The United States has officially promised the world that it will reduce global warming pollution about 17 percent below 2005 levels in the next decade. Now the question is whether President Obama can deliver.

In an announcement yesterday, U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern submitted America’s target to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change as part of a Jan. 31 deadline negotiated in Copenhagen last year. In doing so, Stern made a point of noting that the final figure could change depending on the outcome of U.S. legislation.

“The U.S. submission reflects President Obama’s continued commitment to meeting the climate change and clean energy challenge through robust domestic and international action that will strengthen our economy, enhance our national security and protect our environment,” Stern said in a statement.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Consumer confidence rose to a two-year high this month as the economic outlook improved, though most had a grim view of their own personal financial and employment prospects, a private report showed on Friday.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its final index of sentiment for January was 74.4, up from December’s 72.5 and higher than analysts’ expectations for 73.0.

That was the highest since January 2008 — a month after the recent recession started — and it also beat the preliminary reading for this month of 72.8.

The report follows government data showing the U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, which was the fastest in six years but still failed to dispel concerns about sustainability of recovery amid a 10 percent jobless rate.
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DETROIT, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T) sales suspension will help competitors gain market share in the near term, particularly General Motors Co [GM.UL], Honda Motor Co (7267.T), Ford Motor Co (F.N), Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and Hyundai Corp (011760.KS), Barclays Capital said in a research note issued on Friday.

Barclays also sees January U.S. light vehicle auto sales at 10.6 million vehicles on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, up from 9.6 million last January but down from December’s 11.2 million.

Barclays said Toyota’s January sales will drop from a year ago, but it did not offer a figure associated with that decrease.

“We do not expect the sales suspension of Toyota’s best selling models to have materially impacted industry sales, but Toyota’s market share will likely suffer somewhat and we expect the manufacturer’s January sales to be down year-on-year,” Barclays said.
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The U.S. economy grew at a faster-than-expected 5.7 percent pace in the fourth quarter, the quickest pace in more than six years, as businesses reduced inventories less aggressively, the Commerce Department said on Friday.
The first estimate put fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth at its fastest pace since the third quarter of 2003. The economy expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter. * Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast GDP, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, growing at a 4.6 percent rate in October-December period. * Growth was boosted a sharp slowdown in the pace of inventory liquidation, a factor that could mask the strength of the economic recovery from the longest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression.

Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest mutual fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said investors should seek “less levered” countries like China, India and Brazil that are “less easily prone to bubbling.”

“Go where the growth is, where the consumer sector is still in its infancy, where national debt levels are low, where reserves are high, and where trade surpluses promise to generate additional reserves for years to come,” Gross wrote in a monthly investment outlook published on Newport Beach, California-based Pimco’s Web site. “The old established G-7 and their look-alikes as they de-lever have lost their position as drivers of the global economy.”

Gross recommended that investors should look for “a savings-oriented economy, which would gradually evolve into a consumer-focused economy,” adding that miniature examples of China, India and Brazil would be excellent examples.
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WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve committee that sets the nation’s monetary policy will begin its first meeting of 2010 on Tuesday with a critical question hanging in the air: how the Fed’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, will emerge from the bruising fight over his nomination to a second four-year term.

In an interview Monday with ABC News, President Obama made clear that he stands behind Mr. Bernanke. “He has my strongest support,” Mr. Obama said.

“What we need is somebody at the Federal Reserve who can make sure that the progress that we’ve made in stabilizing the economy continues,” Mr. Obama added. “I think Bernanke is the best person for that job.”
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Ford confirmed today that it will add 1,200 jobs in Chicago to produce the next-generation Ford Explorer SUV starting in the fourth quarter of this year, giving the Dearborn automaker an opportunity to hire workers at a lower-tier wage rate for the first time.

Ford said it plans to invest nearly $400 million to launch production of the new, fuel-efficient Ford Explorer. The company also will increase production at the nearby Chicago Stamping Plant.

Ford’s $400-million investment includes approximately $180 million in manufacturing investment at the Chicago sites and about $220 million for launch and engineering costs.

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Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — The global financial system remains “fragile,” with sovereign debt posing a risk to markets and substantial losses expected from commercial real estate, the International Monetary Fund said.

Banks may need to significantly increase their capital to support the credit recovery and help sustain economic growth, the IMF said today in an update to its Global Financial Stability Report, last published in October. Emerging economies should be prepared to protect against capital inflows that are beginning to create asset bubbles and pressures on exchange rates, the Washington-based IMF said.

As firms such as Citigroup Inc. try repair their balance sheets, the report said losses from commercial real estate are likely to “increase substantially.” Credit markets are likely to remain impaired as banks tighten lending conditions while attempting to boost their capital.
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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – A little more optimism about the current economic climate sent the U.S. consumer confidence index to a 16-month high in January, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Conference Board.

The consumer confidence index rose to 55.9 in January from an upwardly revised 53.6 in December. It’s the highest reading since September 2008, when the financial crisis intensified. It was the third straight increase.

The index came in better than expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch, who were looking for an increase to 53.5 from the previously reported December level of 52.9. Read our complete economic calendar and consensus forecast.
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Verizon, the telecommunications company, said Tuesday that it added 2.2 million mobile subscribers and posted higher revenue for the fourth quarter. Yet the company reported a loss for the quarter, mostly because of costs related to layoffs.

During the quarter, Verizon added 2.2 million subscribers, up substantially from the 1.2 million added a year earlier, the company said. Revenue rose almost 10 percent, to $27.1 billion, much of it because of the company’s acquisition of the Alltel Corporation.

The net loss of $653 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.24 billion, or 43 cents a share in the quarter a year ago. It took a charge of $3 billion, or 66 cents a share, related to severance expenses in the quarter.

For the year, Verizon reported a profit of $10.4 billion or $1.29 a share on revenue of $107.8 billion. That compared with a profit of $12.6 billion or $2.26 a share in 2008 on revenue of $97.4 billion
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