economy

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In This Crappy Economy, Corporate Profits Soar

There's a disconnect between profitability and jobs

(Newser) - There's a whole lot of evidence that the US' economic recovery isn’t going well—unemployment remains too high, consumer lending too low, and consumer confidence in shambles—but one place you won’t find that evidence is on corporate balance sheets. US companies are poised to post big...

Consumer Spending Weakest in 20 Months

May showed first decline since January 2010

(Newser) - Americans spent in May at the weakest pace in 20 months, a sign that high gas prices and unemployment are holding back the economy. Consumer spending was unchanged, the worst result since September 2009, the Commerce Department said today. When adjusted for inflation, spending actually dropped 0.1%—the first...

Bill Clinton's 14 Ways to Create Jobs

Clinton prepares for Global Initiative meeting—on fixing America

(Newser) - If unemployment seems like an insurmountable problem, never fear: Bill Clinton is here, and he has solutions—14 of them, which he’ll bring next week to the first US-focused meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. Among the highlights of his jobs blueprint, as shared with Newsweek :
  • Make it easier
...

Paul Krugman: Don't Listen to Joe Lieberman--Medicare Means Savings

 Actually, We 
 Need More 
 Medicare 
paul krugman
Jun 13, 2011 9:58 AM CDT

Actually, We Need More Medicare

Lieberman's plan to raise eligibility to 67 would mean huge costs

(Newser) - Joe Lieberman’s proposal to raise Medicare eligibility to age 67 is proof that we’ve really “gone off the rails,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Really, we should be doing the opposite: extending Medicare, because it “actually saves money—a lot of money—...

Bernanke, Obama Agree: No Double-Dip

Fed chief, president expect recovery will strengthen

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke isn’t worried about a double-dip recession, despite an economy he acknowledged as unexpectedly troubled this year, reports MarketWatch . “I expect hiring to pick up from last month’s pace as growth strengthens in the second half of the year,” the Fed chairman told a meeting...

US Keeps Repeating Same Mistake on Economy

Paul Krugman: We have to worry about jobs, not the deficit

(Newser) - The US made a terrible mistake last year by not spending enough money on the economic recovery, and it's on track to repeat the error on a larger scale this year, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Deficit hawks were allowed to overrule those concerned about job...

Dow Plunges 280, Erases Quarter of Year's Gains

Two bleak reports raise fears about recovery

(Newser) - Fears that the US economy is stalling sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 280 points, erasing more than a quarter of the stock market's gains for the year. A pair of reports raised new doubts about the economy's strength: A key manufacturing index fell from its April...

Kids, Law School May Be a 'Ruinous' Investment

Don't go just to wait out the job market: Elie Mystal

(Newser) - The lousy economy has lots of new college grads moving back in with the folks and heading to law school to wait out the job market. Very bad idea, writes Elie Mystal at the AbovetheLaw blog . "You know what’s worse than walking around with a bunch of college...

59% Will at Least &#39;Consider&#39; Reelecting Obama
59% Will at Least  
'Consider' Reelecting Obama
poll says
May 16, 2011 9:25 AM CDT

59% Will at Least 'Consider' Reelecting Obama

...even though 57% of voters disapprove of his handling of the economy

(Newser) - More than half of voters approve of President Obama’s job performance and would at least consider reelecting him—even though 57% of them disapprove of they way he is handling the economy, a Politico-George Washington University poll finds. Some 52% approve of the president’s work so far, and...

Paul Krugman: Budget Deficit Is Fault of Elite, Not Voters

 Blame Elite, 
 Not Voters, for 
 Deficit Mess 
paul krugman
May 9, 2011 1:50 PM CDT

Blame Elite, Not Voters, for Deficit Mess

Those 'lecturing' on deficit helped get us here in the first place: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - More and more people have been telling Paul Krugman that the budget deficit is the people’s fault: “Weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate’s foolishness.” But that viewpoint is not only “self-serving, it’s dead wrong,” writes Krugman in the New York Times . Instead, we...

