The Fed’s Preferred Inflation Measure Cools, Welcome News
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure continued to cool as consumer spending grew only moderately, good news for central bankers who have been trying to weigh down demand and wrestle price increases under control. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index climbed…
Trump Eyes Bigger Trade War in Second Term
In March 2018, a day after announcing sweeping tariffs on metals imported from America’s allies and adversaries alike, President Donald J. Trump took to social media to share one of his central economic philosophies: “Trade wars are good, and easy…
Why Many CEOs Still Support Biden Over Trump
When the White House chief of staff, Jeffrey Zients, met with dozens of top executives in Washington this month, he encountered a familiar list of corporate complaints about President Biden. The executives at the Business Roundtable, a group representing some…
Can A.I. Answer the Needs of Smaller Businesses? Some Push to Find Out.
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has convened an annual meeting of local business leaders since the 1800s, but the most recent gathering had a decidedly modern theme: artificial intelligence. The goal was to demystify the technology for the chamber’s…
Fact-Checking Biden’s and Trump’s Claims About the Economy
Consumer sentiment about the state of the economy could be pivotal in shaping the 2024 presidential election. President Biden is still grappling with how to address one of his biggest weaknesses: inflation, which has recently cooled but soared in his…
Biden’s Stimulus Juiced the Economy, but Its Political Effects Are Muddled
The $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package that President Biden signed shortly after taking office has become both an anchor and a buoy for his re-election campaign. The American Rescue Plan, which the Biden administration created and Democrats passed in March…
How the Teamsters and a Homegrown Union Plan to Take On Amazon
After years of organizing Amazon workers and pressuring the company to bargain over wages and working conditions, two prominent unions are teaming up to challenge the online retailer. The partnership was made final after members of the Amazon Labor Union,…
Dilemma on Wall Street: Short-Term Gain or Climate Benefit?
A team of economists recently analyzed 20 years of peer-reviewed research on the social cost of carbon, an estimate of the damage from climate change. They concluded that the average cost, adjusted for improved methods, is substantially higher than even…
The Weird Housing Market, in 5 Charts
Home prices have held up better than expected amid high interest rates. But that doesn’t mean the housing market is healthy. When the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in 2022, most economists thought the housing market would be the…
New Home Construction Slows as Mortgage Rates Remain High
Construction of new homes in the United States dropped below expectations in May as builders pull back on new residential projects largely in response to high interest rates, reinforcing concerns about stubbornly high housing prices. Government data released on Thursday…
Democrats’ Dream of a Wealth Tax Is Alive. For Now.
For years, liberal Democrats have agitated for the United States to tax wealth, not just income, as a way to ensure that rich Americans who derive wealth from real estate, stocks, bonds and other assets were paying more in taxes….
U.S. Debt on Pace to Top $56 Trillion Over Next 10 Years
The United States is on a pace to add trillions of dollars to its national debt over the next decade, borrowing money more quickly than previously expected, at a time when big legislative fights loom over taxes and spending. The…
California Moves to Modify Law Letting Workers Sue Employers
A last-minute political compromise has headed off an effort to repeal a California law allowing workers to sue employers for workplace violations — a legal tool that has cost companies billions of dollars. The compromise, announced on Tuesday by Gov….
Amazon Is Fined Nearly $6 Million Over Warehouse Work Quotas
A California labor regulator said on Tuesday that it had fined Amazon nearly $6 million for thousands of violations of a safety law that took effect in 2022. The measure, known as the Warehouse Quotas Law, lets employees request written…
World Bank Sees Rosier Growth Outlook
The World Bank on Tuesday raised its outlook for the world economy this year but warned that the rise of new trade barriers and protectionist policies posed a long-term threat to global growth. In its latest Global Economic Prospects report,…
CPI Data Will Arrive Just Before the Fed Meets. Will It Be a Game Changer?
Just hours before the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest rate decision, fresh inflation data showed that price increases slowed notably in May. The new report is a sign that inflation is cooling again after proving sticky early in 2024,…
Supreme Court Backs Starbucks Over ‘Memphis 7’ Union Case
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Starbucks on Thursday in a challenge against a labor ruling by a federal judge, making it more difficult for a key federal agency to intervene when a company is accused of illegally suppressing…
Montana Has More Cows Than People. Why Are Locals Eating Beef From Brazil?
“Making It Work” is a series is about small-business owners striving to endure hard times. While many people can conjure up romantic visions of a Montana ranch — vast valleys, cold streams, snow-capped mountains — few understand what happens when…
The Fed Holds Rates Steady and Predicts Just One Reduction This Year
Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged at their June meeting on Wednesday and predicted that they will cut borrowing costs just once before the end of 2024, taking a cautious approach as they try to avoid declaring a premature…
What to Watch as the Fed Meets
Federal Reserve officials are expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but investors and economists will be carefully watching for any hints about when policymakers could begin cutting borrowing costs. Central bankers have held rates at 5.3 percent since…
U.S. Bans Imports From 3 Chinese Companies Over Ties to Forced Labor
The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday added three Chinese companies to a list of firms whose products can no longer be exported to the United States, as part of what it described as an escalating crackdown on companies that…
Fed Is in No Rush to Cut Rates as Economy Holds Up
Federal Reserve officials are entering an uncertain summer. They are not sure how quickly inflation will cool, how much the economy is likely to slow or just how long interest rates need to stay high in order to make sure…
U.A.W. Reaches Accord on Pay and Safety at E.V. Battery Plant
The United Automobile Workers union on Monday announced a tentative contract agreement at an Ohio factory making batteries for electric vehicles, a step that it called a milestone in enhancing pay and safety in the E.V. supply chain. The accord…
Wage Growth Exceeds Forecasts, Potentially Deterring Fed Rate Cuts
As officials at the Federal Reserve weigh whether and when to cut interest rates this year, they have been hoping to see evidence that the labor market is gradually cooling but with unemployment remaining low. The jobs report released Friday…
What to Make of the Jobs Report’s Mixed Signals
Sometimes, the many numbers included in the government’s monthly jobs report come together to paint a clear, coherent picture of the strength or weakness of the U.S. labor market. This is not one of those times. Instead, the data released…
U.S. Adds 272,000 Jobs in May, an Unexpectedly Strong Pace of Hiring
The U.S. economy keeps throwing curveballs, and the May employment report is the latest example. Employers added 272,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported on Friday, well above what economists had expected as hiring had gradually slowed. That’s an…
U.S. Adds Tariffs to Shield Struggling Solar Industry
Tariffs aimed at protecting America’s solar industry from foreign competition snapped back into place on Thursday, ending a two-year pause that President Biden approved as part of his effort to jump-start solar adoption in the U.S. The tariffs, which will…
Europe Has Fallen Behind the U.S. and China. Can It Catch Up?
Europe’s share of the global economy is shrinking, and fears are deepening that the continent can no longer keep up with the United States and China. “We are too small,” said Enrico Letta, a former Italian prime minister who recently…
Car Deals Vanished During the Pandemic. They’re Coming Back.
For much of the last four years, automakers and their dealers had so few cars to sell — and demand was so strong — that they could command high prices. Those days are over, and hefty discounts are starting a…
Feeling Consumers’ Pain, Retailers Bring Back Discounts
U.S. consumers, fatigued by a three-year bout of inflation, want lower prices. And large retailers that have increased prices, partly to contend with their own rising costs, appear to be responding to customer concerns — to an extent. Walgreens said…
The Floating Traffic Jam That Freaked Us All Out
Southern California appeared to be under siege from a blockade. More than 50 enormous vessels bobbed in the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean, marooned off the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. As days stretched into…
GDP Gain in First Quarter Revised Downward in U.S.
Economic growth slowed more sharply early this year than initially estimated, as consumers eased up on spending amid rising prices and high interest rates. U.S. gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew at a 1.3 percent annual rate in the…
Alzheimer’s Takes a Financial Toll Long Before Diagnosis, Study Finds
Long before people develop dementia, they often begin falling behind on mortgage payments, credit card bills and other financial obligations, new research shows. A team of economists and medical experts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Georgetown…
Why Are People So Down About the Economy? Theories Abound.
The U.S. economy has been an enigma over the past few years. The job market is booming, and consumers are still spending, which is usually a sign of optimism. But if you ask Americans, many will tell you that they…
U.S. Accuses Hyundai and Two Other Companies of Using Child Labor
The Labor Department on Thursday sued Hyundai over the use of child labor in Alabama, holding the car manufacturer liable for the employment of children in its supply chain, including a 13-year-old girl who worked up to 60 hours per…
Will Billions More in New Aid Save Family Farms?
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has a line about the state of small-scale agriculture in America these days. It’s drawn from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which shows that as the average size of farms has risen, the nation had lost…
Home Insurance Is Clobbering Consumers. Yet It’s Barely Counted as Inflation.
Holly Meyer Lucas estimates that as many as 30 of the 100 houses her real estate team sold in and around Jupiter, Fla., last year were put on the market because their owners could no longer keep up with skyrocketing…
If A.I. Can Do Your Job, Maybe It Can Also Replace Your C.E.O.
