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Bernanke: Fed Will Do More to Boost Economy

Kevin Spak — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:42:05 CDT

The Federal Reserve isn't ready to take its foot off the gas pedal. In a speech this morning in Arlington, Virginia, Ben Bernanke said that while the Fed was encouraged by the downward trend in unemployment numbers, it believes that the economy needs “continued accommodative policies” to keep the good...

Consumer Confidence Soars

Kevin Spak — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:27:19 CST

Are American shoppers at last stepping back from the ledge? The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index shot up 10 points in December to 64.5, the AP reports. That's its highest reading since April and closing in on its post-recession peak of 72, which was achieved in February. Consumers were...

Economy Shows Signs of Life: GDP Jumps 2.5%

Kevin Spak — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:13:30 CDT

The US’ total economic output shot up 2.5% from July through September, after two dismal quarters of rising just 0.4% and 1.3%, according to a new GDP report released today. Consumers amped up their spending on both durable goods and services, and business investments soared 16.3%—...

Consumer Spending Jumps

Kevin Spak — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:22:05 CDT

The Commerce Department delivered a welcome bit of positive economic news today, reporting that consumer spending shot up 0.8% in July. That's the metric's best move in five months, and more or less laps the 0.4% to 0.5% economists had expected, the Wall Street Journal reports. Part...

Rare Good News: Jobless Claims Fall

Kevin Spak — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:05:44 CDT

Here’s something you don’t see every day: good news from the labor market. New jobless claims fell by 24,000 in the week ending on July 23, to 398,000, the Labor Department announced today. That’s the lowest level of job loss since April, and significantly better than the 415,...

Fed's Employment Forecast Should Scare Obama

Kevin Spak — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 10:16:05 CST

The Federal Reserve issued a dour new economic outlook yesterday, predicting that the unemployment rate, currently at 9.6%, will fall to only 9% by 2011 and 8% by late 2012. That's bad news for everyone, but especially for President Obama; Daily Intel notes that incumbents lost in four of...

Unemployment Stuck at 9.6%

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:15:00 CDT

US employers added the most jobs in five months in October, with the education and health care sectors leading the way. But the unemployment rate, measured by a separate survey of households, refused to budge. It remained stuck at 9.6% for the third straight month.

Fed: We Could Help Economy...

Kevin Spak — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:05:00 CDT

The Federal Reserve yesterday reassured the public that it was “prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed” to support the recovery, but that it didn’t think it was needed just yet. But merely suggesting the possibility was enough to send markets in the right direction, with interest on Treasury bonds...

Recession Ended Last June, Analysts Say

Kevin Spak — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:28:51 CDT

Break out the champagne: The recession is over! In fact, it’s been over since June 2009, according to a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, an unofficial group that marks the start and end of such economic events. Things may not be great, the committee concluded, but...