Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

NEWS AT A GLANCE

China's sneeze and the world's health

Even before the Olympics start, China is starting to show signs of an economic slowdown, and its effects are being felt around the world. Chinese factory orders are slowing sharply, exports are nearly flat, and the real estate market is growing weaker. These trends, in turn, have contributed to lower worldwide prices for copper, tin, zinc, aluminum, and gasoline. The slowing down of China's growth, to as low as 9 percent, from 11 percent, is a positive development for global inflation, but a poor one for global growth prospects. "China has slowed down a lot already, but it's going to slow down more," said senior China economist Hong Liang at Goldman Sachs. (The New York Times)

Societe Generale posts 63 percent profit drop

Societe Generale, France's second-largest bank, reported a 63 percent drop in quarterly profit, to $1 billion. A $290 million loss at its investment banking unit ate away at the higher profits at its international retail banking and consumer credit units. (Reuters) The results beat analysts' expectations. Societe Generale is still reeling from massive trading losses it blames on trader Jerome Kerviel; Kerviel's assistant was charged as an accomplice yesterday. The bank reported $896 million in credit-related writedowns, less than half the amount from the previous quarter. "The pace of writedowns slowed down," said analyst Pascal Decque at Natixis Securities. "It's rather a relief." (Bloomberg)

Northern Rock reports loss, government pledge

British mortgage lender Northern Rock, in its first earnings report since being nationalized six months ago, said it lost $1.2 billion in the first half of the year. The loss was bigger than analysts had expected. Northern Rock said it repaid more than a third of its debt to the Bank of England during the period. (MarketWatch) Still, the British government is extending up to $5.9 billion to shore up the Northern Rock's capital reserves. (Bloomberg) Britain's Barclays, also hit by the housing crunch, agreed to sell its life insurance business to Swiss Re for $1.48 billion in cash. Swiss Re reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit of about $570 million. (Reuters)

A place reserved for women, sort of

The female-only hotel floor is making a comeback, after a quarter-century absence, but among the modifications is that men can often book rooms there, too. Floors for women travelers at the new Crowne Plaza Milwaukee and the Millennium Premier Hotel in New York's Times square offer amenities like Victoria's Secret robes, hair dryers, yoga mats, and spa services. Not all women are impressed. "Women don't aspire to be isolated after working years to be assimilated," says former Wyndham Hotels vice president Cary Broussard. Other hotels, sensitive to the criticism, are offering women special rooms on the traditionally male "concierge" floors, for an extra $40. (The New York Times)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

The necessary evil of bailouts

It isn't fair that responsible "folks who didn't get caught up in the real estate frenzy of the 2000s" are on the hook for those who did, says Chris Farrell in BusinessWeek.com, not to mention the extremely well-compensated bank and mortgage executives who enabled them. But that doesn't mean that the massive housing bill signed last week is a mistake. If the "Herculean actions" taken by Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury save us from "an economic plunge of frightening proportions," then the bailout is fair for all of us. Innovation-driven capitalism entails busts as well as booms, and "like it or not," limiting the downside of a bust is a critical part of monetary policy.

The darker side of falling oil

The falling price of oil is good news, says Fortune's Colin Barr in CNNMoney.com, but "not nearly as good as you might think." It will give "strapped consumers relief at the gas pump," yes, but falling oil prices also mean that the recession "the U.S. has so far avoided is well on its way." The biggest factor in the oil price drop is likely sinking U.S. demand, and that reflects a drop in consumer spending, which has driven the economy for years. All this means more layoffs on top of the jobs lost over the past year to the energy-cost surge. And giving motorists a little extra pocket change won't make up for that.

GOOD DAY FOR: Ordering decaf, as Starbucks is rolling out a month-long promotion today in which people who buy a drink in the morning can purchase any 16-ounce iced drink after 2 pm for $2. An iced latte of that size normally costs about $4. Customers need to show a receipt proving they bought a drink that morning. (AP in BusinessWeek.com)

BAD DAY FOR: Cold comfort, after Jet Blue said it will now charge $7 for a blanket and pillow on flights longer than two hours. Passengers will be able to take the "eco-friendly" bedding home with them, and the purchase includes a $5 coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond. It is the latest effort by an airline to pass on some of the higher price of fuel. (Los Angeles Times)

NOTED: The price of crude oil fell almost $2 a barrel early today, to below $120 a barrel, in New York trading. The stronger U.S. dollar and expectations of weaker U.S. consumer spending weighed on the price of oil. (AP in Yahoo! Finance) The price of gas in the U.S. has fallen, too, to an average $3.88 a gallon, the Energy Department said yesterday. That's the lowest price since May 19. (Los Angeles Times)

This column was written by Peter Weber and edited by Harold Maass of TheWeekDaily.com.