Home>News Center>World
         
 

Katrina, high nergy prices hit pocketbooks
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-30 22:03

Hurricane Katrina caused $100 billion in uninsured losses in August while consumer spending plunged by the largest amount since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the government reported Friday.


Ed Mendel, of Palm Beach, Fla., surveys a wrecked neighborhood in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005. Mendel, a volunteer firefighter, brought his homemade deep water rescue vehicle to the city Wednesday after helping with rescue operations in Cameron, La., in the wake of Hurricane Rita. One month after Hurricane Katrina hit, the Ninth Ward remains partially flooded after a levy broke following both Katrina and Rita. [AP]

Because of the devastation along the Gulf Coast, personal incomes fell by 0.1 percent in August, the Commerce Department reported. Incomes would have risen by 0.2 percent had it not been for the hurricane.

In another worrisome sign for the economy, consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, plunged by 1 percent in August, the biggest decline since September 2001, as consumers pinched by soaring gasoline prices cut back in spending in other areas.

The sharp drop in spending raises concerns about consumers' staying power in the face of soaring energy bills. Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for two-thirds of the economy.

Analysts said the toll from Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which struck in September, is likely to depress economic activity for several months.
Page: 123



Los Angeles fire
Australia fending off bird flu
Massive Indonesian vaccination drive against polio resumes
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

China's rapid economic growth will continue: OECD

 

   
 

China and Japan begin gas drilling talks

 

   
 

Court: Koizumi shrine visits unconstitutional

 

   
 

Chinese killed in Thailand's insurgent south

 

   
 

1/3 of New Orleans residents could return

 

   
 

Insurgents kill nine more in Iraq bombing

 

   
  Insurgents kill nine more in Iraq bombing
   
  Bush likely to name 2nd Supreme Court nominee
   
  U.S. space tourist ready to blast-off
   
  1/3 of New Orleans residents could return
   
  Court: Koizumi shrine visits unconstitutional
   
  String of car bombs kills 99 in Iraq
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Jobless claims related to Katrina climb
   
Auditors to probe Katrina contracts
   
Jobless claims related to Katrina surge
   
Criminals among Katrina refugees sought
   
Katrina's death toll climbs past 1,000
   
Katrina's death toll climbs past 1,000
   
Oil prices up as Rita prompts evacuations
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement