Articles About Economics

The Obama administration plans to work closely with federal regulators, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to start a pilot program to sell government-owned foreclosures in bulk to investors as rentals, according to administration officials. There currently are approximately 250,000 foreclosed properties on the books of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), […]

The unemployment rate in Germany declined more than predicted in December as car and machinery exports boomed and one of the mildest winters on record helped construction jobs. The number of jobless people declined a seasonally adjusted 22,000 to 2.89 million, according to the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency.  Economists had forecast a decline of 10,000.  The […]

European leaders will this week try to deliver new fiscal rules and cut Greece’s onerous debt burden.  All this in the wake of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Eurozone downgrades. France was not the only Eurozone nation to feel the pain. Austria was cut to AA+ from AAA; Cyprus to BB+ from BBB; Italy to BBB+ […]

An American icon is on the verge of bankruptcy. The 131-year-old Eastman Kodak Company — long-time manufacturer of cameras and film — whose highly recognizable “K” logo is a universal symbol around the world, is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection in the next weeks. The venerable firm could be saved if it sells its valuable […]

The United States added more than 200,000 jobs in December of 2011, building on a strengthening employment market that dominated the second half of the year.  This brought the unemployment rate down to 8.5 percent from the revised 8.7 percent, which had been predicted in November.  The primary growth was in transportation — primarily courier […]

American companies added 244,000 jobs to the economy in April, the fastest pace in five years.  In an ironic twist, however, the unemployment rate climbed to nine percent, according to the Department of Labor.  The unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent in March after dropping continuously since November’s rate of 9.8 percent rate. Economists had […]

Leading economic indicators (LEI) rose 0.9 percent in October, a sign that the U.S. economy is likely to see accelerated growth and not slip into a feared double-dip recession.  According to The Conference Board, its index of leading economic indicators rose significantly faster than the revised 0.1 percent rise in September and the 0.3 percent […]

Virtually anyone can be an entrepreneur, although starting one’s own business is a giant leap.  Many people look at becoming an entrepreneur as a cause and effect – the academic term being “causal logic”.  That may not be the optimal way to view entrepreneurship, however.  Rather, the world’s most successful entrepreneurs use effectual logic.  According […]

Yet another European nation – and one not in the Eurozone – is facing a financial crisis now that Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded its credit rating to junk status. The nation is Hungary, whose status was changed as a result of concerns about proposed policy changes regarding the country’s central bank.  S&P cut […]

Confidence in American homebuilders rose in December for the third consecutive month, a sign that the housing market is finally stabilizing.  The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI) of builder confidence climbed to 21 — the highest level since May 2010 — from a revised 19 in November.   Economists […]