economy

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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 

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.

Wall Street Sneezes; Heartland Catches Cold

Worries about a recession are hitting home with Americans

(Newser) - The high-profile economic woes plaguing Wall Street and previously hot housing markets are spreading, raising the possibility of the worst recession Americans have faced in years. The New York Times crisscrosses the country, assembling anecdotal evidence—suddenly thrifty brides, unsold construction equipment, sinking earnings at FedEx—that suggests the slowdown...

Murdoch Shuts Down PageSix.com
Murdoch
Shuts Down PageSix.com

Murdoch Shuts Down PageSix.com

Online version of Post gossip column ends after 3 months

(Newser) - PageSix.com, the online version of the New York Post's celebrity gossip column, is shutting down after just three months, Gawker reports. The Rupert Murdoch project attracted 1 million pageviews last week when it published photos of Eliot Spitzer's escort, but, "given the difficulty in the economy, it was...

Americans Blame War for Economic Woes: Poll

71% see negative impact; 61% want quick withdrawal from next president

(Newser) - The Iraq war and the current economic crisis aren’t unrelated issues in the minds of most Americans, a CNN poll finds. 71% said the war, which began five years ago today, helped cause the economic storm. Just 32% support the mission, with 61% saying the new president should withdraw...

Economy in 'Sharp Decline,' Paulson Admits

He won't say recession, but treasury secretary comes close

(Newser) - Hank Paulson came closer than ever to conceding that the economy is in recession in a series of interviews yesterday, Reuters reports. Weary after a weekend in which he helped to broker Bear Stearns' fire sale to JPMorgan, the treasury secretary avoided the R-word but admitted: "There's no doubt...

State Budgets Caught in Economy's Freefall

Spending cuts, tax increases in store

(Newser) - Politicians from New York to California are wringing their hands, wondering whether to cut spending or raise taxes. As the economy barrels towards recession, income and sales taxes are coming in well below expectations, and about half the states in the country are facing budget shortfalls, the New York Times...

Gov't Will Do 'What It Takes' for Economy: Paulson

Treasury secretary backs Reserve's move to uphold Bear Stearns

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson vowed today to do “what it takes” to uphold a weak economy, the AP reports. “No one is debating the fact that this economy has slowed way down,” he said on the Sunday show circuit. "We feel it, we know it, the...

Economy in Trouble: Bush
 Economy in Trouble: Bush 

Economy in Trouble: Bush

President warns of overreaction to housing, credit crises

(Newser) - The economy is experiencing difficulties, but President Bush said today he is certain a recovery will come soon, the AP reports. “In a free-market economy there will be good times and bad times” he said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. “We’re going...

'Perfect Storm' Batters US Economy
'Perfect Storm' Batters US Economy
ANALYSIS

'Perfect Storm' Batters US Economy

Unpredictable markets continue to feed stagflation fears

(Newser) - A perfect storm of economic maladies has the US economy reeling on the edge of recession and officials struggling to limit the damage it causes, reports the New York Times. But many economists say there isn’t much the government or policy makers can do besides batten down the hatches...

Consumer Prices Flat in Feb.
 Consumer Prices Flat in Feb. 

Consumer Prices Flat in Feb.

Lack of increase means Fed has an open door to a big rate cute next week

(Newser) - Consumer prices were flat for February, pleasantly surprising economists who expected a 0.2% increase, reports the Wall Street Journal. This morning’s consumer price index eases concerns that inflation is accelerating as the economy slows, and it gives the Federal Reserve more reason to float a large interest rate...

Most Economists Say Recession Is Here

WSJ poll sees big shift toward the negative from survey five weeks ago

(Newser) - A cascade of bleak financial news has convinced most economists in a Wall Street Journal poll that the US is already in a recession. The results are markedly more negative than a similar survey only five weeks ago, and much of the foul mood can be traced to last week’...

Retail Sales Sank in February
Retail Sales
Sank in
February

Retail Sales Sank in February

Surprise drop, after January rise, stokes slowdown fears

(Newser) - Stoking fears of recession, US retail sales fell in February by .6%, the Wall Street Journal reports, despite economists' predictions of a 0.1% increase. Sales had been up a revised 0.4% in January. Factors cited in the decline include rising gas prices, falling home values, the credit crunch,...

Socialist Party Wins in Spain
Socialist Party Wins in Spain
UPDATED

Socialist Party Wins in Spain

But ruling party will fall short of majority in parliament

(Newser) - Spain's Socialist Party overcame a sputtering economy and the murder of a former councilor to win today's national election, the BBC reports. "The Spanish people have spoken clearly and have decided to open a new period without tension, without confrontation," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a...

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