Economy

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• Washington Times: Jobless Rate Falls Due to Dropouts
  
  
• Credit Suisse: US Pension Plans Dangerously Underfunded
  The financial crisis has caused a problem that hasn't gotten as much press as the plunge in bank stocks or the housing crisis: the pension plans of many American corporations are underfunded. A recent report from Credit Suisse reveals that some of the nation's largest...
• More Parents Delay Retirement to Help Adult Children
  Retirement has become more elusive for many these days, and even those who have amassed savings for their golden years are finding themselves cashing in nest eggs to help their cash-strapped kids. Blame high unemployment rates for the trend. The average unemployment rate...
• Services Sector Jumps to Highest Level in a Year
  The pace of growth in the U.S. services sector unexpectedly accelerated in January to its highest level in nearly a year, according to an industry report released on Friday. The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 56.8 last month from a revised...
• Factory Orders Rise, Business Spending Climbs
  New orders for U.S. factory-made products posted a second straight monthly rise in December and business capital spending also picked up, a government report on Friday showed. The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods increased 1.1 percent, slightly below...
• Unemployment Rate Dips to 8.3% After Unexpected Hiring Burst
  In the most impressive surge for the job market since early last year, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years. Lower unemployment is a positive a sign for...
• Geithner Says Systemically Risky Firms to Be Named This Year
  U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the first non-bank financial companies deemed systemically risky will be named this year, and the department will release more plans for an overhaul of housing finance. Those who are working to slow the pace of reform will...
• Retailers Deliver Mixed Bag of Sales as Shoppers Cautious
  Americans were shopping in January, but that doesn't mean every store felt the love. Retailers reported mixed sales results for the month in a sign that U.S. consumers continue to be cautious about when and where they spend their money in the shaky economy Overall,...
• US Productivity Rises at Slower Pace
  The productivity of U.S. workers rose in the fourth quarter at a slower pace than in the prior three months, showing companies are reaching the limits of how much efficiency they can squeeze from existing workforces. The measure of worker output per hour increased at a 0.7...
• Fewer Seek Unemployment Aid as Job Market Improves
  The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week, a sign that companies are cutting fewer jobs and likely stepping up hiring. Weekly unemployment applications fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week...
• Planned Layoffs Surge in January, Challenger Reports
  The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms surged in January to its highest level in four months as retailers and financial firms cut jobs, a report on Thursday showed. Employers announced 53,486 planned job cuts last month, up 28 percent from 41,785 in December,...
• Homeowner Vacancy, Rental Rates Fall
  The share of empty privately owned U.S. homes fell in the fourth quarter to its lowest since 2006 and rental vacancies declined, according to government data on Tuesday, adding to signs of a tentative recovery in the housing market. The homeowner vacancy rate dropped to...
• Rasmussen: Deficit Closer to $4 Trillion for 2012
  
  
• Investors Can Sign Up to Bid on Foreclosed Homes
  The regulator for mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Wednesday investors could now sign up to pre-qualify to bid on foreclosed properties held by the government-controlled firms. Those investors meeting the qualifications set by the Federal Housing...
• Construction Spending Climbs Most in 4 Months
  Construction spending in the U.S. rose in December at the fastest pace in four months, reflecting broad-based gains that signal the industry is stabilizing.Building outlays increased 1.5 percent, the biggest gain since August, Commerce Department figures showed today in...
• Manufacturing Grows at Fastest Pace in 7 Months
  Manufacturing in the U.S. grew in January at the fastest pace in seven months, a sign the industry will lead the U.S. expansion early this year. The Institute for Supply Management s manufacturing index climbed to 54.1, less than projected, from 53.1 in December, the...
• Chrysler, Nissan, GM Exceed Sales Estimates
  Chrysler Group LLC, the automaker majority owned by Fiat SpA, said U.S. sales rose 44 percent last month, joining Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. in beating analysts estimates for January.Chrysler surpassed eight analysts average estimate for a 32-percent sales...
• Builders Boost Spending for Fifth Straight Month
  Builders increased their spending in December for the fifth consecutive month, offering more evidence of a turnaround in the battered construction industry. Housing, nonresidential construction and government projects all showed gains.The Commerce Department says spending...
• ADP: US Companies Add Fewer Jobs Than Forecast
  Companies added 170,000 workers in January, reflecting job gains in services and at small businesses, according to a private report based on payrolls. The increase was less than forecast and followed a revised 292,000 rise the prior month that was less than previously...
• Mortgage Applications Dip Despite Lower Rates
  Applications for U.S. home mortgages slipped last week, even as interest rates also eased, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home...
• Jobless Benefits Seen Slowing Payroll Tax Talks
  U.S. Senate Democrats seeking an agreement to extend a payroll tax cut through 2012 say they would consider reducing emergency jobless benefits in states hit hard by the recession from the current maximum of 99 weeks.Most Democrats said they wanted to stay as close to 99...
• China’s Manufacturing Withstands Global Slowdown
  Chinese manufacturing indexes rose in January as the world s second-biggest economy withstood weaker exports driven by Europe s debt crisis and a government-induced property slowdown.The official purchasing managers index increased to 50.5 from 50.3 in December, exceeding...
• Small Business Hiring Slows, Wages Dip
  Small business payrolls grew at a slower rate in January and wages fell, an independent survey showed, suggesting the pace of overall job growth moderated after December's sturdy gain. Small businesses added 50,000 jobs, payrolls processing firm Intuit said, compared with...
• Eurozone Unemployment Ends 2011 at Record High
  Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro ended 2011 at a record high of one person in every 10, official figures showed Tuesday, a day after EU leaders acknowledged they would have to boost economic growth with the same urgency that they had shown in combating...
• Business Activity Cools as Orders, Labor Slow
  Business activity in the U.S. cooled in January as orders and employment slowed, indicating last quarter s pickup in growth will not be sustained into 2012.The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today its business barometer declined to 60.2 from 62.2 in...

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