economy

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Consumer Confidence Finds a New Low in January

Conference Board's index at half its year-ago value

(Newser) - Americans' mood about the economy darkened even more in January, sending a widely watched barometer of consumer sentiment to yet another new low as people worry about their jobs and watch their retirement funds dwindle. The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index edged down to 37.7 from a...

Tough Times Put Cheap Ads in Prime Time

Low airtime costs offer big audience to low-budget spots

(Newser) - The recession has pushed TV advertising rates to a relative pittance, and that’s great news for tools like the PedEgg—a callous remover—and the Snuggie—a blanket with sleeves. Though it may hurt shows’ profiles, “Act Now!” infomercial-style ads have recently broken into primetime, the Washington ...

Home Depot Hacks 7K Jobs
 Home Depot Hacks 7K Jobs 
Jan 26, 2009 8:36 AM CST

Home Depot Hacks 7K Jobs

Home-improvement giant having rough time in slow housing market

(Newser) - Home Depot says it's cutting 7,000 jobs and closing its smaller Expo chain as the recession continues to batter the nation's housing market. The nation's largest home-improvement retailer says the cuts announced this morning will affect about 2% of its workforce. Its core Home Depot stores won't be affected.

Obama Moves Quickly to Overhaul Finance Rules

Details of plan to emerge by April when prez heads to London summit

(Newser) - The Obama administration aims to quickly beef up regulation of the US financial system to stave off economic implosion, the New York Times reports. Plans include tightening rules on hedge funds, credit rating agencies, and mortgage firms, and keeping a closer watch on financial instruments at the center of the...

New Jobless Claims Leap Past Estimates

Did you ever suspect they'd go down? Me either

(Newser) - The number of new claims for jobless benefits jumped more than expected last week, as companies continue to cut jobs at a furious pace. The Labor Department reported today that initial claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 589,000, from an upwardly revised figure of 527,000 the previous week....

Geithner Confirmation Expected
 Geithner Confirmation Expected 
UPDATED
Jan 21, 2009 2:14 PM CST

Geithner Confirmation Expected

Committee grills Treasury nominee on taxes, but session lasts just four hours

(Newser) - Members of the Senate Finance Committee reprimanded Timothy Geithner today for not paying $40,000 in taxes, but appeared ready to recommend the full Senate confirm him as Treasury Secretary despite his financial infractions, Roll Call reports. “I apologize for putting you in the position where you had to...

Calm Down! 7 Reasons to Be Skeptical

 Calm Down! 
 7 Reasons to 
 Be Skeptical 
OPINION
Jan 21, 2009 10:21 AM CST

Calm Down! 7 Reasons to Be Skeptical

Yep; here are some reasons for concern and skepticism about Obama

(Newser) - Yesterday’s inauguration was such a feel-good fest, and our problems are so dire, that everybody is on board with President Obama. Leave it to Politico’s Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris, then, to give us some reasons for skepticism:
  • The genius fallacy: The best and brightest screw up,
...

EU Expects Deep, Lengthy Recession

Government spending will be only thing keeping European economies afloat

(Newser) - The European Union said today it is facing a "deep and protracted recession" with government spending the only source of growth. The 16 nations that use the euro will shrink 1.9% in 2009, with the entire EU contracting 1.8%, the European Commission forecasts. The EU will lose...

Banks Relish Public Funds, Won't Loan to Public
Banks Relish Public Funds, Won't Loan to Public
ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2009 7:35 AM CST

Banks Relish Public Funds, Won't Loan to Public

(Newser) - Banks are enjoying a public bailout of billions of dollars, but they're not using the funds the way the way they were intended—to loan money to kickstart the economy, reports the New York Times. Banks are using the bucks to pay off debts and, in some cases, acquire companies....

Crisis Turns Econ Theory on Its Ear:
Crisis Turns Econ Theory
on Its Ear:
OPINION
Jan 16, 2009 1:03 PM CST

Crisis Turns Econ Theory on Its Ear:

Models, and pols, don't account for biases, insecurities: Brooks

(Newser) - Classical economics is based on the idea that “reason rides the passions the way a rider sits atop a horse,” David Brooks writes in the New York Times—which means classical economics is pretty much out the window right now. The recession proves the market is a psychological...

