Aug 02 Unemployment rise shakes stock markets, yet recession signals have been wrong — so far By Christopher Rugaber, Paul Wiseman, Associated Press The U.S. economy used to flash reliable signals when it was in or near a recession. But those red lights have gone haywire since the COVID-19 pandemic struck and upended normal business activity. Over the past two or three years,… Continue reading
Aug 02 U.S. hiring slows with just 114,000 jobs added in July, unemployment rate hits 4.3 percent By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press U.S. hiring decelerated sharply last month in the face of high interest rates as employers added a weak 114,000 jobs. Friday's Labor Department report showed a drop from the 179,000 jobs created in June. Continue reading
Jul 31 NHTSA decides 50 million air bag inflators are dangerous, moving closer to huge recall By Tom Krisher, Associated Press Despite opposition from automakers, U.S. auto safety regulators say they stand by a conclusion that more than 50 million air bag inflators are dangerous and should not be in use, taking another step toward a massive recall. Continue reading
Jul 31 WATCH: Fed Chair Powell holds news briefing as first interest rate cut in four years ‘getting closer’ By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press At a news conference Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that if inflation continued to cool, "a rate cut could be on the table in the September meeting.”… Continue reading
Jul 31 A sign inflation may keep cooling: Paychecks grew more slowly this spring By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press Higher wages and benefits are good for employees, but slower pay growth will likely reassure Fed officials that inflation is steadily falling back to their 2 percent target. Continue reading
Jul 27 Watch 6:25 As more retailers embrace digital price tags on shelves, how will they be used? By Ali Rogin, Andrew Corkery Traditional price tags at grocery stores may soon be on their way out, in favor of what are being called digital or electronic shelf labels that can be updated remotely. Consumer advocates worry this technology can lead to surge pricing… Continue watching
Jul 26 Harris hopes to turn Biden’s economic record into an asset for the election By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press Can she turn the Biden-Harris economic record into a political advantage in a way that President Joe Biden failed to do?… Continue reading
Jul 26 Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge cools, increasing likelihood of September rate cut By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press Prices rose just 0.1% from May to June, up from the previous month's unchanged reading. Compared with a year earlier, inflation declined to 2.5% from 2.6%. Continue reading
Jul 25 Video game performers are going on strike over AI concerns. Here’s what to know By Sarah Parvini, Associated Press Leaders of SAG-AFTRA have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and artificial intelligence in particular — as an existential crisis for performers in the video game industry because the capacity to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas… Continue reading
Jul 25 U.S. economy shows strong 2.8 percent growth, driven by consumers and businesses By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product picked up in the April-June quarter after growing at a 1.4 percent pace in the January-March period. Continue reading