The U.S. economy had a net gain of just 54,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate rose slightly. Friday’s report from the Labor Department shows the jobless rate rose one-tenth of a percent to hit 9.1 percent. Economists say at least 200,000 jobs need to be created each month to bring the jobless rate […]
Moody’s Warns Washington On Debt Impasse
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 2:20 pm (UTC-5)
A global rating agency says it may consider downgrading the credit rating for the United States if bickering politicians cannot reach an agreement to raise the debt limit. Moody’s Investor Services says the political wrangling over debts and spending has “exceeded expectations.” Current law limits U.S. government debt to about $14.3 trillion, but that limit […]
US Jobless Claims Fall Slightly
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 9:40 am (UTC-5)
The number of Americans signing up for unemployment compensation dropped slightly last week. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed a decline of 6,000 first-time applications. The decrease leaves the nationwide total of people applying for jobless aid at 422,000, higher than the level seen in a healthy job market. Government experts plan to publish […]
Moody Downgrades Greece’s Rating
Posted June 1st, 2011 at 7:45 pm (UTC-5)
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Greece’s local and foreign currency bond ratings again, putting the country’s chances of default over the next five years at 50 percent. The agency announced Wednesday that it has cut the country’s credit rating by three more notches , to push the rating deeper into junk status. A lower credit […]
US Economic Recovery Struggles to Gain Momentum
Posted June 1st, 2011 at 11:30 am (UTC-5)
The U.S. economic recovery is struggling to gain momentum, with new reports showing slower growth in job creation and the manufacturing sector. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday private companies added only 38,000 jobs in May. ADP also said fewer private sector jobs had been created in April than previously thought. A separate survey by the […]
Slow Growth Hurts US Job Market
Posted June 1st, 2011 at 9:10 am (UTC-5)
Sluggish economic growth appears to be slowing U.S. job creation. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday private companies added only 38,000 jobs in May. ADP also said fewer private sector jobs had been created in April than previously thought. Many economists look at the ADP report as an indicator of what the more comprehensive government-issued employment […]
Cyclones, Floods Take a Toll on Australian Economy
Posted June 1st, 2011 at 7:20 am (UTC-5)
Australia’s economy shrank in the first quarter of 2011 due to a number of natural disasters that struck the country’s key mining and agricultural sectors in the country’s northeast. The 1.2 percent drop in gross domestic product announced Wednesday by the government’s Bureau of Statistics is the biggest contraction since 1991, when Australia experienced its […]
China’s Manufacturing Sector Declines in May
Posted June 1st, 2011 at 12:25 am (UTC-5)
The expansion of China’s manufacturing activity slowed in May to its lowest rate in nine months, reflecting the government’s attempts to cool the economy and slow inflation. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing says its purchasing managers index, which measures the manufacturing sector, fell from 52.9 in April to 52 last month. The federation […]
