US economy – News Stories About US economy - Page 33

Dow Closes Down 80.86 on Inflation Scare

Jun 5, 2007 2:55 PM CDT

Dow Closes Down 80.86 on Inflation Scare

Bernanke comment, retail profit warnings contribute to slump

(Newser) - The Dow fell 80.86 points today, closing at 13,595.46 after companies in the retail sector issued warnings of reduced profits and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke commented that inflation risks are still high. "There are a lot of little things out there that are scaring the market,...

A Steak-House View of the Economy

May 30, 2007 4:01 PM CDT

A Steak-House View of the Economy

Ribeyes are grreat predictors of business performance, says Daniel Gross

(Newser) - High-end steak houses like Ruth's Chris and Peter Luger are a great place to study trends affecting the US economy, argues Slate's Daniel Gross. The price of sirloin, for instance, reflects the recent spike in energy prices, as demand for ethanol has raised the price of corn, which is what...

Interest Rate Cut Triggers Panic in Iran

May 25, 2007 2:05 PM CDT

Interest Rate Cut Triggers Panic in Iran

President goes over finance minister's head, ignites sell-off

(Newser) - Iran's erratic president has set off a stock market scare by ordering banks to slash interest rates, despite high inflation and lots of expert advice to the contrary. The move sparked panicked selling and fears of a full-blown financial crisis, the Guardian reports. The new decreed rate is 12%, down...

Top Executive Salaries Soar

May 25, 2007 8:00 AM CDT

Top Executive Salaries Soar

Gap between the CEO and the cubicle is wider than ever

(Newser) - The top bananas of the corporate world are taking in more income in relation to their immediate subordinates than ever before, the Times reports. Wealth is concentrating among the business elite but staying somewhat stagnant among more middling execs—the average gap between #1 and #3 has more than tripled...

Monthly Housing Sales Jump

May 24, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

Monthly Housing Sales Jump

But prices are way, way down

(Newser) - The real estate market had a volatile April, with home sales rising at their fastest rate in 14 years. But the 16% spike in sales over the previous month hid a more complicated reality: New home prices dropped by a record 11%, according to Commerce Department figures released today, and...

China Deals
on Finance,
Skips Currency

May 23, 2007 4:59 PM CDT

China Deals on Finance, Skips Currency

US-China talks bring good news for securities firms, but no yuan reform

(Newser) - Talks between American and Chinese economic officials thudded to a close today, offering mild changes to the financial sector in lieu of major currency reform. The deal hammered out by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and China's vice-premier Wu Yi promise foreign financial companies more access to Chinese markets and allows...

Booming India Is
Starved for Power

May 21, 2007 8:35 AM CDT

Booming India Is Starved for Power

Chronic electricity shortages belie booming economy

(Newser) - India's economy is growing so fast it has outstripped its electrical capacity, leaving burgeoning businesses, industries and homes to generate their own power with soot-belching diesel-powered generators for hours every day. Half of India's populace has no connection to the grid at all, and new construction often goes up without...

China Loosens Up on Yuan

May 18, 2007 10:40 AM CDT

China Loosens Up on Yuan

Currency move may be concession to US—or attempt to pop a stock market bubble

(Newser) - Just days before a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, China is taking baby steps toward letting its currency trade more freely. The government also raised interest rates and the reserve on bank loans today, signaling concern over the country's red-hot economy. China's trade surplus—which some American politicos...

Wal-Mart Posts Record Sales Decline

May 10, 2007 9:10 PM CDT

Wal-Mart Posts Record Sales Decline

Drop in business at megachain worst in 28 years

(Newser) - Wal-Mart reported a 3.5% decline in sales this April, the wost monthly result the retailer has announced in nearly three decades of announcing. The figures, for stores open at least a year, reflect an early Easter, bad weather, and a rejiggered sales calendar that gave Wal-Mart positive numbers in...

Fed Holds Interest Rates Steady

May 9, 2007 2:26 PM CDT

Fed Holds Interest Rates Steady

Unanimous vote seeks to stave off inflation

(Newser) - The Fed held the benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25% today in an unsurprising statement that prompted little reaction from the market. The unanimous vote reflects concerns about a faltering housing market, slowed growth, and persistent fears about core inflation, which the Fed continues to consider "somewhat elevated....

