American consumers continue to sit on their wallets, according to two sets of data released Tuesday.
The U.S. Conference Board reported its consumer confidence index fell in September. The index fell to 53.1 in September from 54.5 in August. That erases some of the seven-point gain for the index made from July to August. Americans grew [...]
Posts Tagged ‘us’
U.S. consumer confidence slips
September 29th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Tags: consumers, economy, spending, us
more...More Banks Failures, Housing Decline
September 18th, 2009 by Financial Writer
U.S. consumers will spend less and the fallout from the collapse of the commercial real estate market will spread, leading to even more bank failures, says economist Nouriel Roubini, economics professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Furthermore, residential real estate prices have more room to fall, non-government bonds will come under pressure as [...]
Tags: business, economics, economist, real estate, us
White House: Stimulus Saved 1 Million Jobs
September 11th, 2009 by Financial Writer
U.S. President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package created or saved about 1 million jobs in the first six months after it was enacted, the White House said in a report released on Thursday.
In its first quarterly look at the impact of the stimulus bill, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the [...]
Tags: economic, economically, jobs, us, white house
Word on the street: No job prospects
September 11th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The economic picture has started to improve, but those out of work see no recovery in sight.
The job market is showing signs of improvement, according to the latest economic reports. But for those out of work and pounding the pavement, there are few signs of a turnaround.
After peaking in January, the pace of job losses [...]
Tags: businesses, economic, employers, us
GM will offer 60-day, money-back guarantee on new cars
September 10th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Frustrated that many shoppers won’t even consider its cars, General Motors says starting Monday, buyers of new GM models can bring them back within 60 days, no questions asked, and get back the price of the car.
GM’s Vauxhall brand used a money-back guarantee in the U.K. some years ago, GM marketing chief Bob Lutz says, [...]
Tags: buyers, general motors, money, us
Bankruptcy News
August 14th, 2009 by Financial Writer
1.4 Million Companies Could Go Under
U.S. bankruptcy filings rose 38 percent in April-June from a year ago, according to court data released on Thursday, as consumers and business were hit by rising unemployment and a lack of credit.
Overall, 381,073 bankruptcies were filed in the second quarter, up 15 percent from the first three months [...]
Tags: Bankruptcy News, California, Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp, Florida, HAWAII, us
The result of Deficit
July 30th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The government is spending more than it’s bringing in. A lot more. The result is a deficit. Here’s why that gap must be brought under control.
When George Bush took office at the beginning of 2001, the federal government was running a substantial budget surplus and projected rising surpluses “as far as the eye could see.” [...]
Tags: deficit, George Bush, government spend, us
Economy dominates US-China talks
July 28th, 2009 by Financial Writer
US and Chinese officials, meeting in Washington, are to discuss the need for emerging economies to have more say in the world’s financial system.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is meeting Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan for a second day of high-level talks between the two countries.
They will also discuss the world trade system and ways [...]
Tags: Chinese officials, us, world's financial system
A financial crisis, 10 countries, 10 solutions
July 14th, 2009 by Financial Writer
United States
GDP -1.6%
Inflation 0.2%
Unemployment 8.1%
Markets -10.7%
Gallon of gas $1.99
Interest Rates 0% to 0.25%
Challenges Home prices have plummeted since the summer of 2007, devaluing many of banks’ holdings that were backed by mortgages. To prevent further losses, banks largely stopped lending. The economic downturn that ensued led the economy to shed 4.4 [...]
Tags: brazil, China, financial crisis, germany, iceland, india, japan, mexico, rusia, UK, us
How the health care debate could affect Americans tax bill
June 30th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Americans who want to follow how the health care debate could affect their tax bill should focus on one man in the next week: Max Baucus.
The Democratic senator from Montana is leading the charge on brokering agreements and has promised to deliver a draft of a bill on Wednesday.
As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, [...]
Tags: americans tax bill, health benefits, health care, tax-free, us