economy

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$16B Deficit May Help Keep Gay Marriage Legal in Calif.

Financial boon to strapped state could cast decisive vote against Nov. ballot measure

(Newser) - With a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that could dam the just-unleashed tide of same-sex marriage in the state, proponents believe California's $16 billion budget deficit could be the deciding factor for voters, Julie Bolcer writes in the Advocate. "I think this is a huge opportunity for businesses...

House Votes to Extend Jobless Benefits

But measure faces rough road in Senate, White House

(Newser) - The House today approved an extra three months of jobless benefits for all unemployed Americans, knowing the plan's chances are slight in the Senate. After failing to get a veto-proof two-thirds margin by three votes yesterday, Democrats got an exact two-thirds margin with a 274-137 vote—the amount needed to...

Hard Workers in Cuba Will Finally Get Their Due

Wages will be tied to productivity

(Newser) - Raul Castro has ordered employers to create new salary structures that include extra pay for increased productivity—a bold departure, by Cuban standards, from Socialist orthodoxy, the Miami Herald reports. Under the current system, workers get a flat fee based on their job descriptions with no hope for incentives. Low...

General Election Starts Coming Into Focus

McCain, Obama focus on Democrat's economic agenda

(Newser) - Barack Obama launched a 2-week economic tour today, prompting dueling press releases, Time reports. Obama kicked off the one-on-one stage of the election by vowing to “restore fairness and balance to our economy,” and John McCain's campaign countered by saying the Democratic nominee "doesn’t understand the...

Gated Enclaves Soar Above Indian Slums

Wealthy Indians move into posh residences to escape impoverished cities

(Newser) - Gated communities are emerging across India  to offer the country's growing group of wealthy professionals Western luxuries that the government cannot. One exclusive high-rise complex in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi, has its own security guards, landscaped lawns, and private school. Air conditioning, elevators, running water are all uninterrupted, while...

Gas Prices Hit Hardest in Rural Areas—not Suburbs

The South, Southwest, and upper Great Plains feel brunt of $4 fuel

(Newser) - Gas prices, which hit an all-time-high average of $4 a gallon over the weekend, are causing more pain in rural America than anywhere else, with motorists in the South, Southwest, and the upper Great Plains the hardest hit. With relatively low wages and high use of pickup trucks and vans,...

US Economy Isn't Bouncing Back
 US Economy Isn't
 Bouncing Back 
analysis
Jun 8, 2008 5:11 PM CDT

US Economy Isn't Bouncing Back

Fed cuts, stimulus package won't do the trick

(Newser) - Forget those predictions of a US economic revival in 2008, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. The four horsemen of the economy—credit and housing crises, food and energy prices—are getting meaner, while booming commodities and crunching credit are curbing attempts to fight back. "As a result, the consumer-driven...

Grueling Gaokao Tests China's College Seekers

Dreaded university entrance exam covers 12 years of study

(Newser) - At least 10 million high school students in China are taking the grueling gaokao, or "high test," to win a coveted spot at college. It’s a two-day ordeal that covers everything students have learned for a dozen years. It also shuts down neighborhoods, redirects traffic, and determines...

Blip or Deeper Trouble? More Economists Grow Gloomy

Analysts speculate if gloomy figures have sparked fundamental change

(Newser) - Optimists can easily chalk up Friday's disastrous day on Wall Street to a skittish market overreacting to lousy news about oil prices and unemployment. The problem, writes Ben Steverman in BusinessWeek, is that many analysts are lining up in the pessimists' camp, which holds that something more "fundamental" is...

Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years
Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years
Economy
Jun 6, 2008 8:43 AM CDT

Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years

Signs are very bad for consumers

(Newser) - Unemployment saw its biggest leap in two decades in May, spiking from 5.0% to 5.5%, as companies scale back their workforces in the face of recession, Bloomberg reports. Analysts had expected a more modest climb, to 5.1%; unemployment hasn’t been this high since October 2004. Payrolls...

