Economy

WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit surged to a record high in February as the nation’s economic activity rebounded more quickly than that of other nations carefully shake off the economic hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The trade deficit... Read More

While the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic has had drastic ramifications for the United States’ economy, its toll has been unevenly harsh for the country’s poorest citizens.  Following a recession, a “K-shaped recovery” occurs when different segments of the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — At first, it was expected to be brief. At least that was the hope.  Instead, a once-in-a-century pandemic has ground on for a year, throwing millions out of work and upending wide swathes of the American economy.... Read More

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden is planning a virtual meeting Monday with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — a chance for the pair to talk more fully about migration, confronting the coronavirus and cooperating on economic and... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week but remained high by historical standards.  Applications for benefits declined 111,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It... Read More

WASHINGTON — According to experts convened by the political advocacy group The Concord Coalition, the nation’s long standing fiscal, monetary, and economic challenges were made more difficult by the pandemic, but they are not insurmountable.  Leaders from the Congressional Budget... Read More

President Joe Biden is extending a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30 to help homeowners struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium on foreclosures of federally guaranteed mortgages had been set to expire on March 31. On his first... Read More

Cryptocurrencies have the potential to decentralize systems of commerce across the world, leading to vast peer-to-peer markets absent of manipulation.   In order for this to come to fruition, Sheila Warren, head of data, blockchain and digital assets and member of... Read More

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Bars have been closed for more than three months, Carnival celebrations are canceled, and it's not clear when things will get better in Germany. That has left the boss of Brauerei Heller, an organic brewery in... Read More

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — During last year's Carnival season, tourists at the Elysian Fields Inn gathered over breakfast to talk about parades from the night before. At NOLA Art Bar, they sipped cocktails and watched a parade go by. At... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — As the U.S. economy undergoes an uneven recovery from the virus pandemic, many small business owners face a tough decision on whether and when to take on employees. The pandemic forced Meghan Gardner to let go... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers slowed their spending by 0.2% in December, cutting back for a second straight month in a worrisome sign for an economy struggling under the weight of a still out-of-control pandemic. The decline reported Friday by... Read More

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden’s executive order Monday to boost American manufacturing is receiving a warm welcome from some major industry associations but words of caution from U.S. trade partners. The order requires federal agencies to purchase more of their... Read More

BALTIMORE (AP) — When Joe Biden entered the White House as vice president, the economy was cratering. Job losses were mounting. Stocks were crashing. Millions of Americans were in the early stages of losing their homes to foreclosure as the... Read More

TRENTON, N.J. -- Recently, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy passed a historic $14 billion legislation package that will benefit small businesses, local economies and more as the Garden State ushers in economic recovery and growth for years to come. The... Read More

LONDON (AP) — Despite growing vaccine access, January is looking grim around the globe as the coronavirus resurges and reshapes itself from Britain to Japan to California, filling hospitals and threatening livelihoods anew as governments lock down businesses and race... Read More

WASHINGTON — If the new COVID-19 vaccines prove effective and are widely accepted, the result could be a welcome surge in the nation's economy as well as an end to the pandemic nightmare. That's because millions of Americans, especially those... Read More

If anything positive can be said to have come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's that the months-long viral siege has shed new light on the need for innovation and creativity when it comes to business and workforce development. At... Read More

In a virtual roundtable event co-hosted Tuesday by the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, economists discussed what economic policies should be prioritized by the in-coming Biden Administration and Congress.  The panelists... Read More

Sinclair Broadcast Group reported a massive loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30 due to charges related to its local sports segment during the coronavirus. The Hunt Valley-based broadcaster lost $3.2 billion for the July-to-September period as the company wrote off about $4.2 billion... Read More

American Airlines wants to give tours of Boeing 737 Max aircraft at DFW International Airport and other locations before the beleaguered jets return to the skies more than 18 months of being grounded. The Fort Worth-based airline, the second-largest U.S. owner of 737 Max jets, told employees at... Read More

The resurgent Covid-19 pandemic is pushing back the recovery in air travel, turning winter into a survival test for carriers now pinning hopes on a spring rebound. Airlines are urging governments to introduce more testing and travel bubbles to help... Read More

Some parts of the U.S. economy are coming back strongly while others are still struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic. "In some segments the economy is recovering and rebounding in a very robust way," Bostic said... Read More

A fiscal stimulus deal isn’t essential to the U.S. recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, though the Trump administration and Congressional Democrats will keep talking, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said. “Well no, I don’t think it’s dead at all,”... Read More

SALT LAKE CITY — Vice President Mike Pence struggled to get the Trump campaign back on track Wednesday in a heated but disciplined debate with Sen. Kamala Harris that contrasted sharply with the chaotic clash last week between the presidential... Read More

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Shawn Quella can quickly rattle off a litany of economic challenges in his home state: the spike in unemployment this spring as the coronavirus spread, the favorite restaurants that have shut down, local retailers that struggle to... Read More

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits were little changed last week, contrasting with estimates for a decline and highlighting an economic recovery that’s coming in fits and starts. Initial jobless claims in regular state programs increased by 4,000 to 870,000 in... Read More

WASHINGTON — Emergency expansions to Unemployment Insurance provided critical support to workers across the country during the early months of the pandemic. But the major component of these expansions, an additional $600 in weekly benefits, expired at the end of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Just weeks after a Republican National Convention dominated by calls for “law and order,” President Donald Trump’s campaign has returned to an almost exclusively economic message in its advertising. It’s the latest strategic pivot by the Trump campaign,... Read More

WASHINGTON — Less than two months before the November election, House Republicans on Tuesday revealed their agenda, which aims to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, rebuild the economy and increase funding for the police. The House GOP’s “Commitment to America” outlines... Read More