Economy

Home construction declined 0.3 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.14 million units, the Commerce Department said Friday. Within this overall number, single-family starts fell 0.4 percent to 785,000 units. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment... Read More

A study from Global Strategy Group finds most Americans, regardless of their political leaning, believe corporations should weigh in on political and social issues, despite the fact some of their actions might inspire a temporary backlash. The key, explained Julie... Read More

Americans went on a buying binge in March, and their spending on cars, furniture and clothing resulted in the strongest increase in sales since September 2017, the Commerce Department said Thursday morning. Overall, sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.6... Read More

The U.S. trade deficit dropped 3.4 percent to $49.4 billion in February, driven by a sharp decline in imports from China and a surge in exports of commercial aircraft, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The combined $2.2 billion in sales... Read More

Think about it. Every public corporation in America is required to make frequent filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports provide a comprehensive summary of the company's performance, the risks it foresees encountering in the near and... Read More

Perhaps it should have been docketed as the case that dare not speak its name. At least that's how it seemed Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court convened to hear arguments on whether the First Amendment's protection of freedom of... Read More

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in the United States fell last week to its lowest level since December 1969, the Labor Department said Thursday. The last time unemployment benefits claims were this low, Jay-Z was a newborn in... Read More

Bipartisan legislation enacting a long sought after drought plan for seven states in the Colorado River basin has been sent to the White House for President Donald Trump's signature. Senator Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and Representative Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., fast-tracked passage... Read More

The federal budget deficit for the fiscal year to date is $691 billion and will exceed $1 trillion by the time the current budget year ends in September, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. In its monthly report on the government's... Read More

WASHINGTON - Residents of Appalachian states warned about severe health and environmental consequences from renewed mountaintop coal mining during a congressional hearing Tuesday. Lawmakers called the hearing to address concerns raised by Trump administration policies to loosen environmental restrictions on... Read More

The Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally-responsible Democrats, has endorsed a Balanced Budget Amendment authored by Representative Ben McAdams, the co-chair of the organization's task force on fiscal responsibility and government reform. McAdams, a Democrat from Utah, is the first to... Read More

A bipartisan quartet comprised of lawmakers from both the House and Senate have reintroduced a bill intended to protect state-legal cannabis businesses from federal interference. The bill, also known as the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act,... Read More

Consumer borrowing rose at a slower pace in February as a surge in the use of credit cards was offset by a slackening in demand for student loans and auto loans, the Federal Reserve said Friday. The central bank said... Read More

It may not have been March madness, but the job market rebounded strongly last month, solidly trouncing economists' expectations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls grew by 196,000 jobs in March, well above the 165,000 jobs... Read More

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. has changed its name to Zovio Inc., advancing the company's strategy and transformation into an education technology services company. In addition to the name change, the company, which partners with higher education institutions and employers to deliver... Read More

Sales of newly built single-family homes surged in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, the Commerce Department reported Friday. That 4.9 percent increase is the highest level this category of home sales has reached since March 2018.... Read More

Responding to widespread criticism of the FAA in the wake of two deadly crashes of Boeing's 737 Max outside the U.S., the inspector general of the Department of Transportation told a Senate panel on Wednesday that the agency plans to... Read More

The issues raised Wednesday during a meeting of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation and Space went to the very heart of a conflict that has plagued aviation and the entities created to regulate it since the days of Charles... Read More

Nine members of the New Democrat Coalition, led by vice chairs Representatives Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., sent a letter to President Donald Trump Wednesday, urging him to abandon his threat to impose sweeping new tariffs on auto... Read More

Construction of new single-family homes dropped more than expected in February, surpassing an 18-month low, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Last month, so-called "housing starts" slumped 8.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.16 million units -- down from... Read More

The federal government posted its biggest monthly budget deficit ever in February as a sharp decline in corporate revenue coincided with increased spending, the Treasury Department announced Friday. The budget gap widened to $234 billion in February, compared with a... Read More

The Trump administration's various trade disputes have caused a slump in American whiskey sales abroad, the Distilled Spirits Council said on Thursday. In a new report the industry group said whiskey exports were robust in the first half of 2018,... Read More

Long-term fixed-rate mortgage rates fell to 4.28 percent this week, potentially giving consumers more incentive to commit to purchasing a home just as the spring home buying season gets under way, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. The average rate on... Read More

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh sued the owners of Pimlico Race Course on Tuesday in a bid to block them from moving one of the city's signature sporting events, the Preakness Stakes, to another thoroughbred racing track in Maryland. Pugh, a... Read More

The Federal Reserve's policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said Wednesday there will be no more interest rate hikes this year, baring a significant, unforeseen change in the economy. The unanimous decision by the committee following its two-day meeting this week... Read More

Steady as she goes. That was the widely held expectation as the Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-making arm of the Federal Reserve, gathered Tuesday morning to kick off its two-day meeting this week. Given statements made by Fed Chairman... Read More

U.S Industrial production rose just 0.1 percent in February, slowed by the second straight monthly decline in manufacturing activity, the Federal Reserve said Friday. The central bank said manufacturing production dropped 0.4 percent last month, held down by declines in... Read More

Consumer prices rose a slight 0.2 percent in February, the first increase in four months, but inflation remains tame, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The latest consumer price index, which measures what Americans pay for a wide range of products,... Read More

US employers added just 20,000 jobs in February, a sharp pullback after a quarter of solid gains averaging 186,000 new jobs a month, the Labor Department reported Friday. The scarcity of new jobs added to the economy is the smallest... Read More

The net worth of America's households fell by a record $3.8 trillion at the end of 2018, pulled down by sharp declines on Wall Street that briefly pushed the market into bear territory, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. The bracing... Read More