Starbucks Offers Free Wi-Fi for 2 Hours a Day

Firm unveils its latest attempt to revive business

(Newser) - Starbucks will offer its customers 2 hours of free Wi-Fi a day starting next week, its latest effort to snap out of a sales slump, USA Today reports. Those eligible need a Starbucks Card and must register online with the company's rewards program. Critics say the move isn’t the...

In Gay Marriage, Calif. Sees Economic Love Match

Altar-bound same-sex couples could provide $370M boost to state economy

(Newser) - Lifting the ban on same-sex marriages could prove a boon to California’s economy, as couples waiting for years to tie the knot spend big on lavish nuptials, the Los Angeles Times reports. Wedding planners, bakers, and other related business have seen increasing activity since the May 15 ruling; one...

With Airwaves to Himself, McCain Targets Ohio

Candidate emphasizes economy in big ad buy; Obama still waiting

(Newser) - Right now, John McCain has America’s commercial breaks all to himself, and he’s using them, reports the Wall Street Journal. McCain spent $170,000 Wednesday, which puts him on pace for $1.2 million per week, after spending $1.5 million over the past two months. Most of...

Tight Economy Leaves Wealthy Vexed in the City

NY's richest tremble as they cut back on life's luxuries

(Newser) - Think you’ve got it bad in these tough times? Then consider the swarms of Wall Street bankers and Upper East Side developers whose income has slid along with the nation’s economy. Lawyers, art advisers, personal trainers, and hairstylists to the privileged say their clients gripe about having to...

Teens Struggle in Tight Job Market

Summer work grows rarer in weak economy

(Newser) - The economic downturn has taken a toll on teenagers searching for a summer job, the New York Times reports. With the teen job market at its smallest in decades, less than a third of teens are expected to be employed this summer, says a Northeastern University study—a far cry...

Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding
 Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding 
May 13, 2008 11:36 AM CDT

Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding

Retail decline due mainly to big autos drop; foreclosures depressing housing values

(Newser) - The housing market continued to plunge in the first quarter of 2008, as single-family sales dropped 22% from their year-ago pace, to 4.95 million annually. Bloomberg reports that the median home price is off 7.7% from a year ago, to $196,300, as foreclosed properties drag down values....

No Rebates for Immigrant Taxpayers—or Yank Spouses

Caught in rules designed to cut illegal immigrants

(Newser) - Hundreds of thousands of legal, taxpaying immigrants and their Americans spouses are among the unhappy few who won’t be getting a tax rebate check, AP reports. Taxpayers need a Social Security number to qualify—a rule intended to carve out illegal immigrants. Also inadvertently cut from the benefit are...

US Woes Drive Toyota Profits Down 28%
 US Woes Drive
 Toyota Profits
 Down 28% 
Earnings report
May 8, 2008 7:15 AM CDT

US Woes Drive Toyota Profits Down 28%

World's No. 2 automaker sees tough year ahead

(Newser) - Even Toyota—with its array of popular gas-sipping vehicles—is struggling in a slumping global economy, according to the latest figures. The world’s No. 2 automaker today reported that earnings for the last quarter fell 28% to $3.05 billion from $4.2 billion a year ago, reports the...

Stocks Sink as Crude Soars
 Stocks Sink as Crude Soars 
MARKETS
May 7, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

Stocks Sink as Crude Soars

Investors worry about impact on consumers

(Newser) - Stocks zoomed downward today as oil topped $123 a barrel, hastening a sell-off by anxious investors. "You can still get a lot of nervousness when they see these daily moves in crude, along with follow-through in the stock market," an analyst tells the Wall Street Journal. The Dow...

Barack Bounces Back From Pastor Flap

Most approve of his handling of controversy

(Newser) - Barack Obama appears to be recovering—mostly—from the furor over his former pastor's incendiary remarks, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll. His lead over Hillary Clinton has increased from 8 points to 12 points—50% to 38%—among Democratic primary voters, who also approve of how...

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