Economy

Economic Confidence Hits Lowest Level Since Government Shutdown

Posted: September 20, 2019 at 6:20 am

The economic confidence of Americans has hit the lowest level since the federal government shutdown ended in January. Some of the drop has to do with worries about a recession. ...
Read Full Story »

Major Global Growth Forecast Plunges to Lowest Level Since Financial Crisis

Posted: September 19, 2019 at 7:19 am

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) forecast of global gross domestic product and growth nation by nation has just hit the lowest level since the financial crisis. The ...
Read Full Story »

Fed Snips Another Quarter Point From Funds Rate

Posted: September 18, 2019 at 2:52 pm

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday announced that the Federal Reserve will lower its policy interest rate from a prior range of 2% to 2.25% to ...
Read Full Story »

Evaluating the Trickle-Down Effect of Federal Funding Squeezes for States and Local Governments

Posted: September 18, 2019 at 1:05 pm

With the deficit in the United States now over $22 trillion, there may come a day when deficits and credit actually matter again. Until then, Europe and Japan are operating ...
Read Full Story »

Is a Recession on the Horizon? CFOs Grow More Pessimistic

Posted: September 18, 2019 at 10:45 am

While U.S. markets are holding near all-time highs, the concerns about recession seem to be mounting. The Duke University quarterly survey of CFO Global Business Outlook gave some credence to ...
Read Full Story »

After Fed Enters Repo Operation, Odds of FOMC Rate Cut Now Questionable

Posted: September 17, 2019 at 3:22 pm

It has become more difficult to forecast the Federal Reserve's next move, or at least the timing of it. The odds of a September 18 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ...
Read Full Story »

See How These Companies Rank in the Diversity & Inclusion Index

Posted: September 16, 2019 at 11:55 am

More and more corporations are falling under scrutiny for in-house practices and policies in an increasingly critical culture. As a result, companies are striving to be better not just on ...
Read Full Story »

Consumer Sentiment Bounces From Recent Low

Posted: September 13, 2019 at 11:00 am

The University of Michigan has released its preliminary survey of consumer sentiment for September. The index reading came in at 92.0, a gain from the 89.8 reading in August. While ...
Read Full Story »

Companies Are Betting on Innovation to Fend Off the Next Recession

Posted: September 13, 2019 at 8:05 am

Later Friday morning, the University of Michigan will release its preliminary September reading of U.S. consumer sentiment. The consensus estimate calls for a slight increase from August's final consumer sentiment ...
Read Full Story »

When Will $1 Trillion Deficits Start to Matter?

Posted: September 12, 2019 at 4:41 pm

With another round of Presidential candidate debates on the docket, it's time to talk about deficits. Realistically, it seems no one in Washington, D.C. has any great plans about how ...
Read Full Story »

Are Millennials Good Tippers?

Posted: September 12, 2019 at 1:45 pm

Proper etiquette would suggest tipping for certain services, but this isn’t always the case. Some people are more generous than others, while many aren’t giving tips at all. A new ...
Read Full Story »

European Central Bank Rate Cuts Just Support More Negative Interest Rates

Posted: September 12, 2019 at 11:15 am

The European Central Bank was expected to lower interest rates, and it delivered. This is after interest rates in Europe already had been below zero in many of the bond ...
Read Full Story »

German Economic Growth to Drop Near Zero for 2019

Posted: September 12, 2019 at 6:20 am

Germany's Ifo Institute for Economic Research has downgraded its forecast for the German economy to a growth rate of 0.5% for 2019. That is more optimistic than some other forecasts, ...
Read Full Story »

How Consumers Look Today as Recession Risks Become More Prominent

Posted: September 11, 2019 at 2:05 pm

With the endless media calls for a recession, one would think most Americans would at least be preparing for a downturn. Either the public thinks the media's use of the ...
Read Full Story »

Should a Month of Higher Producer Costs Be Scaring the Federal Reserve About Inflation?

Posted: September 11, 2019 at 10:45 am

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that producer prices are starting to pose a problem for inflation. Or is that not the case? Prices rose on a ...
Read Full Story »