US economy – News Stories About US economy - Page 32

Aug 7, 2007 10:45 AM CDT

And He's Not Going to Take It Anymore

'Mad Money' madman Cramer snaps, beseeches Bernanke to cut rates

(Newser) - In YouTube's most watched video today, CNBC's Jim Cramer blasts Fed chairman Ben Bernanke for signaling that he won't cut interest rates, calling the present stay-the-course market situation "Armageddon." As his dumbfounded interlocutor looks on, the "Mad Money" host pounds the table and thunders that the "...

Montana's Terror Economy

Aug 5, 2007 5:05 PM CDT

Montana's Terror Economy

(Newser) - Out-migration has devastated the small towns of Montana, novelist Deirdre McNamer writes in an op-ed in today's Times. Salvation has come in the improbable form of Operation Noble Mustang. The US government program uses prisoners to train wild horses from federal land holdings for use by border guards patrolling for...

Jobless Rate Rises While
GDP Rebounds

Aug 3, 2007 12:44 PM CDT

Jobless Rate Rises While GDP Rebounds

Economic growth balances looming threat of inflation

(Newser) - The unemployment rate increased slightly in the second quarter, but the GDP recovered after a lackluster first quarter, providing Wall Street with a mixed report card of the nation’s economy as the Fed meets to determine interest rates. Unemployment ticked up 0.1% to 4.6%, hastened by losses...

Price Cuts Ruin Zimbabwe's Economy

Aug 2, 2007 10:53 AM CDT

Price Cuts Ruin Zimbabwe's Economy

Mugabe's radical 'solution' to spiraling inflation backfires

(Newser) - A radical attempt to curb Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation by cutting prices up to 50% has backfired on President Robert Mugabe's government, which is now teetering on the brink of collapse, the New York Times reports. Store shelves are empty; bread, sugar, and cornmeal, the staples of Zimbabwean's diet, are depleted.

Markets Ignore Upbeat News, Head Down

Jul 31, 2007 3:54 PM CDT

Markets Ignore Upbeat News, Head Down

Oil hits new record at $78; all major indexes down more than 1%

(Newser) - The Dow started was up triple digits in early trading today before plunging to close down 146.32 points at 13211.59. A report of improved consumer confidence and better-than-expected inflation data distracted traders from the ongoing credit earthquake and its tremors in the housing market, but the reentry of...

Indian Parents Spend It Like Beckham

Jul 31, 2007 11:20 AM CDT

Indian Parents Spend It Like Beckham

Birthday parties rival weddings as Indian wealth soars

(Newser) - As the Indian economy skyrockets to new levels, so do the price tags of kids' birthday parties, the Washington Post reports. The celebrations are providing a golden opportunity for parents to showcase their little darlings—and their new prosperity. Some predict the birthday hoopla—complete with party planners, catered halls,...

Dow Shocks with 92 Point Gain

Jul 30, 2007 3:44 PM CDT

Dow Shocks with 92 Point Gain

But credit worries still lurking

(Newser) - The Dow rebuffed Wall St.'s bearish ambiance today, picking up 92.84 points to close at 13,358.31. One analyst says the weekend calmed jitters that led to a 500 point bloodletting at the end of last week, and a day without any major economic shakeups or earnings...

US Economy Surpasses Forecasts

Jul 27, 2007 12:05 PM CDT

US Economy Surpasses Forecasts

Second-quarter growth rate higher than expected

(Newser) - Sumbrime-lending and housing-market woes didn't hold back the rest of the economy in the second quarter, as overall growth exceeded expectations and hit a 3.4% projected annual rate, the government said today. Economists pointed to the expanding global economy, which drives demand for exports, as well as greater business...

Home Resales Slump in June as Mortgage Rates Spike

Jul 25, 2007 1:57 PM CDT

Home Resales Slump in June as Mortgage Rates Spike

Inventories are down; prices jump

(Newser) - Sales of existing homes dropped in June to a 5-year low because of rising mortgage rates and stricter lending standards. Home resales dipped 3.8% from a 5.98 million annual rate in May to a 5.75 million rate now. "The housing recession looks far from over,"...

McDonald's Takes Good News to Go

Jul 24, 2007 2:12 PM CDT

McDonald's Takes Good News to Go

Company's strong results can't offset cost of Latin American sale

(Newser) - Despite strong global sales, McDonald’s reported a second-quarter loss today, which it attributed to its sale of Latin American franchises. The company lost $711.7 million, or 60 cents a share, but said its new offerings and value menu drew consumers, CNNMoney reports. Excluding the Latin American charge, earnings...

