Articles About Economics

After rising steadily for four months, gas prices at last seem to be stabilizing. Suddenly, pump prices have fallen six cents over two weeks to a national average of $3.88.  Experts say gasoline could fall another nickel or more in the immediate future.  Drivers might also get to say something they haven’t since October 2009 […]

Europe’s financial woes have spread across the English Channel as the United Kingdom slid into its first double-dip recession since the 1970s. Britain’s GDP fell 0.2 percent from the 4th quarter of 2011, when it declined 0.3 percent, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). As anti-austerity backlash grows on the Continent, Prime Minister […]

American homebuilders started construction on new houses in March at a slower pace, but in an ironic twist, the number of construction permits jumped to their highest level in 3 ½ years.  This is a positive signal for the slumping residential industry.  According to the Department of Commerce, housing starts fell 5.8 percent to an […]

Despite rising gas prices, retail sales in the U.S. rose 0.8 percent in March, proof that consumers are still filling up their tanks, according to economists.  The rise in purchases follows a 1.1 percent increased in February that was the biggest in five months, according to a survey of 71 economists.  The gain sent retail […]

Europe’s unemployment has soared to 10.8 percent, the highest rate in more than 14 years as companies from Spain to Italy eliminated jobs to weather the region’s crisis, according to the European Union’s (EU) statistics office.  That’s the highest since June 1997, before the Euro was introduced.  European companies are cutting costs and eliminating jobs […]

A new report from the Pew Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) tells a gloomy story. Its main point is that the search for a new business model to revive the newspaper industry is making extremely halting progress.  The most startling revelation is that, on average, for every dollar newspapers earn in digital advertising […]

First, there were flash mobs.  Now, there are cash mobs. A cash mob is an organized group of do-gooders who suddenly descend on small businesses, snap up merchandise and gather at pubs and restaurants afterward to celebrate their pro-community mission.  The shopping sprees have taken place in cities ranging from San Diego to Buffalo.  The […]

The Treasury Department just raked in a cool $25 billion for the American taxpayer. It sold the agency-backed mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that it bought during the financial crisis.  “The successful sale of these securities marks another important milestone in the wind-down of the government’s emergency financial crisis response efforts,” said Mary Miller, Treasury assistant secretary […]

Scam artists across the country are stealing billions of dollars in tax refunds through a shameless form of fraud that takes advantage of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) fast online returns.  Thanks to laptops and free Wi-Fi connections, these thieves steal identities and use the names of genuine taxpayers to file fraudulent online returns.  They’ve […]

February retail sales climbed the fastest in five months. Even rising gas prices didn’t dampen demand for cars, clothing and other goods.  According to the Commerce Department, retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent to $407.8 billion in February; January retail sales were revised upwards to show a 0.6 percent rise instead of the […]