US economy

Stories 381 - 400 | << Prev   Next >>

Recession's Over, Need for More Stimulus Isn't

Job market needs big improvements now to avoid a troubled future

(Newser) - The recession may technically be over but that's no reason for policymakers to start hanging up "Mission Accomplished" banners, writes Paul Krugman. Getting complacent about the state of the economy will result in a vast amount of human misery, he says, because the job market is still terrible and...

Rise in Mergers Signals Fresh Confidence
Rise in Mergers 
Signals Fresh Confidence 
ANALYSIS
Sep 29, 2009 3:00 AM CDT

Rise in Mergers Signals Fresh Confidence

Chief execs becoming more bullish about recovery prospects

(Newser) - Mergers and acquisitions activity is still way down from pre-financial crisis levels, but a recent flurry of big deals suggests America's chief executives are regaining confidence in their own businesses. Recent mergers have involved strategic buys by big companies instead of the debt-fueled private equity buys seen a couple of...

Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1
 Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1 
Sep 27, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1

Ratio hits worst level since recording began in 2000

(Newser) - Even as the US pulls out of the recession, the ranks of the out-of-work have swelled to 14.5 million people, leaving six jobless people vying for every available job—the worst ratio since the Labor Department began keeping track in 2000. "There's too much uncertainty out there,"...

G20 Near Deal to Open Economies to Scrutiny

'Peer review' system will let nations assess each other's policies

(Newser) - The G20 is on the brink of a deal this morning that will require members to "peer review" one another's economic policies—a substantial shift that will expose the US and China to wider scrutiny from less wealthy countries. The new top table for international negotiation wants less American...

Geithner Warns of Long, Hard Road Ahead

Administration a long way from saying 'mission accomplished' on financial crisis

(Newser) - The economy is no longer on the brink of the abyss but there's a long way to go before recovery takes hold, Tim Geithner warned yesterday. The Treasury secretary told a congressional committee that while the financial system is showing signs of better health, regulation of the financial system needs...

Forget Health Reform&mdash;We Can't Afford It
Forget Health Reform—We Can't Afford It
OPINION
Sep 10, 2009 8:50 AM CDT

Forget Health Reform—We Can't Afford It

The economy should be Obama's top priority: Henninger

(Newser) - Barack Obama makes health care sound like the most pressing issue in American life, but with unemployment at 10% and the country still officially in recession, Daniel Henninger wonders why he's "draining a dwindling reservoir of presidential capital." The cost of health care may be a problem for...

Dropout Rates Turning US Colleges Into 'Failure Factories'

Students' failure to make it to the finish line is dragging down the economy

(Newser) - The failure of America's colleges to turn more freshmen into graduates is doing huge amounts of damage to the economy, David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times. Only half of those enrolled in college emerge with a degree, the worst rate of any developed country except Italy. This dismal...

In Recovery, Business Will Profit at Workers' Expense

Short-term outlook 'great for business, terrible for households'

(Newser) - The economy is slowly improving, but companies will see the benefits long before the unemployed and underemployed will, Bloomberg reports. A Department of Labor report released yesterday found that the average workweek is at a near-record low of 33.1 hours. The lack of uptick in part-time hours is an...

Obama: Ignore Reform 'Rumors'

(Newser) - President Barack Obama asked Americans to put no stock in "outlandish rumors" that health care reform will "promote euthanasia, or cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care," in his weekly radio and Internet address today. "That's simply not true." Politico noted...

Job Losses Slow, Unemployment Dips to 9.4%

(Newser) - Job losses slowed more than expected last month, and unemployment fell from 9.5% to 9.4% in its first dip since April 2008, the Labor Department announced today, marking another strong positive sign for the economy. Payrolls fell by 247,000, a big improvement over the 443,000 lost...

McCain: Obama Governing From 'Far Left'
McCain: Obama Governing
From 'Far Left'
interview
Aug 1, 2009 8:34 AM CDT

McCain: Obama Governing From 'Far Left'

He blasts policies in interview, praises Palin for energizing party

(Newser) - John McCain is busier, and angrier, than ever, writes Stephen Moore in the Wall Street Journal. The senator has become one of the fiercest critics of Obamanomics, with free-flowing stimulus and bailout dollars re-energizing his career-long fight against pork-barrel spending. President Obama was elected to govern from the center, McCain...

Bernanke Defends Bailouts in First Fed Town Hall Meeting

(Newser) - Fed chief Ben Bernanke fielded questions from the public in an unprecedented town hall meeting last night, the Kansas City star reports. Sounding every bit like a candidate running for office, Bernanke defended his moves during the recession and financial crisis, saying he had learned from his predecessors' mistakes in...

Good News: We've Hit Bottom!
Good News: We've Hit Bottom!
Analysis
Jul 24, 2009 9:13 AM CDT

Good News: We've Hit Bottom!

Of course, the bad news is: We've hit bottom!

(Newser) - Former Fed vice chairman Alan Blinder has some good news and some bad news about the economy, and it’s the same news: We’ve hit bottom. Third-quarter GDP should turn positive, and the fourth quarter could even hold an upside surprise. Growth of 3% or even 4% is utterly...

Economy 'Back From the Abyss:' Summers

(Newser) - President Obama's top economist is confident that swift action by the administration averted disaster, ABC News reports. “We were at the brink of catastrophe at the beginning of the year,” Larry Summers says, “but we have walked some substantial distance back from the abyss.” Summers credits...

Nice Trip, Now Get Back to Work, Mr. President

(Newser) - President Obama got his usual hero's welcome overseas, but this trip seemed "jarring and discordant" back in the US, writes Cynthia Tucker in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Our economic news keeps getting worse by the day, yet at summit after summit, “photos of the Obamas in resplendent, gold-bedecked palaces...

Buffett: Economy Still in 'Shambles'

It'll take a while to 'wring out excesses'

(Newser) - The US economy is still in “shambles” even though the crisis in the financial system has abated, Warren Buffett told CNBC today. “It takes a while,” the investor said. “There were a lot of excesses to be wrung out and that process is still underway.”...

Recession Will End This Year
 Recession Will 
 End This Year 
OECD report
Jun 24, 2009 6:53 AM CDT

Recession Will End This Year

But growth will be sluggish through 2010, says Paris development group

(Newser) - The US recession will end this year, but fragile financial markets and sapped consumer wealth will keep the pace of recovery sluggish, an influential Paris-based economic prognosticator said today. The OECD—Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development—predicted that the US economy will shrink by 2.8% this year and...

Burgeoning Interest Rates Threaten to Stifle Recovery

Demand for refinancing shrivels as 30-year rates hit 5.75%

(Newser) - The steady rise in interest rates over recent weeks is threatening to trample the green shoots of recovery in the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates on 30-year mortgages hit 5.79% yesterday, more than a point above the 4.75% "trigger" level analysts say spurred the...

US Trading Partners See Huge GDP Falls

Mexico contracts 21.5% as American demand dries up

(Newser) - Yesterday Mexico became the latest country to disclose a sharp economic contraction as a result of the slowdown in US consumption of imported goods. Mexican GDP fell at an annualized rate of 21.5% in the first quarter, following Germany, down 14.4%, and Japan, 15.2%—its worst performance...

College Grads Face Years of Lower Wages

Economists pile on the bad news for the struggling class of '09

(Newser) - The recession will mean paltry pay for the Class of '09 for many years to come, economists tell the Wall Street Journal. College grads are entering the toughest labor market in 25 years and competition is driving down starting wages for those lucky enough to land jobs, an effect research...

Stories 381 - 400 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser