economy

Stories 681 - 700 | << Prev   Next >>

Fannie/Freddie Troubles Signal Sea Change in Gov't Role

Feds now effectively the only lender in town

(Newser) - The teetering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has underscored a major shift in US finance, writes Peter S. Goodman in the New York Times—once simply another guarantor, the government has effectively become the only lender in town "for millions of Americans engaged in the largest transactions of...

Washington Seeks Rescue of Freddie and Fannie

White House asks Congress to approve package

(Newser) - After a frenzied week that saw Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac teeter near collapse, the US Treasury and Federal Reserve are seeking to save the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies. Officials say that the plan, if approved by Congress, will let the government buy billions of dollars in Freddie...

Gramm's Got It: We Are Whining
 Gramm's Got It: 
 We Are Whining 
OPINION
Jul 12, 2008 12:31 PM CDT

Gramm's Got It: We Are Whining

He's talking real economics–not 'campaign econ'

(Newser) - When John McCain aide Phil Gramm said America is in a “mental recession,” not a real one, he was speaking with much-needed honesty and accuracy, Amity Shlaes writes in the Washington Post. Gramm has faced an avalanche of bad press for speaking candidly rather than from the perspective...

Against the Odds, Maserati Sales Jump

12-MPG, $115K sports car sees 20% US growth so far in '08

(Newser) - Buoyed by wealthy, middle-aged men who can afford to defy high gas prices and a plummeting economy, sales of Maserati luxury cars are up in the US this year, Bloomberg reports. Common brands like Lexus and BMW have seen sales fall, but the very rich don't skimp when they see...

Drown Money Woes With Cups of Joe
Drown Money Woes With
Cups of Joe
Jul 10, 2008 11:01 AM CDT

Drown Money Woes With Cups of Joe

Starbucks hopes sweet new deals will combat sales slump

(Newser) - While Congress worries about what to do for Americans squeezed by gas prices, Starbucks has its own ideas. To lure back people who are cutting pricey lattes out of the budget, new promotions are being launched around the country, writes the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 

Economists 'Endorsing' Mac Plan Didn't See Fine Print

Of 300 signed on to support jobs plan, many tepid, or worse, on his overall agenda

(Newser) - On Monday, John McCain's campaign released a pledge of support for the candidate’s “Jobs for America” plan signed by 300 economists. But, Politico found in interviews with a sample of the signatories, many didn’t actually support many of the policy prescriptions in the Republican's plan—and one...

Mother Nature's Wrath Creates Prosperity

Disasters spur economic growth, but at what cost?

(Newser) - Casualties aside, natural disasters may not be so devastating after all. Catastrophes like the recent earthquake in China destroy old buildings and roads, making way for new and improved infrastructure that may not have been created otherwise and pumping cash into the economy. In the long term, updated technology and...

McCain Vows to Balance the Budget
McCain Vows
to Balance
the Budget
Jul 7, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

McCain Vows to Balance the Budget

Social Security reform one scenario; Dems call plan unrealistic

(Newser) - John McCain will pledge to balance the budget by the end of his first term, Politico reports, promising spending and entitlement programs, including Social Security, in a policy paper released today. McCain is renewing a promise he’d backed off from in April—a vow likely to excite his fellow...

$6 Gas Possible by Year's End
 $6 Gas Possible by Year's End 
Jul 7, 2008 7:38 AM CDT

$6 Gas Possible by Year's End

With oil near $150 a barrel, experts say $200 is a very real number for 2008

(Newser) - As oil flirts with $150 a barrel, nearly double its price from last year, the specter of $6 a gallon gas at US pumps has become more real. A plethora of factors—from the threat of conflict with Iran to tight supplies and a weak dollar—continue to exert upward...

