From Bloomberg:

Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest Internet retailer, posted an 8.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit after promotions and discounts lured consumers to its Web site. Sales beat estimates, sending the shares up 13 percent.

Net income climbed to $225 million, or 52 cents a share, from $207 million, or 48 cents, a year earlier, the Seattle- based company said today in a statement. Sales rose 18 percent to $6.7 billion, compared with an estimate of $6.45 billion in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

And that is all the happy economic news I can find today. Looking for something darker, with a local twist?

In the month of December global international cargo traffic plummeted by 22.6% compared to December 2007. The same comparison for international passenger traffic showed a 4.6% drop. The international load factor stood at 73.8%.

For the full-year 2008, international cargo traffic was down 4.0%, passenger traffic showed a modest increase of 1.6%, and the international load factor stood at 75.9%.

“The 22.6% free fall in global cargo is unprecedented and shocking. There is no clearer description of the slowdown in world trade. Even in September 2001, when much of the global fleet was grounded, the decline was only 13.9%,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.” Air cargo carries 35% of the value of goods traded internationally.

(via CalculatedRisk.)

I’m so glad we gave Boeing that massive tax break a few years back, you know, to keep jobs in Washington State. It’s really paid off, with the 787 flying off the line and Boeing hiring like mad. Certainly, there is no better place of those billions of tax dollars to go….

Jonathan Golob is an actual doctor.

10 replies on “Good Local Economic News”

  1. My bro-in-law is in the SUP and the union rag they put out said that multiple Asian shipping lines are now shipping containers for only the cost of fuel. Only last year, getting a container across the Pacific cost $200 a unit + bunker (fuel) surcharges. Pair that with the shipping drop offs on West Coast and you can see that nearly free shipping isn’t enough to prop up demand. I don’t fully know what the implications of this are, but it can’t be good.

  3. If Washington doesn’t give the tax break another state will. You live and die by the subsidies if you go down the path.

  5. And yet has the Stranger ever done anything but kiss Eric Pettigrew’s ass after he introduced that legislation to give billions of tax breaks to Boeing? No…

  7. Globalism is dead.

    Lazy ass Seattlites will now have to actually manufacture shit instead of “configuring” it or “licensing” it.

    Get to work, leadbellies!

  10. Everyone has their favorite villain for the current economic collapse. We can think of at least 10 ways in which consuming citizens were responsible.
    If we only point the finger at the fat cats on Wall Street, and our governmental agencies and politicians, we will have learned little. We all bear some responsibility.

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