US economy

Stories 301 - 320 | << Prev   Next >>

Fed Tries 'Operation Twist' to Spur Growth

Move intended to hold down long-term interest rates

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve says it will sell $400 billion of its shorter-term securities to buy longer-term holdings, its latest effort to boost a weak economy. The Fed's move to rebalance its $2.87 trillion portfolio could lower Treasury yields further. Ultimately, it might reduce rates on mortgages and other...

Housing Market Will Stink Through 2015
Housing Market Will Stink Through 2015
new report
Sep 21, 2011 11:07 AM CDT

Housing Market Will Stink Through 2015

Economists, builders, mortgage analysts fear 'lost decade'

(Newser) - Even more bad economic news from a report released today: Housing prices will remain depressed for years, dropping by an expected 2.5% this year and rising only 1.1% each year through 2015, according to the survey of more than 100 economists. Since the 2005 peak, housing prices have...

Paul Krugman: Budget Cuts are 'Bleeding' the Economy
 Budget Cuts 
 Are 'Bleeding' 
 the Economy 
paul krugman
Sep 19, 2011 12:12 PM CDT

Budget Cuts Are 'Bleeding' the Economy

We need to spend to staunch the flow: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Trying to fix the economy with budget cuts reminds Paul Krugman of an outdated medical practice: bleeding patients. This “economic bloodletting” is supposed to boost confidence, but it's a cure that just makes things worse. "Somehow, businesses and consumers seem much more concerned about the lack of...

Odds of Second Recession Grow: Economists

And Fed can't do much to stop it, say experts

(Newser) - Economists are citing a one-in-three chance of a new recession—the highest likelihood given in the Wall Street Journal ’s regular survey since the recovery began. The figure is 4 percentage points higher than last month’s as joblessness, a troubled stock market, and fears for Europe continue. “...

Obama's Jobs Bill Goes to Congress Tonight

But it's missing one crucial element, 'Los Angeles Times' notes

(Newser) - "Pass this bill," President Obama said more than two dozen times during his two speeches last week touting his jobs bill —and he’ll say it again tonight when he officially sends the American Jobs Act to Congress. “He will call on Congress to pass the...

Obama Plan Would Bring 1.9M Jobs: Moody's

Would grow economy 2%, says expert

(Newser) - President Obama’s jobs plan would put some 1.9 million people back to work and grow the economy 2%, says Moody’s chief economist. The plan could slice the unemployment rate by a percentage point, adds Mark Zandi, whose analysis comes as the president heads to Virginia to...

Bank of America Job Cuts May Reach 40K

Continues major overhaul in effort to slim down

(Newser) - Job cuts at Bank of America could hit a number much higher than earlier reported —four times higher: Executives are now discussing cutbacks to the tune of 40,000 positions, the Wall Street Journal reports. A final decision isn’t expected until later today. The bank is aiming to...

Obama Must Return to Deficit Spending in Jobs Speech Krugman
 Obama: Be 'Big and 
 Bold' in Jobs Speech 
Paul Krugman
Sep 5, 2011 1:15 PM CDT

Obama: Be 'Big and Bold' in Jobs Speech

Go back to deficit spending to boost economy: Krugman

(Newser) - "Everyone in Washington" should be crying out, "My God, what have we done?" writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . His reasons: The puny 2% interest rate on 10-year national bonds is proof that President Obama's deficit spending did not raise interest rates, as critics had...

US Added No New Jobs Last Month

Unemployment remains at 9.1%

(Newser) - Following a depressing economic forecast from the White House budget office, today's jobs report brings even more depressing news: For the first time in nearly a year, the US economy added no net jobs last month. The government lost 17,000 jobs while the private sector added just 17,...

Meet &#39;Generation Limbo&#39;
 Meet 'Generation Limbo' 
Sep 1, 2011 11:25 AM CDT

Meet 'Generation Limbo'

Increasingly, 20somethings wait for their 'real' career

(Newser) - Stephanie Kelly graduated in 2009 with a degree in advertising; instead she works as a part-time secretary and writes freelance for an online “Secret Santa Organizer.” Amy Klein has a degree in English lit from Harvard, but the 2007 grad has been touring the country in a minivan...

