News you can use
News you can use
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices are surging, job growth is strengthening and stocks are setting record highs. All of which explains why Americans are more hopeful about the economy than at any other point in five years. Investors on Tuesday celebrated the latest buoyant reports on consumer confidence and housing prices, which together suggest that growth could accelerate in the second half of 2013. Greater confidence could spur people to spend more and help offset tax increases and federal spending cuts. And the fastest rise in...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alarmed by the chronically weak U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve launched an aggressive new effort Thursday to boost the stock market and make borrowing cheaper for years to come. And it made clear it won't stop there and is ready to try other stimulative measures if hiring doesn't pick up. Stock prices rocketed up in approval. But economists said the Fed's plans to buy mortgage bonds for as long as it deems necessary and to keep interest rates at record lows until mid-2015 — six months longer than pre...
WASHINGTON — The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose by the most in a month, signaling growing weakness in the job market. Applications rose by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 429,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the second increase in three weeks and the 11th straight week that applications have been above 400,000. The four-week average for unemployment benefit applications, a less volatile measure, was unchanged at 426,250 last week. Applications dipped below 4...
Obama official says new budget won't be pain-free MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will send Congress on Monday a $3 trillion-plus budget for 2012 that promises $1.1 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by freezing many domestic programs for five years, trimming military spending and limiting tax deductions for the wealthy. Jacob Lew, the president's budget director, said Sunday that the new spending plan for the 2012 would disprove the notion that "we can do this p...
The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week by the largest amount in three months. The surge is evidence of how volatile the job market remains, even as the economy grows. Applications for unemployment benefits rose to 471,000 last week, up by 25,000 from the prev i o u s we e k , t h e Labor Department said today. It was the first increase in five weeks and the biggest jump since a gain of 40,000 in February. The forecast had been for claims to fall by around 4,000 from the...