As artificial intelligence programs shake up the office, potentially making millions of jobs obsolete, one group of perpetually stressed workers seems especially vulnerable. These employees analyze new markets and discern trends, both tasks a computer could do more efficiently. They…
Teamsters Struggle to Unionize Amazon and FedEx Delivery Workers
Last year, two unions representing workers at three large automakers and UPS negotiated new labor contracts that included big raises and other gains. Leaders of the unions — the United Automobile Workers and the Teamsters — hoped the wins would…
How China Pulled So Far Ahead on Industrial Policy
For more than half a century, concerns about oil shortages or a damaged climate have spurred governments to invest in alternative energy sources. In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter placed solar panels on the roof of the White House as…
The NCAA Agreed to Pay Players. It Won’t Call Them Employees.
The immediate takeaway from the landmark $2.8 billion settlement that the N.C.A.A. and the major athletic conferences accepted on Thursday was that it cut straight at the heart of the organization’s cherished model of amateurism: Schools can now pay their…
Big Sky, Big Growth: How Montana’s Newcomers Are Shaping Its Senate Duel
Growing up in Bozeman, Mont., Dylan Heintz loved the picturesque views of the snow-capped mountains and the small-town charm. Things were cheap: His dad bought the family home for about $80,000. These days, Bozeman feels less quaint. A steady stream…
G7 Finance Ministers Aim to Use Russia’s Frozen Assets to Help Ukraine
Top finance officials from the world’s advanced economies moved toward an agreement on Saturday over how to use Russia’s frozen central bank assets to aid Ukraine and warned against China’s dumping of cheap exports into their markets, aiming to marshal…
The N.C.A.A. Agreed to Pay Players. It Won’t Call Them Employees.
The immediate takeaway from the landmark $2.8 billion settlement that the N.C.A.A. and the major athletic conferences accepted on Thursday was that it cut straight at the heart of the organization’s cherished model of amateurism: Schools can now pay their…
What Trump 2.0 Could Mean for the Federal Reserve
Former President Donald J. Trump relentlessly criticized the Federal Reserve and Jerome H. Powell, its chair, during his time in office. As he competes with President Biden for a second presidential term, that history has many on Wall Street wondering:…
Fed Minutes Show Officials Were Wary About Inflation at May Meeting
Federal Reserve officials were wary about the recent lack of progress on inflation and remained willing to lift interest rates if conditions made it necessary as of their two-day meeting that ended on May 1. Minutes from the gathering, released…
Rent Is Harder to Handle and Inflation Is a Burden, a Fed Financial Survey Finds
American households struggled to cover some day-to-day expenses in 2023, including rent, and many remained glum about inflation even as price increases slowed. That’s one of several takeaways from a new Federal Reserve report on the financial well-being of American…
Europe Wants to Build a Stronger Defense Industry, but Can’t Decide How
France and Germany’s recent agreement to develop a new multibillion-dollar battlefield tank together was immediately hailed by the German defense minister, Boris Pistorius, as a “breakthrough” achievement. “It is a historic moment,” he said. His gushing was understandable. For seven…
U.S. and Europe Move Closer to Using Russian Assets to Help Ukraine
The United States and Europe are coalescing around a plan to use interest earned on frozen Russian central bank assets to provide Ukraine with a loan to be used for military and economic assistance, potentially providing the country with a…
A Loss at Mercedes-Benz Slows U.A.W.’s Southern Campaign
After suffering a setback at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama on Friday, the United Automobile Workers union’s efforts to organize other auto factories in the South is likely to slow and could struggle to make headway. About 56 percent of…
Walmart Earnings Boosted by ‘Upper-Income’ Shoppers
The Numbers: Sales growth in stores and especially online. Walmart said its comparable-store sales in the United States rose 3.8 percent from the quarter a year earlier. Its U.S. e-commerce business jumped 22 percent. Walmart has performed better than retailers…
What Forecasters Say About Interest Rates (and Why They Disagree)
How soon is soon? Or exactly how much later is later? As the year started, there was a widespread view among economists and on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates in the first half of the…
Few Chinese Electric Cars Are Sold in U.S., but Industry Fears a Flood
The Biden administration’s new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles won’t have a huge immediate impact on American consumers or the car market because very few such cars are sold in the United States. But the decision reflects deep concern within…
Inside the Rent Inflation Measure That Economics Nerds Love to Hate
There’s a three-letter abbreviation that economists have started pronouncing with the energy of a four-letter word: “O.E.R.” It stands for owner’s equivalent rent, and it has been used to measure American housing inflation since the 1980s. As its name suggests,…
Fed Chair’s Confidence in Slowing Inflation Is ‘Not as High’ as Before
Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, reiterated Tuesday that policymakers were poised to hold interest rates steady at a high level as they waited for evidence that inflation is slowing further. Fed officials entered 2024 expecting to make interest…
High Interest Rates Are Hitting Poorer Americans the Hardest
High interest rates haven’t crashed the financial system, set off a wave of bankruptcies or caused the recession that many economists feared. But for millions of low- and moderate-income families, high rates are taking a toll. More Americans are falling…
U.S. Awards $120 Million to Polar Semiconductor to Expand Chip Facility
Federal officials will provide up to $120 million in grants to Polar Semiconductor to help the company expand its chip manufacturing facility in Minnesota, the Biden administration announced on Monday, the latest in a string of awards meant to strengthen…
U.S. to Announce New Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles
The Biden administration is set to announce new tariffs as high as 100 percent on Chinese electric vehicles and additional import taxes on other Chinese goods, including semiconductors, as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter….
