economy

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Top Threat to Rare Languages: Growing Economies

Zoologist turns from endangered animals to endangered tongues

(Newser) - There are some 6,909 languages spoken today, but many are on the decline, and the biggest reason, researchers find, is economic growth. Researchers studied the 649 languages for which growth and decline data was available to determine the leading factors driving the change, Science magazine reports. In order to...

'Mystery Woman' Leads the US Economy

Fed Chief Janet Yellen hasn't revealed strong policy leanings—yet

(Newser) - Just what is percolating in Janet Yellen's mind? The "diminutive woman with a pixie haircut"—oh, and chief of the US Federal Reserve—has emitted vague policy signals but divulged no clear plan (as Fed chiefs are wont to do), Politico reports. Some see a progressive with...

Don&#39;t Be Surprised if Stocks Drop 50%
Don't Be Surprised
if Stocks Drop 50%
OPINION

Don't Be Surprised if Stocks Drop 50%

Henry Blodget says we should at least be prepared for the possibility

(Newser) - The Dow tanked more than 300 points today, and the market in general has been "sputtering" of late, writes Henry Blodget at Business Insider . So are we on the brink of that correction everyone seems to be talking about? Blodget says that he, like everyone else who writes about...

Economy Surged at 4% Rate in Spring

Further growth expected in 2014; revisions show fast growth in 2013

(Newser) - After a dismal winter, the US economy sprang back to life in the April-June quarter, growing at a fast 4% annual rate on the strength of higher consumer and business spending. That beat economists' expectations, the New York Times notes. The Commerce Department says the second-quarter rebound followed a sharp...

US Economy Shrank 2.9%— Worst Since '09

Number much higher than expected

(Newser) - The US economy shrank at a staggering annual rate of 2.9% in the January-March quarter as a harsh winter contributed to the biggest contraction since the depths of the recession five years ago. The Commerce Department says the first-quarter contraction was even more severe than the 1% annual decline...

Interest Rates Won't Be Rising Anytime Soon

Fed wraps up meeting, cuts growth forecast

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve has sharply cut its forecast for US growth this year, reflecting a shrinking economy last quarter caused mostly by harsh weather. At the same time, the Fed has barely increased its estimate of inflation despite signs that consumer price increases are picking up. Its benign inflation outlook...

Economy Shrank 1% in Q1
 Economy Shrank 1% in Q1 

Economy Shrank 1% in Q1

It's the first time since 2011—but it's temporary: economists

(Newser) - For the first time since 2011, the US economy shrank in the first quarter—by 1%. Economists expected a 0.5% drop, but tell the AP that the Q1 numbers had to do with the harsh winter. Thanks to stronger manufacturing, faster job growth, and more retail spending, the fall...

The Internet's Workforce Is Faceless

We've forgotten that huge deals have a human toll: George Packer

(Newser) - Early 20th-century America had its factory workers; later decades had store employees. But today's Internet economy hides the faces of its workers, writes George Packer in the New Yorker . "Amazon’s workforce is made up mainly of computer engineers and warehouse workers, but when you think of Amazon...

Good News, Economy: Workers Are Quitting

'Quit rate' is highest since recovery began

(Newser) - In November, some 1.8% of the workforce, or 2.4 million people, abandoned their jobs, the Labor Department says—and though some were retiring or leaving work behind altogether, most were exiting because they wanted to find, or had already secured, new jobs. It's the highest "quit...

Today's the Day: Long-Term Jobless Benefits Expire

More than 1M affected

(Newser) - A political fight on Capitol Hill becomes very real today for about 1.3 million Americans: Their long-term unemployment benefits expire. In the latest budget deal, lawmakers didn't extend the 5-year-old federal emergency program that provides an average of $300 a month to people who have used up their...

Corporate America Likes High Unemployment Rates
Corporate America Likes
High Unemployment Rates
OPINION

Corporate America Likes High Unemployment Rates

It gives companies more leverage over workers, writes Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Benefits for the long-term unemployed run out tomorrow, which Paul Krugman thinks is not only a travesty but a reminder that we need to make reducing unemployment a top priority. The problem is that the political will to do so isn't strong, he writes in the New York Times...

Economy Grew 4.1% in Q3
 Economy Grew 4.1% in Q3 

Economy Grew 4.1% in Q3

It's the best mark since 2011

(Newser) - The US' GDP grew at a 4.1% annualized rate in the third quarter, its best showing since the last three months of 2011, the Commerce Department announced today. The number is revised upward from the Department's initial 3.6% estimate. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had been expecting that...

October Jobs Report Surprisingly Strong

Shutdown didn't torpedo numbers after all

(Newser) - Last month's government shutdown was supposed to throw a wet blanket on this morning's jobs numbers, but they turned out to be fairly strong. The economy added 204,000 jobs in October, almost double what analysts expected, reports the AP , which calls it an "unexpected burst of...

Stronger Economy Just Might Kill You
Stronger Economy
Just Might Kill You
study says

Stronger Economy Just Might Kill You

Study finds higher deaths in boom times among middle aged, elderly

(Newser) - A booming economy would seem to be good news all around, but a new study finds a strange thing: More middle-aged people and seniors tend to die in a strong economy than in a weak one, reports Medical News Today . Specifically, Netherlands researchers found that death rates in developed countries...

Record Numbers Call Themselves 'Lower Class'

Wealth gap may help explain phenomenon

(Newser) - For four decades, pollsters have been asking Americans to identify themselves by class; typically, most call themselves middle- or working-class. In the latest edition of the survey, however, a record 8.4% have dubbed themselves lower-class, the Los Angeles Times reports. That's a change from previous economic downturns, when...

GDP Rises 1.7%; Why That&#39;s Horrible
 GDP Rises 1.7%; 
 Why That's Horrible 
OPINION

GDP Rises 1.7%; Why That's Horrible

Neil Irwin thinks we need to do better in this economy

(Newser) - The US economy grew 1.7% last quarter, the Commerce Department announced today , which is a lot better than the 1% analysts expected. "It is what markets and the journalists who write about them like to call a 'huge beat,'" writes Neil Irwin at the Washington ...

Obama: In My Last 1,276 Days, Economy Is No. 1

President puts attention back on money matters, ahead of budget battles

(Newser) - President Obama gave the first of a series of speeches today intended to refocus attention on the economy, reports CNN . "America has fought its way back," he declared, but "we're not there yet." He hit familiar themes in his speech at Knox College in Illinois,...

Wealth Isn&#39;t Helping the US Anymore

 Wealth Isn't Helping 
 the US Anymore 
OPINION

Wealth Isn't Helping the US Anymore

Robert Samuelson believes the recession killed the wealth effect

(Newser) - Normally, when Americans' net worth goes up—say, because the value of their house or their stocks goes up—they spend more money, stimulating the economy. Economists call it the "wealth effect," and it might just have suffered an untimely death as a concept, observes Robert Samuelson at...

Bernanke to Congress: Stop Screwing the Economy

Says he's not taking his foot off the gas with monetary policy

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve isn't planning to take its foot off the gas pedal anytime remotely soon, Ben Bernanke told Congress today, while rebuking legislators for not doing their own part to juice the economy. The Fed's interest rate has been near zero since 2008, and Bernanke said he...

Student Debtors Steering Clear of Auto, Home Loans

New Federal Reserve Bank of New York study shows declining borrowing rates

(Newser) - The well-documented and much-fretted over explosion in student loan debt could be doing serious damage to the housing market and auto industries, as graduates strive to avoid going deeper into debt, according to an analysis posted on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's blog . For the first time...

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