Americans Down on Economy, Blame Bush

86% cite 'poor' economy; 51% say it's Dubya's fault

(Newser) - Americans' views on the economy have dimmed this summer. But so far, the growing pessimism doesn't seem to be taking a toll on President Obama's re-election prospects. More people now believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, a new AP-GfK poll shows, and confidence in Obama'...

Don&#39;t Hold Your Breath for New Fed Stimulus
Don't Hold Your Breath
for New Fed Stimulus
OPINION
Aug 24, 2011 7:51 AM CDT

Don't Hold Your Breath for New Fed Stimulus

Investors might be barking up the wrong tree

(Newser) - Stocks have been shooting up this week on speculation that Ben Bernanke will announce another round of quantitative easing to prop up the economy in his speech Friday at Jackson Hole. But investors had better hold their horses, Neil Irwin of the Washington Post reports, because “the appetite within...

AP Poll of Economists: Double-Dip Recession Unlikely, But Growth Will Be Slow
Next 12 Months: No Recession, but Slow Growth
economists say
Aug 23, 2011 2:55 PM CDT

Next 12 Months: No Recession, but Slow Growth

Risk of recession at 26%; unemployment likely 9% at year's end

(Newser) - Despite a bombardment of bad news in recent weeks, economists don’t expect another recession over the next 12 months—but economic growth will barely be perceptible in that period, an AP poll of top economists finds. They expect high unemployment and weak consumer spending to dog the US into...

Second Stimulus, Additional Debt Release Coming

President to trade short-term spending for long-term cuts

(Newser) - President Obama's promises to boost jobs and cut the deficit are taking shape, with a new stimulus and tax cuts for companies that hire new workers to be announced in a major address right after Labor Day, reports the Washington Post . The stimulus is said to focus on road...

Dow Rises 100+ on Retail Sales Report

S&P 500, Nasdaq also rise

(Newser) - Markets are up, at least for now: The Dow was up more than 100 points at open, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq following suit, up about 11 and 13 points, respectively, MarketWatch reports. An upbeat report on retail sales no doubt prodded stocks upward: July sales rose a...

S&P: Oh, We Might Downgrade US Again

Worried partisanship will block meaningful debt reform

(Newser) - Standard & Poor's yesterday not only defended its decision to downgrade America's once-vaunted AAA credit rating for the first time, it warned that a second downgrade could be on the way if the US doesn't get its act together. “Compared to some other highly rated governments,...

Standard &amp; Poor&#39;s Made the Right Decision
Standard & Poor's
Made the Right Decision
OPINION
Aug 6, 2011 4:20 PM CDT

Standard & Poor's Made the Right Decision

S&P may be flawed, but that doesn't make it wrong on this one: Klein, Gandel

(Newser) - Standard & Poor's is taking a lot of criticism today of the how-can-these-geniuses-lecture-us variety. Kind of like this . All of it is warranted, writes Ezra Klein at the Washington Post . After all, the folks at S&P "didn’t just miss the bubble," he writes. "They...

Recession Worse Than Thought; GDP Growth Weak

Economy grew just 1.3% over past three months

(Newser) - We already knew the Great Recession was the worst in decades, but in fact we were even worse off than we thought, new figures show. The economy shrank 5.1% over the course of the recession, from 2007 to 2009—1 percentage point worse than the earlier estimate of 4....

59% Pessimistic About US Economy
 59% Pessimistic 
 About US Economy 
survey says
Jul 25, 2011 3:27 PM CDT

59% Pessimistic About US Economy

That's the highest level in nearly 15 years

(Newser) - With unemployment levels high and the US on the brink of default , is it any surprise that American pessimism has reached a 15-year high? A new CNN poll cited by Politico finds that 59% expect the economy to be in bad shape a year from now, the highest percentage since...

4.4M Have Been Jobless for More Than a Year

Lengthy jobless periods lead to vicious cycle of unemployment

(Newser) - Some 30% of unemployed workers across the US—about 4.4 million people—had been jobless for more than a year as of last month, Labor Department data shows. Long unemployment periods were especially pronounced in New Jersey (37.1%), Georgia (36.8%), Michigan (36.0%), South Carolina (35.7%),...

Stories 301 - 320 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser