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08:35:49 - 07/01/2014
Small to midsize companies that have brought back manufacturing to the U.S. have found the task to be extremely difficult in the past few years. Companies are quickly finding out that there are shortages of skilled workers. Along with shortages of intellectual workers, employers are also facing difficulties navigating complex regulatory systems that control modern American manufacturing. These are just some of the challenges that small to medium businesses are currently facing.
09:47:19 - 06/30/2014
The euro-area inflation rate held steady in June at less than half the European Central Bank’s target. Mario Draghi is having difficult increasing prices and more importantly sparking growth. So far the average growth in prices for the entire year was 0.5 percent, exactly what the increase was in the month of May. Inflation is and has been holding steady in the Eurozone.
09:33:45 - 06/27/2014
U.S. inflation accelerated in May to its highest level in more than a year and a half. This recent development could weigh in on when Federal Reserve officials decided to raise interest rates. This does not mean that interest rates will change but strong consideration will be given. This increase in interest rates only signifies a normal return to historically normal rates of price increase for consumers.
07:07:19 - 06/27/2014
Consumer spending in the U.S. grew less than forecasted in May as Americans used gains in their income for household finances. “Purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed 0.2 percent after being little changed in April,” according to the Commerce Department. Economist expected growth in consumer spending to be closer to 0.4 percent if not higher.
12:15:21 - 06/25/2014
The U.S. economy contracted at a faster pace than previously estimated in the first quarter. This making the 2014 first quarter the sharpest pullback since the recession ended in 2009. Gross domestic product contracted at a seasonally adjusted rate of 2.9% in the first three months of the year. This decline was the fastest since the first quarter of 2009, when output decreased by 5.4%.
09:02:27 - 06/24/2014
Home prices rose at a much slower pace in 20 cities than expected as declining affordability put a lid on appreciation. The S&P index of property values increased 10.8 percent from April 2013, the smallest 12-month gain to date. This shows that the housing market pricing might finally be slowing down. It only makes sense as prices have increased far beyond logical values.
17:34:26 - 06/23/2014
Home ownership under the age of 35 hit the lowest level on record earlier this year, just as indebtedness among college grads notched a new high. This has caused a debate to be brought up by economist and policy makers that feel that the two items have a correlation. The correlation being that high student debt is driving the fall in home buying among the young and damaging the United States economy
11:56:22 - 06/20/2014
Payrolls climbed in 36 U.S. states in May and the unemployment rate fell in 20, showing the labor market continued to strengthen across the nation. Texas led all of the gainers with a total increase of 56,400 in employment and Pennsylvania followed with 24,700 more jobs. Business confidence seems to be improving as sales are improving and the economy starts to rebound from a terrible first quarter.
11:12:38 - 06/19/2014
The big news from Janet Yellen’s press conference was her announcement to scale back bond buying to $35 billion from $45 billion a month. This tells us that the Feds feel that the economy is on track for growth that is strong enough to keep reducing the unemployment rate. The Feds also moved up their projections for short-term interest rates in 2015 and 2016, though they slightly reduced their outlook for rates in the longer-run.
11:30:30 - 06/18/2014
Around four years ago 6.8 million Americans were out of work for six months or longer. Now that number has been cut in half and many would say that is wonderful, but it isn’t. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Nearly four-fifths of those who became long-term unemployed during the worst period of the downturn have since migrated to the fringes of the job market, a recent study shows, rarely seeking work, taking part-time posts or bouncing between unsteady jobs.
08:57:57 - 06/17/2014
The European Union inflation level fell to a point that has not been seen since the wake of the 2009 global recession. This lowering of inflation increases the chances that the European Central Bank will provide fresh stimulus to their economies.
09:55:27 - 06/16/2014
The IMF has cut the U.S. 2014 growth forecast to 2%. This growth cut came in today as the IMF felt that the harsh winter, a struggling housing market and weak international demand for U.S. products left growth lower than expected. After this cut in growth the IMF stated that they felt that a rebound was underway but it would not take place until the next year.
10:32:53 - 06/12/2014
The U.S. could face a permanent downturn in economic growth without increased business investment, better job training and a push to rebuild the country's aging infrastructure. Currently the U.S. growth rate is projected to run a little above 2% a year. This number is down from a 3.4% average that our economy ran on up until 2007. We are not seeing consistent growth because the market is facing challenges from a sluggish labor market and widening inequality.
11:03:57 - 06/11/2014
Vermont is the first state to approve a minimum wage above President Barack Obama's goal of $10.10 an hour, potentially creating a series of one-upmanship that could elevate wage floors in pockets of the country. The legislature in Vermont is the eighth this year to vote for a minimum-wage increase. The state of Vermont has increased its minimum wage rates nearly every year since 2007.
10:05:42 - 06/10/2014
China’s central bank unveiled details of their plan to let some banks lend more of their deposits. This is a clear attempt at boosting economic growth in a slumping economy. The Peoples Bank of China made it clear that it was making a “targeted cut” in the portions of deposits that banks need to keep on reserve. It trimmed the rate by half a percentage point for banks that lend to the rural sector and smaller companies.
