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Weak yen a help for Japan, but headache elsewhere |
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Written by ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer
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Wednesday, 22 May 2013 06:39 |
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TOKYO (AP) — A steady decline in the yen is proving a godsend for exporters such as Toyota and has won solid support from Japan's main trading partners, who are betting the impact on their own currencies will be offset by gains from a recovery in the world's third-largest economy. It's not such good news for entrepreneurs like Thamonwan Thawornthaweewong, whose Angry Bird fish balls, squid rings and other products now cost more to sell in Japan.
The yen slipped past 100 to the U.S. dollar earlier this month and is now hovering near 102 yen per dollar — over 20 percent weaker than six months ago versus the U.S. dollar and euro — a level that is giving pause even to Japanese companies and policymakers.
Japan insists the yen has weakened due to extreme monetary easing aimed at breaking out of deflationary stagnation, not because it is trying to make its exports more competitive.
Whether it's intended or not, countries across Asia are seeing their own currencies pushed higher, as their financial markets are flooded with cash pumped out by the Bank of Japan to help double the country's monetary base and hit a 2 percent inflation target.
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Trump says he'd consider investing in Detroit |
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Written by Associated Press
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Wednesday, 22 May 2013 06:36 |
NOVI, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump says Detroit is "on the right path" and he'd consider investing there.
The billionaire real estate magnate's comments came Tuesday. He was in the suburb of Novi to speak to Oakland County Republicans.
Trump told Republicans at the Lincoln Day Dinner they have a difficult road to win back the White House. He also highlighted efforts of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to help the state's economy, saying Snyder is "doing a fantastic job" and should win a second term.
Other speakers included Snyder, who encouraged attendees to get excited about the GOP.
Trump is an outspoken critic of President Barack Obama who flirted with a presidential run in 2012, and he recently told The Associated Press his decision against running was a "mistake" because he "would have won."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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West Virginia's local-food movement a model for Appalachia |
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Written by VICKI SMITH, Associated Press
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Wednesday, 22 May 2013 06:37 |
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — With eight in 10 farmers making less than $10,000 a year, West Virginia will never rival big Midwestern factory farms in producing food. But creative collaborations with food entrepreneurs are seeding a new kind of economy that federal officials say could become a model for 12 other Appalachian states.
Officials with the Appalachian Regional Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Education are meeting with nearly two dozen groups across West Virginia this week as part of an Appalachian Foodways Tour. It began in North Carolina, hit Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and continues next month in Ohio and New York.
In Romney, officials visited a high school where students not only sell and show their pigs but produce sausage for Hampshire County's school cafeterias. In the capital city of Charleston, they'll learn about a program that trains women in business planning, record keeping, and farm and food safety.
And on Wednesday in Philippi, they're seeing how an out-of-business IGA is becoming a new kind of supermarket, one where jams, flowers, baked goods and produce are gathered from dozens of sources and sold at a single cash register.
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U.S. auto factories cutting back on summer downtime |
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Written by DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer
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Wednesday, 22 May 2013 06:32 |
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DETROIT (AP) — Detroit auto factories are forgoing their traditional two-week summer break and speeding up production to meet buyers' growing demand for new cars and trucks.
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that 21 of its North American factories will shut for only one week this summer. That includes the Chicago plant that makes the Ford Explorer SUV and the Mexican plant that makes the Fusion sedan.
General Motors won't idle its factories at all, while Chrysler plans a two-week break at just four of its ten North American assembly plants. Both GM and Chrysler are rolling out critical new models.
The three Detroit carmakers traditionally shut factories for two weeks around July 4 to do maintenance and change the machinery for new models. But they don't have that luxury this year. U.S. demand for new cars and trucks has been strong, up 7 percent through April, led by soaring demand for full-size pickup trucks as home construction rebounds. And after closing more than two dozen factories during the recession, U.S. automakers need to use their remaining capacity to its fullest.
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