TRADE DEFICIT
The U.S. trade deficit fell to the lowest level in nearly six years in December as the recession depressed demand for imports. The trade deficit in 2008 fell for a second straight year, and economists expect an even bigger decline this year. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the deficit in December fell 4 percent to $39.9 billion, from $41.6 billion in November. It was slightly higher than the $36 billion deficit economists expected. For the year, the deficit shrank by 3.3 percent to $677.1 billion. It was the second straight annual decline after five straight years of record deficits.
BANKERS
Facing an angry public and Congress, major bank chief executive officers agreed Wednesday with lawmakers demands for better government cooperation and public relations in their first testimony on the $700 billion bailout. “Both our firm and our industry have far to go to regain the trust of taxpayers, investors and public officials,” John J. Mack, head of Morgan Stanley,told the House Financial Services Committee. Added JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon, “We stand ready to do our part going forward.”
ARCELORMITTAL
ArcelorMittal SA, the world’s largest steel maker, reported Wednesday its first-ever quarterlyloss — at $2.6 billion — during the fourth quarter as it wrote down the value of assets amid collapsing demand. The loss compares witha $2.4 billion profit a year earlier. Sales during the three months to Dec. 31 fell 21 percent to $22.1 billion from a year ago, the company said. It blamed the loss on pretax charges of $4.4 billion to write down the value of stockpiled steel and raw material contracts as well as payouts to workers being laid off. — AP