Bush United Nation, But Not the Way He Planned

Americans brought together by 'desire to see him gone'

(Newser) - President Bush brought the nation together, all right—it united against him, Rosa Brooks writes in the Los Angeles Times. It's easy to feel disdain for the guy responsible for the war and the economy, the guy who said our enemies "never stop thinking about new ways to harm...

Poll: Americans' Trust in Gov't Plummeted in '08

62% trust feds less than a year ago; 65% think US is on wrong track

(Newser) - 2008 wasn’t a great year for the federal government’s reputation, with a Politico poll finding that 62% of Americans say their confidence in Washington has decreased in the past year. The main worry is the economy: 45% say that economic stimulus should be the highest priority (no other...

Retail Sales Take Steep Plunge

Fall twice as far as anticipated

(Newser) - Retail sales fell more than twice as much as analysts predicted in December, thanks to mounting job losses and reduced credit, Bloomberg reports. Sales fell 2.7%, extending the longest string of declines on record to 6 consecutive months. Purchases excluding automobiles slid 3.1%. “Consumers are pulling back,...

Bummer Economy? Move Home!
 Bummer Economy? 
 Move Home! 
Jan 13, 2009 2:08 PM CST

Bummer Economy? Move Home!

More adult children are moving in with parents

(Newser) - A bleak job market and skyrocketing rents have college grads—even working adults—boomeranging back to their childhood homes, something that's fast losing its social stigma, the Boston Globe reports. About half of adults ages 18 and 24 live with their parents.

Use Stimulus to Invest in Food Reform
 Use Stimulus to 
 Invest in Food Reform 
OPINION
Jan 12, 2009 5:19 PM CST

Use Stimulus to Invest in Food Reform

Fixing food will save health and environment

(Newser) - Just because Barack Obama has a lot of issues to deal with once he's sworn in, he shouldn't leave food reform off the table. Putting a bulk of the stimulus package toward local and regional food systems will cut costs and bring us back from the edge, Tom Philpott, founder...

Beyoncé Hit Is Soundtrack for More Market Chaos: Prof

Analysis of pop charts finds steady songs predict turbulent finance

(Newser) - Beyoncé’s smash hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" might be the harbinger of continued chaos in the financial markets, the Guardian reports. Hit songs with steady, regular rhythms—or “low beat variance”—throughout correlate with volatility in the American markets, an NYU professor...

Bush Years Were Dark for US Economy
Bush Years Were Dark for US Economy
Jan 12, 2009 11:49 AM CST

Bush Years Were Dark for US Economy

'We really went nowhere for almost 10 years,' says economist

(Newser) - The Bush years have not been good ones for the economy, the Washington Post reports, based on an analysis of economic data and discussions with economists of all stripes. Job growth for Bush’s tenure amounts to just 2%, the smallest 8-year gain on record, and GDP grew at its...

Bail Out America's Brains
 Bail Out America's Brains 
OPINION
Jan 11, 2009 10:08 AM CST

Bail Out America's Brains

To stay afloat, we need more Gateses and Jobses

(Newser) - Building roads and bridges will give our economy a short-term boost—but we need to look farther into America’s future on the global stage, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. That means investing to make sure the next Microsofts and Googles are home-grown. How? For a start,...

Happy Hour Hammers Bars in Tough Times

Restaurants sober up as patrons drink earlier to save money

(Newser) - There’s a recession on, and that’s forcing drinkers everywhere to change their schedules. These days bars are filling up in the late afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reports, as patrons pinch pennies by slurping happy hour specials. “We don’t see a change in what people are...

Obama's Contagious Calm Keeps Us Cool
 Obama's Contagious Calm 
 Keeps Us Cool 
OPINION
Jan 9, 2009 12:59 PM CST

Obama's Contagious Calm Keeps Us Cool

Prez-elect presents smooth-sailing image

(Newser) - How is it that Barack Obama’s warnings of impending doom manage to console, rather than panic, the nation? First, he’s contagiously calm, “more deliberate in his speech patter than John Wayne in a firefight,” writes Jack Shafer in Slate. The president-elect adopts a paternal tone when...

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