US economy – News Stories About US economy - Page 32

Jul 30, 2007 3:44 PM CDT

Dow Shocks with 92 Point Gain

But credit worries still lurking

(Newser) - The Dow rebuffed Wall St.'s bearish ambiance today, picking up 92.84 points to close at 13,358.31. One analyst says the weekend calmed jitters that led to a 500 point bloodletting at the end of last week, and a day without any major economic shakeups or earnings...

US Economy Surpasses Forecasts

Jul 27, 2007 12:05 PM CDT

US Economy Surpasses Forecasts

Second-quarter growth rate higher than expected

(Newser) - Sumbrime-lending and housing-market woes didn't hold back the rest of the economy in the second quarter, as overall growth exceeded expectations and hit a 3.4% projected annual rate, the government said today. Economists pointed to the expanding global economy, which drives demand for exports, as well as greater business...

Home Resales Slump in June as Mortgage Rates Spike

Jul 25, 2007 1:57 PM CDT

Home Resales Slump in June as Mortgage Rates Spike

Inventories are down; prices jump

(Newser) - Sales of existing homes dropped in June to a 5-year low because of rising mortgage rates and stricter lending standards. Home resales dipped 3.8% from a 5.98 million annual rate in May to a 5.75 million rate now. "The housing recession looks far from over,"...

McDonald's Takes Good News to Go

Jul 24, 2007 2:12 PM CDT

McDonald's Takes Good News to Go

Company's strong results can't offset cost of Latin American sale

(Newser) - Despite strong global sales, McDonald’s reported a second-quarter loss today, which it attributed to its sale of Latin American franchises. The company lost $711.7 million, or 60 cents a share, but said its new offerings and value menu drew consumers, CNNMoney reports. Excluding the Latin American charge, earnings...

Bush's Failures Are Kristol Clear

Jul 18, 2007 9:22 AM CDT

Bush's Failures Are Kristol Clear

Corn fires back at neocon columnist's revisionist view of the last seven years

(Newser) - Nation editor David Corn does a double take in today's WaPo at neocon infantryman Bill Kristol's Sunday column there, which predicted the Bush presidency would go down as a success. In a blazing review of the scandals, misadventures and outright failures that have plagued the White House for the last...

China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B

Jul 10, 2007 2:59 PM CDT

China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B

Weak yuan is driving China's economy to a record expansion; trade surplus nearly doubled

(Newser) - China's trade surplus surged to a record $26.9B in June, an 87% increase since last year. Economists attribute the trade gap to China's significantly—as much as 40%—underpriced currency, the yuan, reports Bloomberg. Half of China's surplus is with the US, which recently began preparing legislation to sanction...

Zimbabwe Arrests Dozens in Price Wars

Jul 9, 2007 3:28 PM CDT

Zimbabwe Arrests Dozens in Price Wars

Businesses flout strict cost-control laws as inflation passes 3,700%

(Newser) - Police in Zimbabwe have arrested 1,328 businesspeople, including 33 top executives, for violating official price controls installed to curb uncontrollable currency devaluation. The new regulations demand that many goods' prices be cut in half in response to inflation that has now risen to more than 3,700%.

Office Rents Soar in US

Jul 5, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

Office Rents Soar in US

Companies are bearing the brunt of a price surge for commercial leases

(Newser) - The price of office space has surged nationwide due to a dwindling store of vacant commercial property and picky landlords increasingly keen on attracting well-heeled tenants. Across the country, leases spiked an average of 3.1% in the second quarter, following an increase of 2.8% in the first.

Pound Soars Against Dollar

Jul 4, 2007 1:24 PM CDT

Pound Soars Against Dollar

Sterling passes $2.02, raising hopes and filling coffers

(Newser) - The British pound climbed against the dollar today to a level not seen since June 1981, nudging past $2.02 before closing at $2.0136. The third consecutive trading session with a 26-year high came as the UK braced for a interest rate hike and the US braced for an...

Japanese Foes Thump
Big 3 in June Sales

Jul 3, 2007 5:57 PM CDT

Japanese Foes Thump Big 3 in June Sales

Figures spell especially big trouble for GM

(Newser) - GM's sales in June were down 24% from a year earlier, leading an all-American slump that saw Ford and Chrysler report downturns as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan rang up increases in figures released today. Discounts on the Tundra pickup helped Toyota jump into second place in the American market in...

