ThinkstockThe Labor Department is out with its first weekly jobless claims report in 2013, and this is the last look from the government data ahead of Friday’s key unemployment report. With seasonal issues due…
Frank Golhen, via Wikimedia CommonsDecember marked the five-year anniversary of the official beginning of the Great Recession — the most severe economic contraction the United States has experienced since the Great Depression. The recession…
Most of the forecasts for the economy and stock markets for 2013 are in. Now that the fiscal cliff has been avoided, and the debt cap debate has moved until the end of the first…
ThinkstockManufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region rose again, making it the second month of increases. The Richmond Federal Reserve Bank’s latest manufacturing survey came in at 5 for the month of December. The…
ThinkstockThe weather will not much help U.S. gross domestic product over the course of the final week of the year. Storms currently cover about half the nation, and heavy rain, wind and snow are…
ThinkstockThis may be the last big day of economic data before the Christmas break for most investors, but there is not exactly a lack of data. We have seen figures for durable goods, as…
ThinkstockThe Conference Board has released its reading on the Leading Economic Index for November. Despite the name, we have suggested for years that the “leading indicators” are not exactly very leading because so much…
ThinkstockThe economic reports keep coming out regardless of the holidays and the Mayan prophecy. Thursday’s reports show a higher tally in weekly jobless claims and a higher reading on gross domestic product. As far…
ThinkstockU.S. small business owners are planning to put capital spending on hold next year, according to a recent survey by Gallup. Only 20% of business owners expect to increase capital spending in 2013, compared…
ThinkstockSmall business confidence, as measured by the Research Foundation of the National Federation of Independent Business, imploded in November. If small businesses account for most hiring in the United States, then the American economy is…
The National Federation of Independent Business has shown that its latest survey signaled a tanking confidence among its participants. If you think that the woes tied to the fiscal cliff do not matter so…
Wikimedia CommonsFamous Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) market analysts Abby Joseph Cohen has forecast that stocks could rise 10% to 15% in 2013. Given the market’s performance over the past three years, that…
ThinkstockOne way or another, the fiscal cliff, but not its impact, will be gone in just three weeks. The press will miss it when the cliff cannot be kicked around anymore. The reality of…
While many economic reports are mixed or running under any real growth measurements, we are seeing some positive data today from factory orders in October and from the ISM reading on nonmanufacturing activity in…
Today’s data from the Institute for Supply Management is showing that the November Manufacturing Report on Business was an utter disappointment. The ISM figure came in at 49.5%, which is under the 50.0% growth-contraction…