The U.S. housing market might have some good news, Reuters reported on Sunday. It seems that for the first time since 2005, U.S. residential construction might be expanding a little next year. It might, in turn, add a little to GDP growth in 2012. It would add not much, of course, but it would complement...
On Wednesday Reuters reported that oil fell more than 4 percent. This indicates the biggest drop in over two months.
In London, ICE Brent crude for January delivery settled at $105.02 a barrel. This price is $4.48 (or 4.09 percent ) less than it was in the beginning of October.
NYMEX January crude...
ComScore reported on Sunday that online spending remained strong in early December. Usually early December indicates a quiet period in the U.S. holiday shopping. This year seems to be an exception.
Consumers spent $5.9 billion online during the first week in December. It is 15 percent more than last...
European nations are supposed to vote this Friday on an agreement that was worked out between Germany and France. The agreement hopefully will tighten fiscal controls for Euro zone countries. Hopes that the Euro zone will figure out long-lasting solutions to its sovereign crisis prevailed on Wednesday,...
The U.S. jobless rate dropped to a 2.5 year low at 8.6 percent. This drop in unemployment supported the view that the U.S. economy most likely will avoid another recession. Some analysts said that the drop in the unemployment rate might be evidence that the recovery is, finally, gaining momentum.
The...
One of the biggest U.S. carriers, American Airlines, and its parent AMR Corp, filed for bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11) on Tuesday. The airline claimed that this declaration was necessary in order to cut labor costs in the face of high fuel prices and dampened travel demand.
AMR what seems to be for...
A National Retail Federation survey reported this weekend that shoppers spent 9.1 percent more cash over Thanksgiving weekend. This number includes in-stores and on-line shopping. If you are wondering how many people visited stores and online retailers over “Black Friday” weekend, it is 226 million....
Groupon made its initial public offering earlier this month quite successfully: investors could not get enough if its stock. Groupon shares were so popular that its stock surged as much as 50 percent in its very first day of trade. This Wednesday, however, Groupon’s stock slipped. Now its price is...
On Sunday, the U.S. Debt Committee members blamed each other for the gridlock that undermined the committee’s attempts to cut the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over the next ten years. The committee that was created last summer during the battle over the debt ceiling consists of six Republicans...
As Reuters reported earlier this week consumer prices fell in October. It means that the cost of living unexpectedly fell in the U.S. last month. It could be a sign that at least some of the inflationary pressure is starting to subside. For comparison purposes: a year ago overall consumer prices rose...
The U.S. markets might be influenced (again) by European turmoil.
Borrowing rates are going up, the solvency of European banks are going down as the sovereign crisis deepens in Europe. On Saturday, the big news was the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister. Following his resignation,...
Home prices are still falling. A new report on home prices, that just came out this week, indicates that the more those prices fall, the more American home owners fall into negative equity. It means that those home owners are unable to sell their property for enough to pay their real estate agent and...
