, the consumer need for Microsoft Money Plus has changed. After suspending annual updates of Money Plus in 2008, Microsoft is announcing today that we will no longer offer Microsoft Money Plus for purchase after June 30, 2009.

We would like to thank the many dedicated users who have been enthusiastic supporters of Microsoft Money over the years, as well as our partner financial institutions who helped pioneer a digital vision of financial management.

Well, perhaps that would be more truthfully stated as following the pioneer in a digital vision of financial management, otherwise known as Intuit. In the 1990s, Microsoft heavily dogged the maker of Quicken, hoping to take a significant portion of what became a popular type of consumer application. But Intuit managed to out-maneuver and out-compete Microsoft time and time again.

The writing was on the wall for this move. Last August, Microsoft took Money off retail shelves and ended its commitment to annual updates. The explanation was that people were changing the ways they bought software. That might be another way of saying that selling anything at retail is an expensive business, with money going to retailers and distributors and, in the large chains, the demand for contributions for “marketing” the product. Given the cost of supporting an application, you have to wonder whether Microsoft might not have come out farther ahead by dropping the product years ago.

Money talk at conventions

Money talk at conventions
When roughly 5,000 museum professionals from across the country descend on Philadelphia this week for two conventions, they will represent institutions that exhibit everything from Old Masters to old rocks.

But despite the multiplicity of interests and the range of institutional sizes and locations, there will be one thing on everyone's mind.

Money.

"That is topic A, B, C, and D," said Dewey Blanton, spokesman for the American Association of Museums, which holds its annual meeting at the Convention Center from Thursday through next Monday.

The same could be said for members of the Association of Children's Museums, which meets at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center tomorrow through Thursday.

While museum attendance is largely steady - or even up - and tickets have not taken a heavy hit, contributed income is down almost everywhere. Corporations are just not in a giving mood these days. Public funding from states and municipalities is down across the country. And endowment investments have been uniformly walloped.

So museums, like other nonprofit groups, are in pain. Budgets have been frozen, staffs cut, and costs reduced wherever possible. At the same time, fiscal angst has forced a relentless rethinking of operations and programming. The isolated, high, and mighty temple of culture is out; the networking community partner is in.

Nancy Kolb, head of the Please Touch Museum at Memorial Hall, host of the children's museum convention, said that despite building recessionary pressures, the number of U.S. museums for young people continues to grow. Her museum's move into Memorial Hall in West Fairmount Park, she said, has produced attendance numbers well ahead of projections.

The UK economy could decline for another year and take a further two years to recover

A National Institute of Economic and Social Research study says the current economic decline is "very similar" to the slowdown at the start of the 1980s.

The latest estimate predicts a 1.5% decline in the first quarter of 2009.

In a separate study by Nationwide, UK consumer confidence fell in March as worries continued about jobs.

The building society's consumer confidence index dropped two points to 41.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) begins its latest interest rate-setting meeting on Wednesday, with its decision due to be announced at midday (1300 GMT) on Thursday.

The MPC is not expected to cut the Bank rate further from its current record low of 0.5% having cut the rate six times since October in attempt to boost the economy.

Jobs market

UK unemployment recently hit two million for the first time since 1997.

Nationwide said consumer confidence was "broadly stable since the start of the year, but feelings about the current labour market have weakened".

"Further reports of job losses are likely to have affected consumers' views of this," the report said.

Nationwide said consumers' confidence fell for the ninth consecutive month in March.

The building society's survey came as a report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation/KPMG showed little sign of a strong recovery in the number of permanent jobs available in the UK.

Although its "permanent placements indicator" rose to 33.5 in March from 30.3 in February, that was still well below the 50 level, where growth begins.

"These latest figures leave no doubt that the UK jobs market is at its worst in the 11-year history of the survey and recovery might take longer and be more protracted than many hope," said Mike Stevens, partner and head of business services at KPMG.

However, the Nationwide's survey of 1,000 consumers indicated that they had became more optimistic about UK economic conditions.

"Increased optimism towards the current and future economy is encouraging," said Nationwide's Fionnuala Earley.