Economy

WASHINGTON — With a partial federal shutdown growing ever more likely come midnight Saturday, the Biden administration on Monday began underscoring the consequences of Congress not quickly taking steps to avert it. At Monday afternoon’s press briefing at the White... Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Screenwriters’ union leaders and Hollywood studios have reached a tentative agreement to end a historic strike after nearly five months, raising hopes that a crippling shutdown of film and television filming is near an end. Actors remain on... Read More

WASHINGTON — Total Halloween spending could reach a record $12.2 billion this year, significantly outpacing last year’s record $10.6 billion in sales, according to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation. The annual market appraisal, which was performed on... Read More

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Governors from the Southwestern United States are pursuing stronger business ties with Taiwan in hopes of attracting new foreign investments and jobs to their landlocked states. Trade missions this week have taken New Mexico. Gov.... Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A long stretch of hot, dry weather has left the Mississippi River so low that barge companies are reducing their loads just as Midwest farmers are preparing to harvest crops and send tons of corn and soybeans... Read More

DETROIT (AP) — About 13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after their leaders couldn’t bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three automakers are willing to pay. Members... Read More

WASHINGTON — The nation’s poverty rate increased dramatically last year as inflation drove up the cost of living and federal aid programs created to help families weather the coronavirus pandemic were allowed to expire, the Census Bureau said on Tuesday.... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to endorse moving ahead with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as he faces mounting pressure from his right flank to take action with the House returning Tuesday for a disruptive fall agenda. McCarthy is... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday as two economic reports suggested the economy is cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to pause hiking interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, adding to the... Read More

MILWAUKEE (AP) — In a show of preemptive counter-programming, President Joe Biden on Tuesday traveled to Wisconsin to highlight his economic policies in a state critical to his reelection fortunes, just a week before Republicans descend on Milwaukee for the party’s first presidential debate. His arrival... Read More

WASHINGTON — While Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are on their tandem investment visit to the Indo-Pacific, a third Biden administration official, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, was touting the region as an epicenter... Read More

WELCH, W.Va. (AP) — Months after Missy Nester ended The Welch News' 100-year run, she can barely stand to walk through the office doors of the newspaper her mother taught her to read with growing up in West Virginia's southern... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence shot to the highest level in two years this month as inflationary pressures eased and the American economy continued to show resilience in the face of dramatically higher interest rates. The Conference Board, a... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, Americans have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the United States, is currently facing several significant challenges in its efforts to maintain a stable and robust banking system.  The panel of Federal Reserve governors voted unanimously last month... Read More

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Farmers are feeling more optimistic about the financial future of their own farms and their industry as a whole, according to the latest Ag Economy Barometer compiled by Purdue University and CME Group. The monthly measure... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rallying again Friday after reports suggested pressure on inflation may be easing. The stock market is rolling toward the close of a winning week, month and first half of the year. The S&P... Read More

Consumer confidence fell in May as Americans, particularly older ones, became more pessimistic about the labor market, on top of elevated anxiety over inflation. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 102.3 in May from 103.7... Read More

WASHINGTON — Travel for business and leisure has a $2.6 trillion annual impact on the U.S. economy, and the U.S. Travel Association is taking steps to make sure you don’t forget it as the summer travel season gets underway this... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy both said they had a productive debt ceiling discussion late Monday at the White House, but there was no agreement as negotiators strained to raise the nation's borrowing limit... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Near the end of 2021, Jessica Callahan was living in Columbus, Ohio, working as a social science researcher and wondering if there was a better way to support herself. Her friends Julie Ross and Austin Carter... Read More

WASHINGTON — Republicans are pointing to the Democrats, Democrats are blaming Republicans, but one thing all agree on: If the U.S. defaults on its debt, the results could be catastrophic. The Center for American Progress, a liberal public policy research... Read More

WASHINGTON — Frustrated Republicans walked out of debt ceiling talks on Friday, unexpectedly bringing a halt to the critical negotiations just days before the United States faces the first ever default on its financial obligations. “We decided to press pause... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ready to discuss the debt ceiling with congressional leaders at the White House in a high-profile session with reverberations across the globe as early outlines of a potential deal begin to emerge from painstakingly slow negotiations. Raising... Read More

WASHINGTON — There will be no meeting between President Joe Biden and congressional leaders over the debt ceiling on Friday after they mutually agreed to give staff more time to work out the framework of a deal. Biden, House Speaker... Read More

NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — Financial leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies are discussing ways to support Ukraine and pressure Russia to end the war as they meet in Japan starting Thursday. Ukraine's finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, was participating... Read More

NEW YORK — A large and growing number of corporate CEO’s are preparing for what they believe will be a brief and shallow recession in the next 12 to 18 months, according to The Conference Board, the business membership and... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are pressuring Republicans on the debt ceiling impasse with a hearing Thursday focused on what they say are the the painful reductions in government services Americans would suffer if a bill recently passed by the House were... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Television and movie writers declared late Monday they will launch a strike for the first time in 15 years, as Hollywood girded for a walkout with potentially widespread ramifications in a fight over fair pay in... Read More

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter sent to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Monday that the United States could reach the point when it can no longer satisfy its debt obligations as early as June... Read More