BUSINESS BRIEFS
Investors eager to see the end of a miserable year
Advertiser news services
NEW YORK — Investors are preparing to close out the last three trading days of 2008 with Wall Street's worst performance since Herbert Hoover was president.
The ongoing recession and global economic shock pummeled stocks this year, with the Dow Jones industrial average slumping 36.2 percent. That's the biggest drop since 1931 when the Great Depression sent stocks reeling 40.6 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index is set to record the biggest drop since its creation in 1957. The index of America's biggest companies is down 40.9 percent for the year.
With these statistics ready to play out this week, it is little wonder why investors are all too happy to close the books on 2008. Analysts are already looking toward January as a crucial period for the market as it tries to recover some of the $7.3 trillion wiped from the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 index, the broadest measure of U.S. stocks.
DOW CHEMICAL, KUWAIT DEAL OFF
KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait's government yesterday scrapped a $17.4 billion joint venture with U.S. petrochemical giant Dow Chemical after criticism from lawmakers that could have led to a political crisis in this small oil-rich state.
The Cabinet, in a statement carried by the state-owned Kuwait News Agency, said the venture, known as K-Dow Petrochemicals, was "very risky" in light of the global financial crisis and low oil prices. The move came just days before the Jan. 1 startup date for the joint venture.
In its statement, the Cabinet said the "limits of the effects" of the meltdown on international companies cannot be forecast. KUNA said the contract was canceled by the country's highest oil authority.
Dow Chemical said it was "extremely disappointed" with the Kuwaiti government's decision and was evaluating its options under the joint-venture agreement.
EURO APPROACHES ITS 10TH BIRTHDAY
FRANKFURT, Germany — Ten years ago, Europe launched its grand experiment with a shared currency — and watched it plunge in value before recovering.
As the anniversary approaches of the Jan. 1, 1999, arrival of the euro, economists say the new currency is finally fulfilling its promise as a way to lower borrowing costs, ease trade and tourism, boost growth and strengthen the European community.
When it was launched for noncash purposes in 1999, just 11 countries were on board: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Notes and coins were added on Jan. 1, 2002, and the original 11 have been joined by Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Slovenia, with Slovakia slated to join on Jan. 1, bringing the total to 16.
Smaller countries such as Iceland, which has stayed out of the EU, and EU member Hungary, which hasn't yet met the requirements to join the euro, have seen their currencies sink in value and been forced to ask the International Monetary Fund for bailouts.
CHAMPAGNE SALES SAGGED IN 2008
NEW YORK — There will be little celebration for champagne makers this year.
After last year's strong 4 percent sales gain, the biggest since the buying frenzy in 1999 to ring in the new millennium, champagne makers are feeling the impact of the sour economy from $5 sparkling wines to $100 bottles of champagne.
"I don't have a bright outlook for champagne this year," says Frank Walters, research director for Impact, which expects the category to be down between 1 percent and 4 percent, from about 900 million glasses sold in 2007. "Luxury items are getting hurt, people are looking for value, restaurants are getting clobbered and with unemployment rising, people are watching their shekels."
Other factors stealing the fizz include scaled back consumer spending, a shorter holiday season and weak advertising.
