economy

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Fed Sees Little Relief for Jobless

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve warned today that the nation's economy is even worse than thought and predicted it would deteriorate throughout 2009. The Fed's bleak estimates indicated that unemployment could climb as high as 8.8 percent this year and that the economy would contract for a full calendar year for...

GE CEO Scraps His $12M Bonus
GE CEO Scraps His $12M Bonus
Feb 18, 2009 10:14 AM CST

GE CEO Scraps His $12M Bonus

Immelt cites 56% stock decline in '08, but says the company isn't actually doing too bad

(Newser) - Jeffrey Immelt has recommended to GE's board of directors that he not get a planned $12 million bonus for 2008, the Wall Street Journal reports. The CEO noted that earnings were "below where we expected," but stressed that even those numbers represent success in the midst of a...

Krugman: We've All Been Madoffed
 Krugman: We've All 
 Been Madoffed 
OPINION
Feb 16, 2009 8:38 AM CST

Krugman: We've All Been Madoffed

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff’s investors thought they were getting richer every quarter. Then, one day, they discovered their wealth “was a figment of someone else’s imagination,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. And sadly, that’s a pretty good metaphor for America’s experience this decade....

Second-Half Rebound? Don't Bank On It

(Newser) - Economists say the prospects of a recovery in the second half of the year are looking less and less likely, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most economists surveyed predict the nation's GDP will grow in the third quarter by a measly 0.7%, less than half the rate predicted 6...

Surprise! Retail Sales Up 1% in Jan.

Gas prices, food and clothing spending end 6-month drop

(Newser) - In an unexpected twist, US retail sales climbed slightly in January after falling for six straight months, Bloomberg reports. Retail sales rose 1% as gasoline prices increased and consumers spent more on food and clothing, despite forecasts that sales would fall 0.8%. But consumer spending is expected to fall...

Crisis Paradox: How to Spend When You Need to Save

How to stimulate the economy without draining your account

(Newser) - While leaders encourage Americans to stimulate the economy by spending, those who have lost jobs or investments are a lot more inclined to hoard their remaining assets. But there's a way to avoid this "paradox of thrift," in which the frugal behavior that's best for an individual...

Obama: 'No Easy Out' for Wall Street

(Newser) - Hours after the Dow plunged nearly 400 points on news of his administration's plan to overhaul the banking system, President Obama said Wall Street is apparently looking for "an easy out," ABC News reports. Problem is, one doesn't exist, he tells Nightline in an interview scheduled to air...

Obama Rallies Support in Hard-Hit Fort Myers

'You have seen hardship,' Obama tells supporters

(Newser) - President Obama headed to Fort Myers, Fla., today to rally support for his economic stimulus plan, telling residents “when the town is burning, you don't check party labels. Everybody needs to grab a hose,” the Miami Herald reports. Obama picked Fort Myers because its county has the highest...

When These Companies Recover, We Recover
When These Companies Recover, We Recover
OPINION
Feb 10, 2009 10:44 AM CST

When These Companies Recover, We Recover

The signs of the turnaround will come from everyday businesses

(Newser) - The companies best-positioned to weather the recession are market-share leaders or those that sell everyday necessities, writes Douglas A. McIntyre in Newsweek. But the economic bellwethers that will herald the recovery are more likely No. 2 or No. 3 in their industries, like Target, whose quarterly numbers should indicate when...

Obama: We Can't Afford to Wait
 Obama: We Can't Afford to Wait 
UPDATED
Feb 9, 2009 11:24 AM CST

Obama: We Can't Afford to Wait

(Newser) - Barack Obama flew to the Heartland today to make his latest pitch for the stimulus package in perhaps the hardest-hit city in the country. Speaking in Elkhart, Ind., which boasts the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 15.3%, Obama said he intended to keep his campaign promise to put...

Salmonella Scare Rattles Peanut County

Farmers report fewer contracts

(Newser) - A Georgia county that boasts a big peanut in its courthouse square is getting crunched by the salmonella outbreak, the Los Angeles Times reports. In Blakely-Early County, Ga.—the self-proclaimed "Peanut Capital of the World"—peanut plant workers are losing jobs and farmers are getting fewer contracts....

Want a Car in Russia? Try Bartering Undies

(Newser) - Bartering is coming back in Russia as the credit crunch and tight monetary policy leave buyers short of cash, the New York Times reports. At 3%-4% of total sales, such swaps are rare compared to the 1990s—when 50%-75% of Russian sales were bartered—but economists are noting an upswing....

Restaurants See Economy's Effect on Bills

Newest craze is splitting the check, to servers' annoyance

(Newser) - Gone are the days when one friend would insist on picking up the dinner check—and with them, the practice of splitting bills evenly, reports the Chicago Tribune. More and more, newly budget-conscious diners are asking for itemized checks. "Why?" says one restaurant manager. "Because nobody is...

Obama: Jobs Report Proves We Can't Delay

(Newser) - Barack Obama unveiled his Paul Volcker-led economic panel today and took the opportunity to make another forceful plea for his stimulus package, CBS reports. Today’s ghastly jobs report proved “the need for wise counsel and bold and immediate action,” Obama said. “It is inexcusable and irresponsible...

Job Losses Hit 3.6M; Unemployment at 7.6%

(Newser) - Nonfarm payrolls plunged 598,000 in January, the Labor Department announced today, bringing the total job losses to 3.6 million since the recession began in December 2007. The drop was significantly worse than analysts anticipated, and the worst since December 1974, the Wall Street Journal reports. The jobless rate...

Obama Stimulus Is Good Politics, Bad Economics

(Newser) - Just days ago, President Obama said it was time for “tough choices,” but Obama himself hasn’t made the tough choices on his stimulus package, Robert Samuelson writes in the Washington Post. Obama could have opted to bolster the economy, or he could have tried to pursue a...

Campbell Brown: Bring It, Limbaugh
Campbell Brown: Bring It, Limbaugh
Feb 2, 2009 10:12 AM CST

Campbell Brown: Bring It, Limbaugh

Tells Rush to shut up or put up after he slams colleague on stimulus

(Newser) - CNN anchor Campbell Brown yesterday challenged Rush Limbaugh after he slammed her colleague’s economic analysis, the Huffington Post reports. After Limbaugh called business correspondent Ali Velshi “incompetent” on his radio program, Brown stepped in: “Rush, I would love for you to come on this show and debate...

US Consumer Spending Falls Yet Again

1% drop greater than forecast; 6 straight months of decline

(Newser) - Consumer spending fell in December to finish off its worst year since 1961, Bloomberg reports. Purchases fell 1%, topping analyst estimates of a 0.9% decline. It was the record sixth consecutive month spending has fallen, and that streak may get longer, one economist predicted. Thanks to nearly 2.6...

Ahead of Vote, Obama Makes Plea for Stimulus

Urges 'bold, swift' action, promises transparency

(Newser) - President Obama made one final pitch for his stimulus package ahead of the House vote on the bill later today. After an introduction from a pair of CEOs, Obama took the stage to urge “bold and swift” action. He said he understood skepticism about the “size and scale”...

Don't Dodge Recession: The Case Against Stimulus
Don't Dodge Recession: 
The Case Against Stimulus
ANALYSIS
Jan 28, 2009 10:45 AM CST

Don't Dodge Recession: The Case Against Stimulus

Legislation props up the weak, blows up debt

(Newser) - There’s a near-consensus in DC that the recession calls for major government action. But on the libertarian fringe is what Politico calls “the Do Nothing Crowd.” This group tends to think there's no alternative to letting the economy, which became "filled with phantom wealth," contract,...

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