US Lost 62K Jobs in June
 US Lost 62K Jobs in June 
Jul 3, 2008 8:23 AM CDT

US Lost 62K Jobs in June

US payrolls suffer sixth straight monthly decline

(Newser) - US employers, battered by rising fuel prices and a stuttering economy, continued to cut payrolls in June, eliminating some 62,000 jobs. It was the sixth straight monthly drop, reports the Wall Street Journal, and nearly 13% more than economists expected. Payrolls have fallen 438,000 so far this year,...

Tough Job Market May Last Through Late 2009

'Slow motion' recession will continue to pare jobs

(Newser) - US jobs are eroding and they're unlikely to rebound until late 2009, reports the New York Times. May’s 5.5% unemployment rate is a point higher than a year ago and the 9.7% underemployed rate is up from 8.3% in May 2007, reports the Labor Department—which...

Starbucks to Close 600 Stores Across US

Most of the shuttering shops opened after October 2005

(Newser) - Starbucks will close hundreds of stores across the US in its newest attempt to boost deflated profits, the Seattle Times reports. In the next nine months, about 600 stores are getting the ax, most of which opened after October 2005. About 12,000 employees will lose their jobs, but the...

Americans Have Less in Their Shopping Carts

Downsizing on the rise, whether consumers notice it or not

(Newser) - Food prices are rising, but thanks to some chicanery on product labels, many Americans may not realize it. Instead of raising prices, manufacturers are slimming cereal boxes, juice cartons, and bars of soap, and they’re doing it very quietly. If asked, they’ll say it offsets rising fuel and...

Windsor Bills a Royal Pain for Taxpayers

Monarchy subsists on $80M in public money each year

(Newser) - Britain’s royal family is facing the effects of tough financial times, ABC News reports—but it's easier to cope when you have taxpayers to foot the monarchy's $80 million in annual expenses. While that’s just $1.30 per taxpayer, Buckingham Palace says, critics note unnecessary expenses, like a...

Cash-Strapped Dieters Drop Weight Loss Programs

Millions drop Weight Watchers

(Newser) - Millions of Americans are getting fat on the economic downturn—but not in a good way. As prices for essentials like gas and food spiral, the 20% of the population on a diet are turning away from highly structured weight loss programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers in search...

Forget Iraq, US Is in Need of Nation-Building

Healing country is top priority in November, Friedman writes

(Newser) - The key issue in the presidential election won’t be national security or Iraq, as many once believed—it will be how to fix our ailing nation at home, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. “We are a country in debt and in decline—not terminal, not...

For Venture Capitalists, Wells Run Dry

None of investors' gambles go public in second quarter

(Newser) - Wall Street has not been kind to venture capitalists in the second quarter. For the first time since 1978, not one company they backed went public, taking away their source of big paydays, the New York Times  reports. Observers cite a number of reasons, including lousy market conditions, a shift...

Aussie Minister Ditches Economy for Wombats

Treasury boss going incommunicado during recess to help save endangered critters

(Newser) - The Australian economy might be wobbly, but the treasury secretary would rather be off romping with northern hairy-nosed wombats, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reports. Ken Henry is unapologetically using the legislature's 5-week winter recess to tend to a small population of endangered critters—to the baying of opposition politicians worried over...

Forget the Rebound; 'This Thing's Going Down'
 Forget the Rebound; 'This Thing's Going Down'
OPINION
Jun 27, 2008 8:43 AM CDT

Forget the Rebound; 'This Thing's Going Down'

We can't expect a quick recovery from the economic downturn

(Newser) - A cycle has emerged in the economic mood of recent months: a round of bad news sends markets into a tailspin, then things appear to improve, complete with predictions that the worst is behind us, only to fall apart again, writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. It’s time...

75% Blame Bush for Faltering Economy

Prez approval rating at all time low

(Newser) - A new poll paints a gloomy picture of a pessimistic America struggling with soaring gas prices and a deteriorating economy—and blaming President Bush. Three of four Americans—including a large number of Republicans—hold the president responsible for the economic downturn, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. The...

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