ThinkstockThe Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped 1.4% to 56.2 for May, according to a Markit report released Thursday. This month’s flash estimate came as a surprise to analysts, who had…
ThinkstockThe greater the potential for innovation in a city the higher the economic output that city is likely to enjoy. Cities that rank high in innovation are better destinations for investments in commercial product,…
Bob Beck/Gulf Oil Historical SocietySince Gulf Oil Company opened the first gas station in Pittsburgh in 1913, things have changed a little. Like the price of gasoline — $0.30 a gallon then, compared with…
The most recent weekly jobless claims have been released by the U.S. Labor Department, and they show a big jump in the wrong direction. Jobless claims rose by a sharp 28,000 to 326,000 in…
ThinkstockIf there needs to be any proof that obesity is an epidemic and probably the most serious threat to the health of the American population, one only has to turn to the results of…
ThinkstockThe FOMC has released the minutes of its April 29 to 30 meeting. We would caution that these minutes cover the announcement by the Federal Reserve from April 30, and we would also stress…
ThinkstockTuesday marked an interesting day, with two more Fed presidents talking up Federal Reserve rate hikes coming sooner than expected. While William Dudley, President of the New York Federal Reserve, was a bit less…
ThinkstockBy now, you’ve probably heard the news: The U.S. Department of Justice filed indictments Monday charging five Chinese military officers with hacking into computer systems at five U.S. companies — and hacking the International…
ThinkstockCharles Plosser, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, was speaking on Tuesday regarding his economic outlook and housing in front of the Women in Housing & Finance meeting…
ThinkstockThere is no doubt that the ongoing drought has hit California’s Central Valley hard. A new study by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences suggests that it could cost the agriculture industry there…
ThinkstockOne million dollars a year in compensation may not seem like very much anymore. Almost every public company CEO makes that much. So do countless bankers, hedge fund managers and venture capitalists. However, in…
ThinkstockRegardless of the fact that the U.S. educational system was ranked just 14th in the world in a recent report and an even lower 20th in overall educational attainment, most of us believe that…
ThinkstockQuantitative easing has been under a great deal of scrutiny for some time, and the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet keeps growing despite the tapering efforts. The stock market, and the bond market for that…
ThinkstockWhile it is good to see the national unemployment rate drop, it is even better to see the improvement spread across virtually the entire country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that, in…
ThinkstockAmericans will drive more this Memorial Day than last. The AAA forecasts that 36.1 million people will drive more than 50 miles from home during the holiday weekend, up 1.5% from 2013. More than…