Economy

Filter

The media's year of 'change or die'

By Geoff Bennett

The media and entertainment industries face a period of great turmoil, including unprecedented business and political pressures. Evan Shapiro, the so-called “Media Universe Cartographer,” speaks to Geoff Bennett about those challenges and the future.

OneMain Financial sued by 13 attorneys general over hidden loan add-ons

By Ken Sweet, Associated Press

A bipartisan group of 13 attorneys general sued the financial company OneMain Financial on Monday, alleging the company placed unwanted additional products and other hidden costs on its loans that led to higher costs for its borrowers.

A successful USDA program that has supported more than 533,000 affordable rental homes in rural America is being phased out

By Bryan Y. An, The Conversation

Hundreds of thousands of rural families could lose their affordable homes as mortgages the program supported expire by 2050.

Trump signs executive orders aimed at home affordability ahead of midterms

By Josh Boak, Associated Press

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a pair of executive orders aimed at showing his commitment to improving home affordability — a key issue for many voters going into November’s election for control of the House and Senate.

U.S. job openings rise to a better-than-expected 7 million

By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press

Layoffs fell slightly and the number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects — slipped modestly.

U.S. Treasury Secretary will meet China's vice premier in Paris ahead of Trump's visit to Beijing

By Didi Tang, Associated Press

It comes after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met last year and agreed to a one-year truce in a trade war that temporarily saw tit-for-tat tariffs soar to triple digits before the two sides climbed down.

U.S. economy expands slowly at 0.7% in fourth quarter, downgrading from initial government estimate

By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press

Growth in gross domestic product — the nation's output of goods and services — was down sharply from 4.4% in last year's third quarter and 3.8% in the second.

Key inflation gauge worsened in January, before Iran war lifted gas prices

By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press

Prices rose 2.8% in January compared with a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Trump suggests high oil prices are a positive after bragging about low gas prices last month

By Josh Boak, Associated Press

The about-face comes as Trump's team has struggled to offer a clear plan for opening up the critical Strait of Hormuz so that tankers full of oil and natural gas are no longer stranded.