Economic Growth
The country's services sector grew in November for the 56th consecutive month. Services account for 80% of economic activity. Services growth in November was less than October's strong growth rate, but well above the expansion/contraction line. The country's manufacturing sector also grew in November.
Worker Productivity
Revised figures show American workers even were more productive in Q3 than originally reported. The labor force in Q3 posted a 6.3% gain in productivity, following a 2.2% productivity gain the prior quarter. Q2 was not bad, but Q3's showing was stellar. Unit labor costs dropped both in Q2 and Q3.
This all is very good news.
Higher productivity and lower unit labor costs portend less inflation. As such, for obvious reasons, these facts will not make the cut on tonight's network evening news broadcasts.
Misc. Business News
-- AMT Machinations in Congress
Read that entire article.
-- U.S.-Peru Free Trade Statute
That bill is headed to the Prez's desk and soon will be signed into law.
-- BP and Husky Energy Invest $5.5B in Canadian Oil Sands, Ohio Refinery
Mimicking last year's $10.7 billion deal between American refiner ConocoPhillips and Canada's biggest oil and gas producer, EnCana Corp., BP and Husky Energy will exchange stakes in Husky's Sunrise oil sands venture in Alberta and BP's Toledo, Ohio, refinery through a pair of joint ventures.
There's more:
Canada is the biggest crude oil exporter to the United States, accounting for nearly a fifth of its southern neighbor's imports, and there's a deepening of already strong ties between the two countries. ConocoPhillips and EnCana kicked off the trend in October 2006, while Marathon Oil Corp. recently closed its takeover of Western Oil Sands Inc., a minority partner in the vast Athabasca, Alberta, oil sands project led by Royal Dutch Shell.
Ah, yes, Canada.
The oil. The natural gas. The women. The ice hockey. The timber. The epic rock bands Rush and Triumph.
What more could you want from a potential military conquest, er, I mean, from a key economic trading partner?
