Markets were falling on Wednesday after the World Bank released their Global Economic Prospects report, which cut their forecast for global growth. The news came amid weak outlooks for the United States, Russia and China. They said that they are expecting growth to expand at a 2.8% rate, which was down substantially from the 3.2% projected in January. They also cut their expectations for U.S. growth from 2.8% to 2.1%. They lowered growth projections for Brazil, Russia, India and China. The World Bank announced their 2015 predictions for economic growth worldwide came in at 3.4%. ?The global economy got off to a bumpy start this year buffeted by poor weather in the United States financial market turbulence and the conflict in the Ukraine. Despite the early weakness, growth is expected to pick up speed as the year progresses,? the bank said.
Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) were falling slightly after the company announced that they would be starting new flights from Dallas to Hong Kong and Shanghai. The company noted that the two cities are important business travel destinations. They are hoping to gain travelers from Asia to Dallas-Fort Worth International. The trips will run daily flying in both directions with Boeing 777 jets. Andrew Nocella, American Airlines chief marketing officer and senior vice president said that the trips would help the company make money and extend their reach into Asia?s quickly growing economy. ?Because we?re a bit behind, which we?ll own up to, we need to catch up. So we?re looking for the opportunities for not only this year but the decades to come. You can?t ignore Asia when you look at the growth of the economies and how the world is changing and evolving,? Nocella said.
Toyota announced that they would be increasing the number of vehicles they were recalling for a previous airbag problem. The world?s largest automaker said that they were re-notifying car owners for problems with the front passenger air bag that was originally announced last year. The recall that began in 2013 included nearly 2.14 million vehicles. They have now added an additional 650,000 vehicles to the list. The airbags affected contained an improperly made propellant that could cause the airbag to work abnormally and possibly cause fires during a crash. Models include nearly 20 Toyota models, from certain Toyota Corolla?s to Tundra pickups made between 2003 and 2004.
That?s all for today,
Warren Gates, Senior Analyst, Oakshire Financial
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