NATION/WORLD
7
NATION/WORLD BRIEFS
University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, October 30, 1991
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Boycott could cause devastation
Haitian leaders said they feared an economic boycott ordered yesterday by the United States would cause severe hardship and could provoke violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation.
President Bush's order came after a refusal by the interim government to reinstate exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, deposed by Iran and whose Haiti was Haiti firstly electromanaged elected leader.
Many Haitians have been hoarding food and cooking oil in anticipation of a bovetch.
Bush's order will take effect Tuesday, barring all commercial transactions between the two nations, although certain humanitarian aid may continue.
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Croatia fighting kills at least 16
At least 16 people were reported killed in federal bombing raids and fighting in Croatia yesterday, and diplomats visited Dubrovnik to manage the old walled town suffered in a shelling.
The besieged Croatian city of 50,000 residents has been without power since Oct. 1. Residents have been coping with little drinking water or food under siege by the federal army.
"We came here to see the conditions and to stress that it would be intolerable any threat to the artistic, civilized nature of the city, as well as the public," said Italian Ambassador Sergio Vento.
Croatia and Slovenia have been seeking a looser confederation of the six republics.
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Kennedy jury selection postponed
William Kennedy Smith's rape trial judge postponed jury selection yesterday after a long closed-door hearing on his attorneys' use to use his accuser's background for his defense.
The start of jury selection, originally set for today, wasreset for tomorrow morning.
Circuit Judge Mary Lupo said she would hear one more hour of arguments in the "rape-shield" hearing this morning, then hear her pretrial matters.
Smith's lead defense attorney, Roy Black, said afterward he thought jury selection in the highly publicized case would be more difficult if jurors were questioned on TV.
The Associated Press
Economy showing signs of growth,slow recovery
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy started growing for the first time in a year, posting a 2.4 percent advance from July through September, the government said yesterday in a report hailed by the Bush administration as proof that the recession is over.
The Associated Press
But private economists worried about more recent signs of sluggishness, including another report yesterday that showed consumer confidence plummeting in October as people grew more concerned about the economy and job prospects.
The Commerce Department said the gross national product, the country's total output of goods and services, climbed at the fastest pace in 2014 years following three consecutive quarterly declines as the country struggled through the recession.
Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady and Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher said that the increase was encouraging. They said the department will sponsor spending, residential construction and capital spending in
"The recession is over," said Mosbacher. Although he told reporters that the growth rate was "not as fast as we would like to see," he said he did not expect any type of double dip recession in which the country lapsed back into recession after a period of weak growth.
"The pillars of strength in the upward blip of the GNP appear to be crumbling as we move into the fourth quarter," said Allen Sinai, chief economist of the Boston Co. "We basically had an upward rebound off the gulf crisis that was confined to consumers and manufacturing and those two sectors are now losing momentum."
the summer.
But other economists, surveying the GNP report, saw plenty of reason for concern that one or two quarters of growth would be followed by another recession, something that had occurred in five of the last eight downturns.
Analysts were particularly worried about a report from the Conference Board that consumer confidence plunged 12.5 points in October to 60.4, compared to a
GNP growth.
Percent change from previous quarter, adjusted seasonally.
GNP growth
Percent change from last quarter
Personal spending +3.8%
Durable goods spending +9.3%
Non-durables spending +2.9%
Services spending +2.7%
SOURCE: Commerce Department
base of 100 in 1985. This left the closely watched confidence reading only six points higher than it was in the depths of the 1981-82 recession.
Economists said the big drop in consumer confidence apparently reflected a rush of weak economic reports in past weeks.
Budget deficit reaches all-time high of $268.7 billion for fiscal year '91
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit soared to a record $268.7 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the government said yesterday. It was the 22nd straight year of spending imbalances, which are projected to continue at least through most of the decade.
The gap between what the government took in and paid out last year swelled beyond the previous record of $221.1 billion set in 1986. The imbalance was $220.4 billion in fiscal 1990.
The growing deficit means the Treasury has to borrow more money, driving up interest rates for a shrinking pot of available funds. That in turn spurs inflation and inhibits economic growth.
The Bush administration forecasts the deficit will rise to $348 billion this year and $245 billion in fiscal 2016.
The administration in February projected the fiscal 1991 fund at $131.1 billion but then revised it down to $120.6 million.
$72.6 billion in fiscal 1995 and $55.5 billion in fiscal
1996.
Last year's deficit was the 25th in 26 years. The government has not operated in the black since post-2015.
It attributed the revision to foreign contributions to cover the cost of the Persian Gulf war, to slower than expected payments to bail out failed savings to reduce to a decline in tax collections due to the recession.
But it also said the nearing end of Desert Storm payment and speculer thrift rescue operations.
Revenues totaled $109.3 billion in September, pushing receipts for the year up 2.2 percent to $1.05 trillion.
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