Chill Spreads to Durable Goods

Jun 27, 2007 10:16 AM CDT

Chill Spreads to Durable Goods

Orders for big-ticket items plunge more than predicted, clouding recovery forecasts

(Newser) - Orders for durable goods nosedived in May, suggesting that sunny forecasts for business spending may be overly optimistic. The 2.8% drop, the first decline in 4 months, nearly tripled the predicted 1% dip, Bloomberg reports. Excluding the volatile transportation sectors, the figure was off 1%, Commerce Department stastics released...

Debt Market Booms, Risk Climbs

Jun 26, 2007 4:11 PM CDT

Debt Market Booms, Risk Climbs

Concentrated debt in the CLO market sparks a junk bond flashback

(Newser) - The undergirding of the current buyout boom is a dicey financing method called collateralized loan obligations—giant pools of bank loans packaged together by Wall Street and sold off in slices to investors, spreading the risk of default. The Journal reports that the CLO glut is ushering in an age...

Dutch Do Pensions Right

Jun 15, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Dutch Do Pensions Right

The US should read up on Social Security in the Netherlands, reports Time

(Newser) - Governments around the world are stuck between tightfisted Anglo-American pension plans that pay only a fraction of one's past salary, and extravagant European-style social security that ends up welshing on the payments. But the Dutch have struck a balance that's working, reports Time, as sufficient amounts of money are saved...

CPI Registers Spring Spike

Jun 15, 2007 11:06 AM CDT

CPI Registers Spring Spike

Energy, food drive big May bump in consumer spending as core inflation stays cool

(Newser) - The consumer price index jumped 0.7% in May, riding high energy prices to its second-biggest spike in 16 years. But the volatile food and energy sectors appeared not to disrupt the rest of the economy, MarketWatch reports. The core CPI, which excludes food and gas prices, rose only 0....

Home Foreclosures Hit Record

Jun 14, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

Home Foreclosures Hit Record

A dreary real estate market is fueling an all-time high rate of foreclosures

(Newser) - Home foreclosures hit a record high in first-quarter 2007 as more subprime borrowers failed to make their mortgage payments. The number of mortgages entering foreclosure spiked four basis points to 0.58% and over 2.4% of subprime mortgage holders defaulted, up from 2% last quarter, according to a report...

Mortgage Trouble Rattles Wall Street

Jun 14, 2007 10:54 AM CDT

Mortgage Trouble Rattles Wall Street

Bear Stearns, Goldman earnings reflect subprime bloodbath

(Newser) - Bear Stearns posted a 10% drop in quarterly earnings today, the latest victim of the subprime collapse. The country's second-largest mortgage-bond underwriter posted profits well below expectations, down nearly 33% from last year to $362 million. Goldman Sachs escaped bruised but more-or-less unscathed, with profits up 1% on the strength...

Collapse Looms in Zimbabwe

Jun 14, 2007 9:56 AM CDT

Collapse Looms in Zimbabwe

Economy may dissolve within six months as inflation spirals

(Newser) - Zimbabwe could suffer a full structural collapse in the next few months, the BBC reports. According to a memo distributed to aid workers, shops may resort to barter and utilities may shut down entirely in the country, on account of unbridled inflation that's already the world's highest at 3,714%.

Dow Falls as Bond Yields Soar

Jun 13, 2007 7:13 AM CDT

Dow Falls as Bond Yields Soar

Record high yields threaten higher mortgage rates

(Newser) - US bond yields have hit a five year high—bringing the threat of higher interest rates, costlier home mortgages and a slowing economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 5.25 per cent yesterday. Rising bond yields echo throughout the economy, making stocks less...

Hot LBO Market
Takes Hit

Jun 8, 2007 9:40 AM CDT

Hot LBO Market Takes Hit

As big-time deals struggle to manage debt, beware the Trojan piggy bank

(Newser) - The red-hot market for LBOs may be hitting a long-awaited rough patch. Several big deals—including Apollo's $1.3 billion Linens 'n Things buy and the multigroup $17.6 billion acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor Holdings—have turned sour, with the companies struggling to generate enough cash to pay down debt...

Inflation-Free Growth Is Too Good to Last

Jun 6, 2007 2:54 PM CDT

Inflation-Free Growth Is Too Good to Last

Inflation and higher interest rates could cool world markets

(Newser) - Globalization and access to low-cost labor has allowed the world economy to grow without high inflation, but this economist's dream may soon end, the Wall Street Journal predicts in a cautionary report. Demand for everything from workers to lumber is increasing, raising prices—and the prospect of higher inflation.