■US economy
Consumer confidence up
Consumer confidence rose in November for the first time in half a year, but industrial production fell for a third consecutive month in October, new data showed on Friday. The University of Michigan's preliminary sentiment index measuring consumer confidence, based on a survey of 500 households, rose to a higher-than-expected level of 85 from 80.6 in October. Consumers, whose spending makes up two thirds of US economic activity, may feel better because of rising stocks, interest rate reductions and potential tax cuts next year, said analysts. However, industrial production dropped in October, said the Federal Reserve. Output at factories, mines and utilities fell by 0.8 percent last month.
■ Agriculture
Australia hit by drought
The damage caused by a record drought now ravaging most of Australia is likely to get worse, and the relief bill may exceed the A$200 million (US$112 million) budgeted by the government, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. "There is potential for the numbers to even get worse," Agriculture Minister Warren Truss told Network 10 television, pointing to anecdotal evidence suggesting that this year's wheat crop will be "small" and that animal husbandry industries were suffering. Some agricultural areas of Australia have been gripped by drought for almost 18 months, with some regions hit by the driest conditions in more than a century. In recent weeks, authorities have declared 70 percent of the country to be affected. Australia's central bank warned two weeks ago that the drought could cut economic growth by up to one percentage point.
■ Retailers
Thailand nixes regulations
Thailand's government has dumped controversial legislation which would have regulated foreign-owned retailers to protect the country's struggling "mom and pop" stores, a report said yesterday. The Nation newspaper said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told a provincial chamber of commerce meeting that the Retail Business Act would have sent the wrong signal to foreign investors. The law could have compromised the government's policy on free trade, he said, adding however that the interior ministry could still issue regulations on zoning and closing hours for large retail outlets.
■ Auction
JFK's car sold in New York
The Lincoln Continental that President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated in Dallas in 1963 sold for US$225,000 at an auction in New York on Saturday. The buyer, who was not at the auction, gave his price in advance of the event. The Lincoln convertible, which is now in Connecticut, has been partially restored although its interior remains entirely original, said Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's auction house. Other items related to America's 35th president also sold for substantial sums, such as a wooden rocking chair he received as a gift that sold for US$80,000 and a watercolor he painted two years before his death that went for US$30,000. The auction of US presidential memorabilia was held at the New York Historical Society. In other items, a fountain pen owned by former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sold for US$7,000 while his silver cigarette lighter brought in US$2,000.
Agencies
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