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WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) – The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for the first time fell only slightly last week, suggesting that job growth in April will not improve much after March’s disappointing performance.
Other data on Thursday showed factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region slowed sharply this month and home resales dropped for a second straight month in March.
Annette Alejandro just emerged from bankruptcy and doesn’t have a job, and her car was repossessed last year. Still, after spending her days job hunting, she returns to her apartment in Brooklyn where, in disbelief, she sorts through the piles of credit card and auto loan offers that have come in the mail. “Even I wouldn’t make… Continue Reading
The Apartment vacancy rate in the first quarter fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, and rents posted their biggest jump in four years, as Americans eschewed home ownership and renting retained its popularity, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc. The national vacancy rate fell 0.30 percentage points in the… Continue Reading
Health coverage for more than 30 million people. The power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. President Obama’s re-election. The reputation of the Supreme Court and the legacy of its chief justice. And to hear some tell it: liberty. All that and more could be at stake today when the Supreme Court begins three days of… Continue Reading
During the 2000s, as U.S. manufacturing was transformed by devastating job losses, prominent economists and presidential advisers offered comforting words. The paring of the manufacturing workforce, which shrank by a third over the decade, actually represented good news, they said. It meant that U.S. workers and factories had become more efficient and that, as a result, manufacturing companies… Continue Reading
A bill the House passed last week to make it easier for companies to raise money could also make it easier for companies to cheat investors, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission says. It’s called the Jobs Act — an acronym for “Jumpstart Our Business Startups” — and lawmakers of both parties have promoted it as a… Continue Reading
China, the largest foreign U.S. creditor, increased its holdings of U.S. government securities in January for the first time in six months as European leaders struggled to contain the region’s sovereign-debt crisis. Holdings rose by 0.7 percent to $1.16 trillion, the first growth in China’s stake since July, Treasury data released yesterday show. The report also showed… Continue Reading
U.S. companies restocked at a faster pace in January, a sign that businesses expect stronger job growth to fuel more sales. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that business stockpiles rose 0.7 percent in January after a 0.6 percent gain in December. Sales increased 0.4 percent January following a 0.9 percent December sales gain. The increase… Continue Reading
Americans might complain about higher gasoline prices, but new government data show that hasn’t stopped them from driving to the mall. Retail sales jumped 1.1 percent in February, the biggest monthly increase since last fall, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Consumers went shopping for new cars, clothes, electronics and sporting goods despite spending 3.3 percent more… Continue Reading
Household debt rose for the first time in three and a half years during the fourth quarter, suggesting Americans were more comfortable borrowing money and potentially laying the groundwork for higher consumer spending. The data released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve also showed household wealth increasing by $1.2 trillion, which could also support spending…. Continue Reading