The U.S. trade deficit fell to the lowest level in more than nine years in May as exports posted a small gain while the weak American economy pushed imports down for a 10th straight month. The slight rebound in exports, combined with a slower pace of decline in imports, showed that the nosedive in global activity may be starting to ebb. The Commerce Department said Friday the deficit narrowed to $26 billion, a drop of 9.8 percent from April and the lowest level since November 1999. Economists expected the deficit to widen to $30.2 billion in May.
Increase in new households declines
Layoffs have forced middle-aged children to move in with mom. Falling home prices prompt unhappy couples to rethink divorce. The larger consequence of all these decisions is that Americans are forming fewer households, which in turn helps prolong the recession. Government data suggest that the downturn has helped slow household formation. Between March 2007 and March 2008, the number of new households grew by 772,000, to a total of 116.8 million, compared with an increase of 1.63 million a year earlier, Census Bureau data show.
Web company sues Facebook
In a counter-punch to the world’s biggest online hangout, a small Web company called Power.com has sued Facebook, saying it doesn’t follow its own policy of giving users control over their content. Power lets users simultaneously access several social networks, including MySpace and Twitter. But Facebook isn’t among them because the site has blocked Power. Last year it sued Power over the practice. In that lawsuit, Facebook accused Power of copyright and trademark violations and said the company gains unauthorized access to Facebook’s computer network when it asks users for their Facebook login and password information. This, Facebook says, violates its members’ privacy and security. San Francisco-based Power filed a countersuit Friday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif. Power claims that Facebook improperly restricts its users’ access to their private information when it prevents them from using it through a third party like Power.
Stimulus working, Obama official says
Despite persistently high unemployment, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday the Obama administration’s economic stimulus plan is on the “expected path.” “There’s been substantial improvements in arresting what was the worst recession globally we’ve seen in generations,” Geithner told lawmakers Friday. Geithner’s remarks came amid waning public support for President Barack Obama’s economic policies. Republican critics say the rising unemployment rate is proof that the $787 stimulus has not helped reverse the effects of the recession.
From Herald news services
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