New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to touch their lowest level in more than 2-1/2 years, the Labor Department said. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the lowest since May 2008. Get the full story »
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Gas prices top $4 at some Chicago stations
For the first time since the summer of 2008, gasoline prices in Chicago have climbed over the $4 mark.
Prices have climbed above $4 at some stations such as the BP station at Lawrence Avenue and Marine Drive in Uptown which is charging $4.09 for a gallon of regular this morning. Though, AAA reports Chicago gas prices average out at $3.59, which is significantly higher than last year’s $2.80 for a gallon of regular Get the full story »
Melissa Bean to be CEO of Executives’ Club
Melissa Bean. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)
By Becky Yerak and Melissa Harris | Melissa Bean, the Barrington Democrat recently ousted from her U.S. House seat after three terms, has been hired as the new chief executive of the Executives’ Club of Chicago.
Before entering the world of politics, Bean worked in sales and management for high-tech companies, including a Motorola unit, Nortel and Arrow Electronics. She later started her own consulting firm to the tech industry, advising clients that included Anixter, Intel and Microsoft. She was elected to Congress in 2004.
Bean replaces Kaarina Koskenalusta, who resigned from the business forum last October after 25 years at the helm. Get the full story »
China’s holdings of U.S. debt jump 30%
The United States owes considerably more money to China than previously reported, the Treasury Department said on Monday as it revised Beijing’s holdings of U.S. Treasury debt sharply upward to $1.160 trillion.
The $268.4 billion increase over figures reported on February 15 was contained in a survey of foreign portfolio holdings of U.S. securities released on Monday. The report attributed Treasuries holdings to China that were previously counted in other countries where broker-dealers made purchases.
The United Kingdom has typically been a country where brokers have purchased Treasuries for central banks and investors elsewhere, including China. Get the full story »
Home purchase prices fall 4.3% in 4Q
The purchase price of U.S. homes fell 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter froma year earlier, as values declined across the country, according to Freddie Mac.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist, said Monday that low mortgage rates and the fact that foreclosed-property and short sales remain a big part of the market, helped push “homebuyer affordability to levels not seen in decades in most places.” Get the full story »
3 years into federal bailout, costs declining
Almost three years after a series of government bailouts began, what many feared would be a deep black hole for taxpayer money isn’t looking nearly so dark.
The brighter picture is highlighted by the outlook for the bailouts’ centerpiece — the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.
“It’s turning out to cost one heck of a lot less than what we all thought at the beginning,” said Ted Kaufman, a former U.S. senator from Delaware who heads the congressionally appointed panel overseeing TARP. Get the full story »
Economists list U.S. budget deficit as No. 1 worry
(Reuters)
The massive U.S. budget deficit is the gravest threat facing the economy, topping high unemployment and the risk of inflation or deflation, according to a survey of forecasters released on Monday.
The National Association for Business Economics said its 47-member panel of forecasters increased its estimate for the 2011 federal deficit to $1.4 trillion from $1.1 trillion in its previous survey in November. Get the full story »
Consumer spending edges up, incomes surge
U.S. consumer spending rose less than expected in January as households took advantage of the largest increase in incomes in more than 1-1/2 years to rebuild their savings, government data showed on Monday. Get the full story »
U.S., Chicago gas prices spike 6 cents overnight
A customer purchases gasoline at a Chicago Shell station on Feb. 7, 2011. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
U.S. gas prices jumped 6 cents overnight, as the recent spike in oil prices begins to hit filling stations across America. That marks the third day in a row that prices have risen, and brings the national average to the highest level since October 2008.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose 5.9 cents to $3.287, motorist group AAA said Friday. Gasoline also jumped 6 cents overnight in Chicago, where prices averaged $3.497. Get the full story »
Fourth-quarter GDP growth revised down to 2.8%
The economy grew much slower than originally thought at the end of 2010, according to new estimates released by the government Friday.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, was revised sharply lower to an annual growth rate of 2.8 percent in the three months ending in December. The initial reading had been for a 3.2 percent growth rate in the period. Get the full story »
Geithner: Enough oil on hand to weather crisis
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that there is substantial capacity across major world economies in strategic oil reserves in the event of a supply disruption. Get the full story »
USDA warns of food-price shock
U.S. consumers could see food costs spiking to levels seen during the food crisis of 2008 on higher commodity and energy prices, the Agriculture Department said on Thursday.
Food prices are forecast to rise 3.5 percent this year — nearly double the overall inflation rate. The lion’s share of the increase is expected in the second half of 2011, when the recent uptick for commodities, such as corn and soybeans, makes its way through the food system. Just last month, USDA forecast an increase of 2.5 percent in 2011. Get the full story »
Illinois bonds sought after despite fiscal woes
Investors skimmed over Illinois’ well-known financial troubles to vie for a piece of a $3.7 billion taxable pension bond sale on Wednesday.
The state received $6.1 billion in orders from a record 128 investors, according to John Sinsheimer, the state’s capital markets director. Get the full story »
Report: Job creation at low end of wage scale
About 86 percent of the more than 1.3 million jobs created in the last year have been in industries that pay wages below $19 per hour, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Employment Law Project, a policy advocacy group.
The report says there is an “striking imbalance” between the jobs lost in the recession and the jobs created in the last 12 months. For instance, 40 percent of the jobs lost paid $19 to $32 an hour, but only 14 percent of the jobs created were in this category. Get the full story »