Bush's Failures Are Kristol Clear

Jul 18, 2007 9:22 AM CDT

Bush's Failures Are Kristol Clear

Corn fires back at neocon columnist's revisionist view of the last seven years

(Newser) - Nation editor David Corn does a double take in today's WaPo at neocon infantryman Bill Kristol's Sunday column there, which predicted the Bush presidency would go down as a success. In a blazing review of the scandals, misadventures and outright failures that have plagued the White House for the last...

China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B

Jul 10, 2007 2:59 PM CDT

China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B

Weak yuan is driving China's economy to a record expansion; trade surplus nearly doubled

(Newser) - China's trade surplus surged to a record $26.9B in June, an 87% increase since last year. Economists attribute the trade gap to China's significantly—as much as 40%—underpriced currency, the yuan, reports Bloomberg. Half of China's surplus is with the US, which recently began preparing legislation to sanction...

Zimbabwe Arrests Dozens in Price Wars

Jul 9, 2007 3:28 PM CDT

Zimbabwe Arrests Dozens in Price Wars

Businesses flout strict cost-control laws as inflation passes 3,700%

(Newser) - Police in Zimbabwe have arrested 1,328 businesspeople, including 33 top executives, for violating official price controls installed to curb uncontrollable currency devaluation. The new regulations demand that many goods' prices be cut in half in response to inflation that has now risen to more than 3,700%.

Office Rents Soar in US

Jul 5, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

Office Rents Soar in US

Companies are bearing the brunt of a price surge for commercial leases

(Newser) - The price of office space has surged nationwide due to a dwindling store of vacant commercial property and picky landlords increasingly keen on attracting well-heeled tenants. Across the country, leases spiked an average of 3.1% in the second quarter, following an increase of 2.8% in the first.

Pound Soars Against Dollar

Jul 4, 2007 1:24 PM CDT

Pound Soars Against Dollar

Sterling passes $2.02, raising hopes and filling coffers

(Newser) - The British pound climbed against the dollar today to a level not seen since June 1981, nudging past $2.02 before closing at $2.0136. The third consecutive trading session with a 26-year high came as the UK braced for a interest rate hike and the US braced for an...

Japanese Foes Thump
Big 3 in June Sales

Jul 3, 2007 5:57 PM CDT

Japanese Foes Thump Big 3 in June Sales

Figures spell especially big trouble for GM

(Newser) - GM's sales in June were down 24% from a year earlier, leading an all-American slump that saw Ford and Chrysler report downturns as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan rang up increases in figures released today. Discounts on the Tundra pickup helped Toyota jump into second place in the American market in...

Chill Spreads to Durable Goods

Jun 27, 2007 10:16 AM CDT

Chill Spreads to Durable Goods

Orders for big-ticket items plunge more than predicted, clouding recovery forecasts

(Newser) - Orders for durable goods nosedived in May, suggesting that sunny forecasts for business spending may be overly optimistic. The 2.8% drop, the first decline in 4 months, nearly tripled the predicted 1% dip, Bloomberg reports. Excluding the volatile transportation sectors, the figure was off 1%, Commerce Department stastics released...

Debt Market Booms, Risk Climbs

Jun 26, 2007 4:11 PM CDT

Debt Market Booms, Risk Climbs

Concentrated debt in the CLO market sparks a junk bond flashback

(Newser) - The undergirding of the current buyout boom is a dicey financing method called collateralized loan obligations—giant pools of bank loans packaged together by Wall Street and sold off in slices to investors, spreading the risk of default. The Journal reports that the CLO glut is ushering in an age...

Dutch Do Pensions Right

Jun 15, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Dutch Do Pensions Right

The US should read up on Social Security in the Netherlands, reports Time

(Newser) - Governments around the world are stuck between tightfisted Anglo-American pension plans that pay only a fraction of one's past salary, and extravagant European-style social security that ends up welshing on the payments. But the Dutch have struck a balance that's working, reports Time, as sufficient amounts of money are saved...

CPI Registers Spring Spike

Jun 15, 2007 11:06 AM CDT

CPI Registers Spring Spike

Energy, food drive big May bump in consumer spending as core inflation stays cool

(Newser) - The consumer price index jumped 0.7% in May, riding high energy prices to its second-biggest spike in 16 years. But the volatile food and energy sectors appeared not to disrupt the rest of the economy, MarketWatch reports. The core CPI, which excludes food and gas prices, rose only 0....