ThinkstockAngela Merkel won a third term as Germany’s chancellor. Her Christian Democratic Union and a smaller ally took more than 41% of the vote. If Merkel can create a closely knit coalition, she can rule the…
ThinkstockData from both China and the European Union showed that any post-recession slowdown will not turn into another dip. A few months ago, slowing PMI and EU economic numbers that dropped like a rock…
courtesy of USPSThe U.S. Postal Service is dangerously close to running out of cash. In testimony on Thursday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe made the…
Wikimedia Commons/creative commonsLast year, household income remained effectively unchanged, according to data released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is despite the fact that the U.S. added nearly 2.2 million jobs in…
courtesy U.S. Federal ReserveWe provided live coverage on the matter for about two hours before, during, and after the FOMC announcement, the Fed forecasts, and then in the Ben Bernanke press conference. The long…
ThinkstockIn its announcement Wednesday afternoon, the FOMC cited concern over recent developments in the housing market as a reason to maintain its asset purchase program at $85 billion a month. In particular rising interest…
ThinkstockExpectations for economic growth have fallen since the beginning of the summer according to the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs from leading U.S. companies. From an index reading of 84.3 in the summer,…
courtesy U.S. Federal Reserve24/7 Wall St. has been surprised by the FOMC with the decision not to begin tapering its $85 billion per month in bond buying. The markets were surprised too, because the…
ThinkstockWith this September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting being a two-day one, we have a lot more to expect than just the statement with the policy decisions. Chairman Ben Bernanke will be hosting a press…
courtesy U.S. Federal ReserveIn the scheme of things, as far as the size of the economy and the massive amounts of credit capital that wash around the financial markets like a huge ocean, $10 billion…
ThinkstockU.S. government debt held by the public has soared for the past several years and now stands at 73% of total U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Except for a short period around World War…
ThinkstockThere always has been a long line of doom-and-gloom prognosticators willing to sell and market Armageddon. More often than not, these are people who have made a career predicting financial, and in some cases social,…
Ed Brown, via Wikimedia CommonsThe U.S. Labor Department has released its reading on retail inflation for August via its monthly Consumer Price Index report. Inflation only jumped by 0.1% on the headline and also…
ThinkstockThe logic behind why Larry Summers withdrew himself as a candidate to be the next Federal Reserve chairman is mixed, even with him issuing a letter explaining that he did not want to create…
ThinkstockThe Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for September dropped to 76.8 from a final reading of 82.1 in August. The September index is the lowest reading since April. Economists were expecting…