US economy

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

Warning to UAW: Don't Kill 'the Goose That Lays the Golden Egg'

In 'NYT' op-ed, Steven Rattner worries about strike's 'implications for our economy,' and for Biden

(Newser) - The United Auto Workers union is threatening to expand its targeted strike against Detroit's Big Three automakers if major advances aren't seen in contract negotiations by Friday. But at least one person thinks that the UAW is "overplaying its hand" in taking on Ford, General Motors, and...

Yellen: Signs Point Away From Recession

Treasury secretary expresses confidence about economy

(Newser) - Polls show Americans are feeling a bit better about the US economy lately, per the Wall Street Journal , and that includes Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Asked if the nation will be able to head off a recession while keeping inflation under control, she told Bloomberg , "I think you'd...

Fitch Downgrades US Credit Rating
Fitch Downgrades
US Credit Rating
Aug 1, 2023 5:55 PM CDT

Fitch Downgrades US Credit Rating

Agency cites mounting debt, political divisions

(Newser) - Fitch Ratings has downgraded the United States government's credit rating, citing rising debt at the federal, state, and local levels and a "steady deterioration in standards of governance" over the past two decades. The rating was cut Tuesday one notch to AA+ from AAA, the highest possible rating....

Fed Chair Says US May Have Dodged Recession

Congressional Budget Office is also predicting 'soft landing'

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve believes its policies may have helped the US economy avoid recession and achieve a "soft landing," a possibility analysts once saw as remote. In remarks after the latest interest rate rise was announced Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is no longer...

Fed Hikes Interest Rates to a 22-Year High

Quarter-point increase is 11th in 17 months

(Newser) - The expectation was that the Federal Reserve would lift its key interest rate for the 11th time in 17 months, and that's exactly what came to pass on Wednesday. The quarter-point hike brings the the Fed's short-term rate to roughly 5.3%, the highest level since 2001. As...

Biden: Future Is 'Bidenomics,' Not Trickle-Down

White House has embraced term used by president's critics

(Newser) - The term "Bidenomics" has a history of being used to criticize President Biden's policies, but the White House has decided to embrace it. The president used the term in a speech in Chicago on Wednesday, contrasting it with trickle-down economics, which he said "didn't represent the...

Wall Street Likes Latest News on Consumer Prices

4.9% inflation was a tad less than expected

(Newser) - Consumer prices in the United States rose again in April, and measures of underlying inflation stayed high, suggesting that rising costs could persist for months to come—but the annual increase came in a hair under what was expected, cheering investors. The major points:
  • Prices rose 0.4% from March
...

US Has Fewer Job Openings Than Expected

Employers post 9.6M vacancies in March, lowest figure since 2021

(Newser) - US job openings fell in March to the lowest level in nearly two years, a sign that the American labor market is cooling in the face of higher interest rates, per the AP . Employers posted 9.6 million vacancies in March, down from nearly 10 million in February, and layoffs...

Today&#39;s the Day for an Unwanted Milestone
Today's the Day
for an Unwanted Milestone
THE RUNDOWN
Jan 19, 2023 9:05 AM CST

Today's the Day for an Unwanted Milestone

US set to hit borrowing limit on Thursday, spurring what's likely to be a contentious debt-ceiling fight

(Newser) - Today's a milestone day for the Treasury Department, though it's one it had hoped wouldn't arrive. Thursday marks when the United States is expected to hit its $31.4 trillion debt cap, a borrowing limit set by Congress that means Treasury will now have to get creative...

Consumer Confidence Takes First Jump in Months

Dow rises on the news

(Newser) - The confidence of American consumers rebounded this month to end the year on a high note despite high inflation, rising interest rates that have made credit cards and mortgages more expensive, and growing anxiety about a possible recession. The Conference Board reported Wednesday that its consumer confidence index rose to...

October Inflation Report Pushes Dow Futures Way Up

Consumer inflation hit 7.7% from a year ago, the smallest gain since January

(Newser) - Price increases moderated in the United States last month in the latest sign that the inflation pressures that have gripped the nation might be easing as the economy slows and consumers grow more cautious. Consumer inflation reached 7.7% in October from a year earlier and 0.4% from September,...

GDP Growth Returns, but Economists Still Predict Recession
US Economy Bounces Back,
but It Might Be Short-Lived
THE RUNDOWN
Oct 27, 2022 11:05 AM CDT

US Economy Bounces Back, but It Might Be Short-Lived

Things are worse than growth figures suggest, analysts say

(Newser) - The US economy grew at a better-than-expected 2.6% annual rate from July through September, snapping two straight quarters of economic contraction and overcoming punishingly high inflation and interest rates, the A P reports—but many economists say the outlook is worse than the figures suggest. Thursday's estimate from...

GDP Report Contains Informal Sign of a Recession

US economy shrank for 2nd quarter in a row

(Newser) - The US economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product—the broadest gauge of the economy—...

Falling Productivity May Signal Trouble Despite Strong Hiring

NYT columnist says productivity is a better economic indicator than jobs

(Newser) - June's employment report surprised most analysts, as US businesses added 372,000 jobs, way above expectations. The strong numbers dampened talk of impending recession, but what do they say about the strength of the economy overall? By themselves, they don’t really say much, according to New York Times ...

Commerce Chief: Let's Stop 'Talking Ourselves Into a Recession'

Gina Raimondo says a severe downturn is not inevitable

(Newser) - Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is worried that talk of a recession will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. In an ABC News interview Sunday with George Stephanopoulos on This Week, Raimondo recounted a recent conversation with an unnamed CEO. "He said, 'The economy's strong. Customers are buying. Businesses are...

Restaurant Owner's Survival: Working 72-Hour Weeks

Half of small businesses say their rent has increased in the last 6 months

(Newser) - The rent has come due for America’s small businesses and at a very inopportune time. Landlords were lenient about rent payments during the first two years of the pandemic. Now, many are asking for back rent, and some are raising the current rent as well. Meanwhile, most of the...

What to Do, and Not to Do, as a Recession Looms
What to Do, and Not to Do,
as a Recession Looms
the rundown
Jun 16, 2022 9:55 AM CDT

What to Do, and Not to Do, as a Recession Looms

Dow drops below 30K as bear market deepens

(Newser) - The stock market actually rose Wednesday in the immediate aftermath of the Fed's decision to raise rates by a whopping 0.75% . Thursday, not so much. Major indexes fell more than 2% in early trading and sent the Dow below 30,000, its lowest level in more than a...

Elon Musk Has 'Super Bad Feeling' About Economy

He says Tesla needs to cut 10% of jobs

(Newser) - Just days after he declared that working from home was unacceptable, Elon Musk has decided some Tesla employees don't need to come back at all. In an email to execs seen by Reuters, the Tesla CEO says he is planning to cut around 10% of jobs at the company...

Bank CEO: 'Brace Yourself' for an Economic 'Hurricane'

'We don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy,' Jamie Dimon says

(Newser) - The chief of America's largest bank says an economic "hurricane" is brewing and the Federal Reserve will face a huge challenge as it tries to rein in inflation without causing a recession. "Right now it's kind of sunny, things are doing fine. Everyone thinks the Fed...

April Report Holds Tentative Sign Inflation Could Be Peaking

It hit 8.3% last month, but slowed from 40-year high

(Newser) - Inflation slowed in April after seven months of relentless gains, a tentative sign that price increases may be peaking while still imposing a financial strain on American households. Consumer prices jumped 8.3% last month from 12 months earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That was below the 8.5%...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>