Plus: U.S. Wholesale Inventories and Retail Sales Rise, Toxic Chemical Pollution Drops, Trade Gap Narrows and MORE.

Trade Gap Narrows in October
The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in October, boosted by surging exports that offset relatively small gains in imports, according to the latest international trade report from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The new data, released Thursday, show the trade deficit fell from $35.7 billion to $32.9 billion in October.

October exports came to $136.8 billion, up $3.5 billion from September’s exports, and imports came to $169.8 billion, an increase of $0.7 billion from the previous month. The goods deficit also decreased by $2.6 billion from September, while the services deficit increased by $0.2 billion.

Most experts expected an expanding deficit for the month. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast the trade gap would increase to $37 billion. With the October results, the deficit for the year now totals $304 billion, down significantly from the $610.8 billion recorded for the same period in 2008.

“Exports appeared to have hit their bottom during the spring, but they remain 8.6 percent below their level of a year ago and substantially below their peak in the summer of 2008,” the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required). The weak dollar and a rebound in global demand are boosting U.S. exporters’ activity, offering some hope amid lackluster demand at home.”

U.S. Retail Sales Rise
U.S. retail sales jumped 1.3 percent in November, marking the third increase in the past four months, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday. Excluding the 1.6 percent rise in automotive sales, sales rose 1.2 percent — more than double the expected gain.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected total sales to rise 0.5 percent and sales excluding autos to rise 0.4 percent.

The Associated Press said the 1.3 percent increase was the “healthiest advance since August.” However, the AP notes that some analysts have “cautioned that the economy still faces so many obstacles that consumer spending and the recovery are likely to be sluggish in the months ahead.”

Wholesale Inventories Rise
U.S. wholesale inventories rose in October for the first time in over a year, providing an encouraging sign for the economic recovery as businesses finally begin to restock and wholesalers get set to increase their purchasing from manufacturers.

According to the latest wholesale trade report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, released Wednesday, wholesale inventories rose to $379.6 billion in October, a 0.3 percent increase over September inventory levels and the first gain in 13 consecutive months of decline in stockpiles. Inventories for petroleum and petroleum products were up 4.6 percent, farm product raw materials rose 11.4 percent, and motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts gained 1.7 percent.

Wholesale inventories generally consist of goods held by distributors who purchase products from manufacturers and sell them to retailers, and they currently constitute 25 percent of all business stockpiles, while factories account for one-third and retailers hold the remaining portion, the New York Times reports.

Boeing Dreamliner Completes Taxi Test
Over the weekend, The Boeing Co. completed low- and high-speed taxi tests on the first 787 Dreamliner. The taxi test is the last in a series of functional tests planned in preparation for first flight. The aerospace giant hopes to put the 787 in the air as early as tomorrow morning, depending on weather conditions.

The Everett Herald reported that, during the testing, the airplane reportedly reached a top speed of approximately 130 knots (150 mph) and the pilots lifted the nose gear from the pavement.

“Our pilots told me the airplane performed beautifully. We’re going through and analyzing the data to ensure we’re ready for first flight. From evaluations we’ve done so far, everything looks good,” Mike Delaney, VP and chief project engineer for the 787, said in an announcement on Saturday.

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has suffered several major delays and is running more than two years behind schedule. The company, which has 840 787s on order, has said it hopes to deliver the first one late next year.

New Job-Creation Plan Targets Small Businesses
New initial jobless claims rose to 474,000 in the week ending December 5, an increase of 17,000 claims over the previous week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, the four-week moving average of new claims, which is intended to reduce volatility in the data, fell by 7,750 to 473,750.

The Obama administration is moving to stimulate job growth through a series of initiatives announced at the Brookings Institution last Tuesday. In an effort to help remedy the nation’s unemployment situation, the Obama administration last week unveiled a new plan to stimulate job growth, with a focus on supporting small business hiring and funding additional infrastructure projects as jobless claims continue to rise.

Key factors of the new plan include: a one-year elimination of capital gains taxes on small business investments; tax credits to reward companies for hiring new workers; the use of leftover stimulus funds to unlock frozen credit and expand small business lending; and the creation of new jobs through additional infrastructure and clean-energy work projects.

“They are steps that can clearly help spur capital investments, which is sorely needed at the moment,” Douglas K. Woods, president of the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), said in a prepared statement.

The video below shows the shifting patterns of employment between January 2007 and October 2009. The unemployment rate currently remains around 10 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Source: Latoya Egwuekwe

Toxic Chemical Pollution Declines in 2008
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday reported that toxic chemical pollution from the nation’s industrial plants, mines and factories declined by 6 percent in 2008, the second consecutive year that businesses have reported releasing less pollution.

For 2008, 21,695 facilities, including federal facilities, reported to the EPA’s annual database, known as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The analysis of the 2008 data, the most recent data set available, shows 3.86 billion pounds of on-site and off-site disposal or other releases of the TRI chemicals, a 6 percent decrease from 2007. More than 87 percent of the total was disposed of or otherwise released on-site, while 12 percent was sent off-site for disposal. Metal mining facilities accounted for 30 percent of the total in 2008, while electric utilities accounted for 23 percent.

Part of the decline “may be attributed to the economic downturn,” according to the EPA, which said the economy’s toll on pollution would likely be even more visible in 2009 numbers.