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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 […]

Facebook is friending Nasdaq in one of the most-desirable deals among the Internet companies jockeying ahead in the race for social-media IPOs.  The addition of Facebook’s listing enhances Nasdaq’s reputation as the favored exchange among high-tech companies.  The exchange is home to several tech firms, including Apple and Google.  The stock will trade under the […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new greenhouse-gas standards for power plants, following through with the authority conferred by a 2007 Supreme Court ruling declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.  The new regulation effectively bans new coal-fired power plants unless they capture and sequester carbon dioxide.  Advanced natural-gas plants would meet […]

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 […]

Back in the day, hot weather that overtaxed the power grid meant that office buildings had to turn down the air conditioning to save electricity.  Meanwhile, the employees would notice that their surroundings were getting appreciably warmer.  Today – because more buildings are connected to a smarter grid – fewer adjustments need to be made, […]

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 […]