Home Prices Boom, In
Select Cities

May 9, 2007 10:28 AM CDT

Home Prices Boom, In Select Cities

Cities that sat out the bubble are showing gains despite overall slump

(Newser) - Despite the real estate slump, several cities are seeing double-digit gains in housing prices: Portland, Boise, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Houston, Austin, Charlotte and Raleigh aren't feeling the bubble blues—in part because they missed out on the bubble.

Layoffs Sink Stock Prices, Says Study

Apr 29, 2007 8:00 AM CDT

Layoffs Sink Stock Prices, Says Study

Forget the Seven Percent Rule; workforce morale critical to value

(Newser) - Economists have long doubted the precept that cutting a company's payroll will lead to a spike in its stock price. But try telling that to CEOs, who are still trying to emulate the turnarounds achieved by G.E. and Proctor & Gamble. Now, a study reveals that markets actually have...

Economy Slumps to 4-Year Low

Apr 27, 2007 11:11 AM CDT

Economy Slumps to 4-Year Low

Weak home sales, high oil prices drive slowdown

(Newser) - The country's economic growth has dwindled to its lowest rate in four years, with the housing slowdown, high energy prices, and a looming trade deficit driving lower-than-expected numbers released today. The economy grew 1.3% in the first quarter of 2007, down from 2.5% in the last three months...

Dow Breaks 13,000
In Record Close

Apr 25, 2007 3:50 PM CDT

Dow Breaks 13,000 In Record Close

(Newser) - The Dow Jones surged to a record close this afternoon, riding better-than-expected durable good orders in March and soaring profits from online bellweather Amazon to close just past 13,000. News that Alcoa was exploring plans to sell its packaging and consumer business also buoyed shareholders.

BlackBerry Blackout Lasts 12 Hours

Apr 19, 2007 8:57 AM CDT

BlackBerry Blackout Lasts 12 Hours

Millions of data and email addicts left jonesing during service outage

(Newser) - Five million BlackBerry scrollers in the U.S. and Asia were stymied for 12 hours over Tuesday night and yesterday morning while Research in Motion frantically fixed a service outage. Early-riser Wall Streeters working on deals with London were particularly annoyed by the downtime. Experts surmise the blackout was a...

Ethanol Could Fuel Recession

Apr 9, 2007 1:38 PM CDT

Ethanol Could Fuel Recession

Demand for grain triggers shortage

(Newser) - Demand for grain for biofuels like ethanol is spurring global food shortages and sending prices soaring—and could trigger a recession, warns the Wall Street Journal. Food prices are already skyrocketing in economies as diverse as India, China, Germany, the U.K., and South Africa. American consumers are likely to...

Fake Raids Test Iraqi Reconstruction

Mar 22, 2007 11:13 AM CDT

Fake Raids Test Iraqi Reconstruction

U.S. aid to small businesses works only if it's invisible. Otherwise, companies get 'immediately shot or blown up.'

(Newser) - The American military is staging fake raids on Iraqi small businesses to confirm that US aid is being well spent—without tipping off insurgents that they have any US connection. "The only way things will work is if the US contribution is totally invisible," says a civil-affairs officer,...

Does Saudi Arabia Have a Dubai Complex?

Mar 12, 2007 1:23 PM CDT

Does Saudi Arabia Have a Dubai Complex?

Building binge aims to diversify boom-or-bust oil economy

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia is on a building binge. King Abdullah City—a planned $26.7-billion development where multi-million-dollar yachts will dock in the ports that currently welcome 300,000 Mecca-bound pilgrims—is one of five major “economic cities” the government is building in an attempt to spur private-sector growth and...

China Embraces Private Property

Mar 9, 2007 8:57 PM CST

China Embraces Private Property

Bill reassures urban middle class, decried by advocates of the poor

(Newser) - China's burgeoning middle class will be feeling a little more secure next week, when the National People's Congress is expected to pass the country's first property-rights bill. The measure has become a lightening rod for criticism of China’s leadership, with communists using it as evidence that the government is...

Greenspan Sees Recession

Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST

Greenspan Sees Recession

Former fed chairman forecasts end of cycle as early as this year

(Newser) - Back when bankers and investors hung on his every word, Alan Greenspan was caution itself in public pronouncements . But yesterday the former chairman took the rare step of predicting the onset of an out-and-out recession. Speaking via satellite to a business conference in Hong Kong, Greenspan said the US. economy...