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Americans were more optimistic about jobs and the overall economy in January, pushing the latest reading on consumer confidence to its highest level since May 2010.
The Consumer Confidence Index shot up to 60.6 in January, from 53.3 in December, the Conference Board, a New York-based research group that compiles the index, said Tuesday. Get the full story »
From the Chicago Sun-Times | The unemployment rate in Illinois fell to 9.3 percent in December from 9.6 percent in November, the ninth straight decline. But the state lost 9,400 jobs over the month, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Friday.
The rate is down from 11 percent in December 2009. Over the year, the state added 46,300 jobs. Get the full story>>
Less than a quarter of all Americans say the economy is in good shape, according to a new national poll. But the 24 percent who give the economy a thumbs-up in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday represents a six-point jump since November. Get the full story »
Bloomberg News | The federal commission that has been investigating the meltdown in the financial industry is set to release reports with three different conclusions next week.
U.S. initial jobless claims fell more than expected last week and showed their biggest decline since February, in a hopeful sign for the U.S. labor market. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped sharply to 404,000 from a downwardly revised reading of 441,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Get the full story »
Career Education Corp. said Wednesday that it will cut its U.S. work force by 7 percent, or 600 positions, as the for-profit educator looks to reduce costs in the face of slowing enrollment growth.
The company, whose schools include Le Cordon Bleu North America and American InterContinental University, said the reductions will roll out over the next few months. Career Education will book a charge of up to $8 million in its fiscal fourth quarter on severance and related costs. Get the full story »
U.S. consumer confidence slipped in the latest week after a sharp jump the week before, according to an ABC News index, but economic optimism was at a seven-year high.
The overall consumer-comfort index reading was -43 on its scale of -100 to +100 in the week ended Sunday, down three points from the prior week. Get the full story »
U.S. home-builder sentiment in January was flat at a low level for the third month in a row as the housing market struggled to recover from its collapse, a survey released Tuesday showed.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index held steady at 16 from last month. Get the full story »
Stretching out the repayment of Greece’s outstanding debt, beyond its EU/IMF bailout loans, could help the overborrowed country emerge from its debt crisis, its deputy prime minister said Monday.
“I do not believe in haircuts but in extending the repayment period on debt,” Deputy Prime Minister Theodore Pangalos told Skai TV’s New Files show.
“Debt repayment extension may refer not only to the 110 billion euros (of emergency EU/IMF funding) but the entire debt,” he said.
A group of U.S. senators, on the eve of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s arrival in the United States, said the time has come for U.S. congressional action on China’s currency policies.
Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said Beijing’s currency practices give Chinese companies an unfair trade advantage and have acted like “a boot on the throat” of U.S. economic recovery. Get the full story »
New statistics from the Illinois food stamp program show an increase in those receiving assistance, and food pantries are reporting that more people are coming to them for help.
Numbers from the Illinois Department of Human Services show about 857,000 households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in December. That’s 12.7 percent more than a year earlier, The Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday. Get the full story »
Lady Gaga’s favorite Judas Priest burger will still cost $12 at Kuma’s Corner as the trendy Chicago eatery is resisting raising prices though the cost of making that burger has gone up.
“You can’t pass it on, not in times like this,” Kuma’s manager Frank DeBoss said of beef prices that recently rose 10 percent. Get the full story »
Federal Reserve officials worried in 2005 about the risks a housing bubble could pose to the U.S. economy but ended the year hopeful a steady round of interest-rate increases would keep the problem in check, transcripts released Friday showed.
The documents suggest the Fed, in hindsight, may have been too complacent about an overheated housing market that helped spark the worst U.S. financial crisis and deepest recession since the 1930s. Get the full story »
Industrial production rose in December by the largest amount in five months, providing the economy with solid momentum heading into the new year.
Activity at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities increased 0.8 percent last month, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Industrial production was up in every month but one in 2010.
Chicagoans faced less price inflation than the nation as a whole last month.
The consumer price index in the Chicago region rose 0.3 percent in December as the cost of gas and food increased, the Labor Department said Friday. The national rate was 0.5 percent, the largest gain in 18 months. Get the full story »
