economy

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Surprise! Retail Sales Up 1% in Jan.

Gas prices, food and clothing spending end 6-month drop

(Newser) - In an unexpected twist, US retail sales climbed slightly in January after falling for six straight months, Bloomberg reports. Retail sales rose 1% as gasoline prices increased and consumers spent more on food and clothing, despite forecasts that sales would fall 0.8%. But consumer spending is expected to fall...

Crisis Paradox: How to Spend When You Need to Save

How to stimulate the economy without draining your account

(Newser) - While leaders encourage Americans to stimulate the economy by spending, those who have lost jobs or investments are a lot more inclined to hoard their remaining assets. But there's a way to avoid this "paradox of thrift," in which the frugal behavior that's best for an individual...

Obama: 'No Easy Out' for Wall Street

(Newser) - Hours after the Dow plunged nearly 400 points on news of his administration's plan to overhaul the banking system, President Obama said Wall Street is apparently looking for "an easy out," ABC News reports. Problem is, one doesn't exist, he tells Nightline in an interview scheduled to air...

Obama Rallies Support in Hard-Hit Fort Myers

'You have seen hardship,' Obama tells supporters

(Newser) - President Obama headed to Fort Myers, Fla., today to rally support for his economic stimulus plan, telling residents “when the town is burning, you don't check party labels. Everybody needs to grab a hose,” the Miami Herald reports. Obama picked Fort Myers because its county has the highest...

When These Companies Recover, We Recover
When These Companies Recover, We Recover
OPINION
Feb 10, 2009 10:44 AM CST

When These Companies Recover, We Recover

The signs of the turnaround will come from everyday businesses

(Newser) - The companies best-positioned to weather the recession are market-share leaders or those that sell everyday necessities, writes Douglas A. McIntyre in Newsweek. But the economic bellwethers that will herald the recovery are more likely No. 2 or No. 3 in their industries, like Target, whose quarterly numbers should indicate when...

Obama: We Can't Afford to Wait
 Obama: We Can't Afford to Wait 
UPDATED
Feb 9, 2009 11:24 AM CST

Obama: We Can't Afford to Wait

(Newser) - Barack Obama flew to the Heartland today to make his latest pitch for the stimulus package in perhaps the hardest-hit city in the country. Speaking in Elkhart, Ind., which boasts the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 15.3%, Obama said he intended to keep his campaign promise to put...

Salmonella Scare Rattles Peanut County

Farmers report fewer contracts

(Newser) - A Georgia county that boasts a big peanut in its courthouse square is getting crunched by the salmonella outbreak, the Los Angeles Times reports. In Blakely-Early County, Ga.—the self-proclaimed "Peanut Capital of the World"—peanut plant workers are losing jobs and farmers are getting fewer contracts....

Want a Car in Russia? Try Bartering Undies

(Newser) - Bartering is coming back in Russia as the credit crunch and tight monetary policy leave buyers short of cash, the New York Times reports. At 3%-4% of total sales, such swaps are rare compared to the 1990s—when 50%-75% of Russian sales were bartered—but economists are noting an upswing....

Restaurants See Economy's Effect on Bills

Newest craze is splitting the check, to servers' annoyance

(Newser) - Gone are the days when one friend would insist on picking up the dinner check—and with them, the practice of splitting bills evenly, reports the Chicago Tribune. More and more, newly budget-conscious diners are asking for itemized checks. "Why?" says one restaurant manager. "Because nobody is...

Obama: Jobs Report Proves We Can't Delay

(Newser) - Barack Obama unveiled his Paul Volcker-led economic panel today and took the opportunity to make another forceful plea for his stimulus package, CBS reports. Today’s ghastly jobs report proved “the need for wise counsel and bold and immediate action,” Obama said. “It is inexcusable and irresponsible...

Job Losses Hit 3.6M; Unemployment at 7.6%

(Newser) - Nonfarm payrolls plunged 598,000 in January, the Labor Department announced today, bringing the total job losses to 3.6 million since the recession began in December 2007. The drop was significantly worse than analysts anticipated, and the worst since December 1974, the Wall Street Journal reports. The jobless rate...

Obama Stimulus Is Good Politics, Bad Economics

(Newser) - Just days ago, President Obama said it was time for “tough choices,” but Obama himself hasn’t made the tough choices on his stimulus package, Robert Samuelson writes in the Washington Post. Obama could have opted to bolster the economy, or he could have tried to pursue a...

Campbell Brown: Bring It, Limbaugh
Campbell Brown: Bring It, Limbaugh
Feb 2, 2009 10:12 AM CST

Campbell Brown: Bring It, Limbaugh

Tells Rush to shut up or put up after he slams colleague on stimulus

(Newser) - CNN anchor Campbell Brown yesterday challenged Rush Limbaugh after he slammed her colleague’s economic analysis, the Huffington Post reports. After Limbaugh called business correspondent Ali Velshi “incompetent” on his radio program, Brown stepped in: “Rush, I would love for you to come on this show and debate...

US Consumer Spending Falls Yet Again

1% drop greater than forecast; 6 straight months of decline

(Newser) - Consumer spending fell in December to finish off its worst year since 1961, Bloomberg reports. Purchases fell 1%, topping analyst estimates of a 0.9% decline. It was the record sixth consecutive month spending has fallen, and that streak may get longer, one economist predicted. Thanks to nearly 2.6...

Ahead of Vote, Obama Makes Plea for Stimulus

Urges 'bold, swift' action, promises transparency

(Newser) - President Obama made one final pitch for his stimulus package ahead of the House vote on the bill later today. After an introduction from a pair of CEOs, Obama took the stage to urge “bold and swift” action. He said he understood skepticism about the “size and scale”...

Don't Dodge Recession: The Case Against Stimulus
Don't Dodge Recession: 
The Case Against Stimulus
ANALYSIS
Jan 28, 2009 10:45 AM CST

Don't Dodge Recession: The Case Against Stimulus

Legislation props up the weak, blows up debt

(Newser) - There’s a near-consensus in DC that the recession calls for major government action. But on the libertarian fringe is what Politico calls “the Do Nothing Crowd.” This group tends to think there's no alternative to letting the economy, which became "filled with phantom wealth," contract,...

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...

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