EuroWire November 2016

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November 2016 30
The USA economy
With neither an impending slowdown nor
a strong upturn in the cards, a raucous
presidential campaign is in economic stasis
5th September – Labor Day, the traditional end of summer in the
USA – marked as well the commencement of the nal stretch
of the presidential campaign. Writing a few days earlier in the
Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos considered the most recent
important economic report: in August, American employers
added 151,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held steady at
4.9 per cent.
In his view, such news imparted no obvious bene t to either
Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as they entered the last phase
of the race. The jobs report indicated neither an impending
slowdown that might boost Mr Trump, the Republican
nominee; nor the strong upturn that would free Mrs Clinton, the
Democratic contender, to more tightly embrace the economic
record of President Barack Obama. (“US Economic Data Not Seen
Helping Either Candidate for President,” 2nd September)
To be sure, Mr Timiraos noted, the economy is generally sturdy
and the worst-case economic fears for Democrats this year had
not materialised. Hiring in May slowed sharply, but that proved
an aberration. Growth over the next three months averaged
232,000 jobs, close to the highest level of the year.
On the campaign trail, Mrs Clinton conducted a careful
balancing act, praising the administration’s policies while also
acknowledging economic anxieties. In August, in Philadelphia,
she reminded her audience that Mr Obama had saved the
economy from the worst nancial crisis since the 1930s, rescued
the auto industry, and imposed tougher rules on Wall Street to
prevent a rerun of the recession of 2008.
But at other events, in Iowa, Ohio and Michigan, her remarks
on the economy omitted mention of Mr Obama and focused
instead on stubborn problems like income inequality. Also in
August, in Warren, Michigan, she said: “The tide is not rising fast
enough, and it’s certainly not lifting all boats.”
For his part, Mr Trump declined to bother with ne distinctions.
His economic adviser David Malpass said in a statement that
immigration – both legal and illegal – has “destroyed upward
mobility, consumer purchasing power, and the tax base of state,
local and federal governments.”
† Providing context, the Wall Street Journal observed that the
USA expansion, now in its eighth year, is the fourth-longest
in the post-war period. But, in late August, economists at
J P Morgan Chase & Co said the probability that the country
would enter a recession in the ensuing 12 months had
climbed to 37 per cent, the highest for the current expansion
cycle.
Mr Timiraos on 2nd September wrote that economists at
Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting rm, reported USA
third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) running at a 3.4
per cent gain. Economists at Goldman Sachs were projecting
a 2.8 per cent gain; J P Morgan economists, a 2 per cent
increase.
† The voters who would be heading to the polls on Election
Day (8th November) were roughly evenly divided in their
attitude toward the economy.
Automotive
Ford’s Dagenham Centre in Essex:
redeeming the reputation of diesel,
rede ning what it means to be ‘green’
In the matter of fuel economy and tailpipe emissions, today’s
diesel vehicles may be as eco-friendly as their gasoline-fuelled
counterparts; but persuading car buyers of that is uphill work.
Ford Motor Co, which launched its EcoBlue diesel engine in April,
takes a two-pronged approach to the public relations e ort.
The carmaker says it is prepared to demonstrate that its new
engine is as e cient to manufacture as it is to run, with energy
and water use at the company’s Dagenham Diesel Centre in
Essex, UK, shaved by an impressive 50 per cent.
Writing in New Atlas (formerly Gizmag), the Liverpool-based tech
writer Stu Robarts reviewed the high-technology engineering
and manufacturing facility at Dagenham, operated by Ford of
Britain.
The largest Ford diesel engine facility anywhere had been
dedicated to the company’s TDCi diesel engine. Now, a newly
installed production line is turning out 350,000 EcoBlue engines
per year, with that total set to rise to 500,000 when a second
phase of production begins in 2017.
Mr Roberts was told that water consumption per engine at the
plant will be among the lowest at any Ford facility, for a savings
of 3.9 million gallons per year as compared with usage in 2011.
The ‘minimum quantity lubrication’ (MQL) machining tools in use
on the new line will reportedly account for almost 3.6 million
Transatlantic Cable
Image: www.bigstockphoto.com Photographer Zsolt Ercsel