economy

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March Home Sales, Prices Fall
 March Home Sales, Prices Fall 
Economy
Apr 22, 2008 10:02 AM CDT

March Home Sales, Prices Fall

Buyers can't get loans, or are awaiting bigger price drops

(Newser) - Prices on existing homes fell in March, but buyers stayed away, either unable to get loans, or betting on yet bigger drops, Bloomberg reports. Sales dropped 2%, to an annual rate of 4.93 million, as the median price fell to $200,700 from $217,400 last year. The number...

Venture-Capital Investments Decline
Venture-Capital Investments Decline
Apr 19, 2008 11:20 AM CDT

Venture-Capital Investments Decline

Amount of money falls 5% vs. last year, but number of deals rises

(Newser) - Venture capitalists’ investments declined 5% in the first quarter to $7.1 billion, compared with $7.5 billion this time last year, suggesting entrepreneurial concerns over startups in a troubled economy, the AP reports. The change marks the first year-to-year dip since late 2005. Still, the figure was the fifth-largest...

IBM First Quarter Profits Jump 26%

US revenue up 6% despite slowdown

(Newser) - Bellwether IBM posted a 26% spike in profits for the first quarter, proving that some tech companies are escaping the fallout from the economic downturn. The gains include a 6% increase in American revenue to $9.9 billion and are attributed to corporate customers buying products and services designed to...

Poll: McCain Ties Obama, Beats Clinton Narrowly

Republican is trusted more than either Democrat on economy

(Newser) - John McCain is tied with Barack Obama and has a 5-point edge over Hillary Clinton in a Reuters poll out today—an improvement for the Democrats. On economic stewardship, the Republican had a 3-point margin over Obama and a 5-point margin over Clinton. The pollster said the Dems continue hurting...

Retailers Checking Out as Economy Falters

Each default brings widespread fallout

(Newser) - Stores across the country are closing their doors, the New York Times reports, victims of a downturn in consumer spending. Retailers are often heavily leveraged, and as the economy falters banks are tightening credit. Several chains, including Sharper Image, have declared bankruptcy; others like Footlocker, Ann Taylor, and Zales are...

March Foreclosures Up 57% Over Last Year; Worst Coming

February gains evaporate

(Newser) - Bank repossessions skyrocketed 129% over the 12-month period ending in March, and foreclosure filings rose 57% over the previous year, RealtyTrac announced today. March foreclosure notices rose 5%, after a 4% decline in February. All this “is ongoing fallout from people overextending themselves and using highly toxic loan products,...

Recession Not Slowing Ultrarich
 Recession Not Slowing Ultrarich 
Apr 14, 2008 10:02 AM CDT

Recession Not Slowing Ultrarich

Real estate, art, yachts still finding no shortage of willing consumers

(Newser) - As many Americans batten down the hatches, the über-rich are still living it up, the New York Times reports. Already this year, 71 New York apartments have sold for more than $10 million—compared to just 17 in 2007. The good times were so good, many say, they haven’...

Recession Zings Top Law Firms
 Recession Zings Top Law Firms 
Apr 14, 2008 3:10 AM CDT

Recession Zings Top Law Firms

Associates laid off, programs cut

(Newser) - The recession has begun to nip at the heels of New York's big law firms, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some firms are beginning to lay off associates, rescind offers to those coming out of law school, and scale back summer associate programs. It's all due to a slowdown in...

War Killing Economy, Democrat Says

Lawmaker calls war a 'leading cause' of economic woes

(Newser) - While President Bush touted a "turnaround" in Iraq today, one lawmaker called the war "a leading cause" of America's economic woes, the Swamp blog reports. Test-driving the Democrat’s new anti-war argument, Kentucky Representative John Yarmuth blasted General Petraeus for advocating “more of the same, with U....

Consumer Confidence Hits 26-Year Low
Consumer Confidence Hits 26-Year Low
Apr 11, 2008 11:10 AM CDT

Consumer Confidence Hits 26-Year Low

Index drops far below expectations on job, economy fears

(Newser) - Consumer confidence hasn’t been this low since 1982, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan index, which reported a slide to 63.2 from March’s 69.5. That was lower than even the lowest estimates in a Bloomberg analyst poll. “The consumer’s feeling increasingly hemmed in,”...

Frank is Dems' Unlikely Lead Economy Dog
Frank is Dems' Unlikely Lead Economy Dog
Profile
Apr 10, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

Frank is Dems' Unlikely Lead Economy Dog

Mass. rep huddles with Paulson, Bernanke on housing measure

(Newser) - Democratic Rep. Barney Frank has become an unlikely power player in Washington’s “new economic trio” with Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson, writes David Rogers in Politico. His pet plan—a “humongous housing deal” to steady an ailing market—might be a tough sell to the White House,...

US Recession Will Slow World Economy: IMF

Financial crisis worst since Great Depression, body says

(Newser) - The International Monetary Fund says world economic growth will slow drastically in the next two years. In its new report, the IMF states that the world downturn will be led by the US, which will slip into a "mild recession" this year, the BBC notes. The report calls the...

Silicon Valley Feels Economic Chill

Venture capital has dried up, stocks have sagged in tech hot spot

(Newser) - Venture capital in Silicon Valley is drying up as angel investors, wary of the fickle stock market and tightening credit markets, become more cautious with their cash, the New York Times reports. Their hesitance has slowed the pace of job growth and expansion at tech start-ups, and has dramatically cut...

Economy's Woes Put McCain Advisers in Spotlight

Brain trust's credentials questioned in economic slump

(Newser) - John McCain's choice of economic advisers is stirring up controversy, the Washington Post reports. Phil Gramm is vice-chairman of troubled UBS and oversaw widespread deregulation as chair of the Senate Banking Committee in the late 1990s, and Carly Fiorina was publicly ousted as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. In the current economic...

Paulson Unveils Regulatory Reforms: No Quick Fix

Focus of plan including new oversight for Fed extends beyond current woes

(Newser) - The "transformative" changes Henry Paulson has in mind for the regulation of the US economy will take years to implement, the Treasury Secretary said today. The plan would greatly increase the Fed's oversight powers, regulate the insurance industry for the first time, and add federal oversight of the mortgage...

Record 28 Million Americans to Get Food Stamps

Slip into poverty a grim economic indicator

(Newser) - In an economic indicator that paints a grim future for swaths of the US population, an all-time record 28 million Americans are expected to be close enough to poverty to receive $36 billion in food stamps in the coming fiscal year, reports the New York Times. There is a surge...

Personal Spending Slows to a Crawl in February

Inflation cooling, but consumer confidence is down

(Newser) - Personal spending—a major force in the health of the economy— rose just 0.1% in February, its smallest increase in 16 months, the Wall Street Journal reports. The increase, which actually beat analysts' estimate of a 0.1% decrease, came despite a bump in personal income and signs that...

Durable Goods, New Homes Take Hit in February

Orders for business equipment key larger-than-expected drop

(Newser) - Durable goods took an unexpected tumble in February, the Commerce Department announced today, with a 1.7% drop headlining a raft of bad economic news. Analysts expected a 0.8% increase. “Businesses definitely have shown they are beginning to retrench,” one analyst told Bloomberg. “Demand is weakening....

Bad Credit News Means Good Tidings for Analysts

Demand for financial insight buoys Breaking Views, other sites

(Newser) - The Bear Stearns crisis was bad news for many, but it was good news—or at least good business—for financial analysts at London-based Breaking Views. The credit crunch is increasing demand for the company’s financial insights, offered online and, through various partnerships, in print. Breaking Views is seizing...

Pro-China Party Wins in Taiwan
 Pro-China Party Wins in Taiwan 
Mar 22, 2008 11:02 AM CDT

Pro-China Party Wins in Taiwan

President-elect Ma favors reunification with (a democratic) China

(Newser) - Taiwan’s China-friendly opposition party handily beat the island’s ruling party in today’s presidential election, signaling smoother relations between the feuding governments, Reuters reports. President-elect Ma Ying-jeou, who won the vote over the Democratic Progressive Party 58%-42%, campaigned on a call for stronger economic ties with Beijing.

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