Unemployment Rises to 9%, but Hiring Is Up

As more rejoin the job search, unemployment rate goes up

(Newser) - Employers added more than 200,000 jobs in April for the third straight month, the biggest hiring spree in five years. But the unemployment rate rose to 9% in part because some people resumed looking for work. The Labor Department says the economy added 244,000 jobs last month. Private...

Chrysler Turns 1st Profit Since Bankruptcy

Revenue climbs 35% as Big Three return to profitablility

(Newser) - Good news for Detroit: The Big Three automakers are all profitable once again. Chrysler has reported its first net profit since leaving bankruptcy nearly two years ago, with a net income of $116 million in the first quarter. The firm saw revenue jump 35% to $13.1 billion compared to...

Sorry, Our Economic &lsquo;Recovery&rsquo; Is Tanking
 Sorry, Our Economic 
 ‘Recovery’ Is Tanking 
henry blodget
Apr 28, 2011 12:13 PM CDT

Sorry, Our Economic ‘Recovery’ Is Tanking

Weak GDP growth is only the latest sign: Henry Blodget

(Newser) - The general consensus these days is that the economy is enjoying a steady if unspectacular recovery, writes Henry Blodget at Business Insider . After all, stocks and corporate profits are up and the unemployment rate is down. In a column headlined "Don't Mean To Be Rude, But The Economy...

US Companies Hiring the Most Employees in 2011

Home Depot and McDonald's lead the way

(Newser) - Most recessions end as small companies regain the capital needed to hire small numbers of workers at a time. That will most likely not happen this time around, however, because smaller companies have little capital and banks are hesitant to give out loans, reports 24/7 Wall Street . So which large ...

Consumer Spending Up... Thanks to Gas Prices

Personal income up 0.3%, but inflation hits hard

(Newser) - Consumer spending rose at its fastest rate in four months in February—but that’s in large part due to rising gas prices. Consumer spending climbed 0.7%, while personal income rose 0.3% following January’s 1.2% jump, the AP notes. Both gains reflected a Social Security tax...

Home Sales Fell 9.6% in February

Media sales price hits lowest level in almost 9 years

(Newser) - Fewer Americans bought previously occupied homes last month, and those who did purchased them at steep discounts. The weak sales and rise in foreclosures pushed home prices down to their lowest level in nearly 9 years. Sales of previously occupied homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4....

Site Takes On World Champs of Pessimism: the French

Professor's evidence counters doomsayers

(Newser) - Can the Internet cure pessimism? A French professor hopes so, and is launching a site designed to battle the blues in France. It's aimed at "les declinologists," who fear that French culture and society are in their death throes. A poll early this year found the French to...

One-Third of US Wages? Government Handouts

Social welfare benefits make up 35% of wages and salaries

(Newser) - More than a third of the total wages and salaries in the US is made up of government payouts, CNBC reports. Social welfare benefits including Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance account for 35% of wages and salaries—a record figure that is up from 21% in 2000 and 10%...

Mitt Romney: Today's Job Fairs Are Like the Hoovervilles of the Great Depression
 
 Obama Has  
 His Very Own 
 'Hoovervilles'
mitt romney
Mar 8, 2011 12:27 PM CST

Obama Has His Very Own 'Hoovervilles'

Mitt Romney: Today's job fairs call to mind Depression-era misery

(Newser) - Mitt Romney welcomes Obama to Boston today with an op-ed in the Herald that blames the president's economic policies for bringing back scenes reminiscent of the Great Depression. Romney rehashes what he's been calling the Obama Misery Index : Unlike Jimmy Carter's misery index of the '70s, which combined unemployment and...

Unemployment Dips to 8.9%, Nearly a Two-Year Low
 Unemployment Dips to 8.9% 
Mar 4, 2011 7:58 AM CST

Unemployment Dips to 8.9%

That's nearly a two-year low

(Newser) - More good news in February : The unemployment rate dipped to 8.9%—a nearly two-year low—as employers hired at the fastest pace in nearly a year. The economy tacked on 192,000 jobs last month, with factories, professional and business services, education, and health care among those expanding employment....

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