Paul’s Recent Stories
Economy Dec 30
Job market remains strong as unemployment claims drop to 198,000The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year's coronavirus recession.
Economy Dec 21
Omicron casts shadow over economy’s pandemic recoveryA heightened sense of anxiety has begun to erode the willingness of some people and some businesses to carry on as usual in the face of the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant.
Economy Dec 16
U.S. jobless claims rise but still historically low at 206,000The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week despite signs that the U.S. labor market is rebounding from last year's coronavirus recession.
Economy Dec 10
Why U.S. inflation is so high, and when it may easeFor months, many economists had sounded a reassuring message that a spike in consumer prices, something that had been missing in action in the U.S. for a generation, wouldn't stay long. Yet as any American who has bought a carton…
Economy Nov 26
Stocks sink on new COVID variant. Dow loses 905 pointsStocks are closing sharply lower on Wall Street Friday, after a coronavirus variant from South Africa appeared to be spreading across the globe and the European Union proposed suspending air travel from southern Africa.
Economy Nov 24
U.S. unemployment claims fall to 52-year low after seasonal adjustmentsJobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November 1969. But seasonal adjustments around the Thanksgiving holiday contributed significantly to the bigger-than-expected drop. Unadjusted, claims actually ticked up by more than 18,000 to nearly 259,000.
Nation Nov 18
U.S. jobless claims drop seventh straight week to 268,000The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low 268,000.
Economy Sep 29
Chemical shortage inflates paints and plastics pricesLike other manufacturers, plastic, paint and other petrochemical companies have been shaken by the pandemic and by the way consumers and businesses responded to it.
Economy Sep 23
U.S. jobless claims tick up from near a pandemic lowThe number of Americans applying for unemployment aid rose last week for a second straight week to 351,000, a sign that the delta variant of the coronavirus may be disrupting the job market’s recovery, at least temporarily.
Politics Sep 16
Biden tasks OSHA with vaccine mandatePresident Joe Biden directed OSHA to write a rule forcing employers with at least 100 workers to require staff get vaccinated or produce weekly test results showing they are virus free.