Biden Announces $3.3 Billion Microsoft AI Center at Trump’s Failed Foxconn Site
President Biden on Wednesday announced the creation of an artificial intelligence data center in Wisconsin, highlighting one of his administration’s biggest economic accomplishments in a crucial battleground state — and pointing to a significant failure by his predecessor and 2024…
How 401(k) Drives Inequality – The New York Times
This past January, another bipartisan collaboration — between Alicia Munnell, who was an economist in the Clinton administration and who now serves as the director of Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, and Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the…
Job Openings and Hiring Are at a 3-Year Ebb
The red-hot labor market cooled somewhat in March, government data showed on Wednesday. Employers had 8.5 million unfilled job openings on the last day of March, the fewest since early 2021, according to data released by the Labor Department. They…
Federal Money Is All Over Milwaukee. Biden Hopes Voters Will Notice.
Across Milwaukee, residents can see evidence of federal money from laws passed under the Biden administration, if they know where to look. It shows up in a growing array of solar panels near the airport. Ramshackle houses rehabilitated and sold…
Fed Holds Rates Steady, Noting Lack of Progress on Inflation
Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged and signaled that they were wary about how stubborn inflation was proving, paving the way for a longer period of high borrowing costs. The Fed held rates steady at 5.3 percent on Wednesday,…
U.S. Job Market Eases, but Hiring Remains Firm
The American job market may be shifting into a lower gear this spring, a turn that economists have expected for months after a vigorous rebound from the pandemic shock. Employers added 175,000 positions in April, the Labor Department reported Friday,…
North Carolina Triad Tries to Reinvent Its Economy
Scott Kidd didn’t expect a terribly busy job when he became the town manager of Liberty, N.C., a onetime furniture and textile hub whose rhythms more recently centered on a yearly antiques festival. Those quiet times, less than three years…
The Fed Is Eyeing the Job Market, but It’s Difficult to Read
The Federal Reserve spent much of 2022 and 2023 narrowly focusing on inflation as policymakers set interest rates: Prices were rising way too fast, so they became the central bank’s top priority. But now that inflation has cooled, officials are…
He Won by a Landslide. Why Is He Fighting for His Political Life?
Ben Houchen, a regional mayor in the north of England, faces a close re-election race, partly thanks to the broader troubles of Britain’s Conservative Party.
What to Know About Today’s Fed Meeting on Interest Rates
Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged and signaled that they are wary about how stubborn inflation is proving, paving the way for a longer period of high interest rates. The Fed held borrowing costs steady at 5.33 percent on…
Walmart Introduces a New Store Brand for ‘Quality Food’
When prices for grocery staples surged in 2021 and 2022, some Americans who had not regularly shopped at Walmart increasingly turned to the retailer, which is known for its affordable prices. Now, the company is trying to keep those new…
Antony Blinken Visits China – The New York Times
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken cheered on the sidelines at a basketball game in Shanghai on Wednesday night, and spent Thursday chatting with students at New York University’s Shanghai campus and meeting American business owners. It all went to…
Inflation Is Stubborn. Is the Federal Budget Deficit Making It Worse?
A crucial question is hanging over the American economy and the fall presidential election: Why are consumer prices still growing uncomfortably fast, even after a sustained campaign by the Federal Reserve to slow the economy by raising interest rates? Economists…
Blinken’s Visit to China: What to Know
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is meeting officials in China this week as disputes over wars, trade, technology and security are testing the two countries’ efforts to stabilize the relationship. The United States is heading into an election year…
How High Wall Street Thinks the Fed Will Keep Interest Rates
At the start of 2024, investors expected the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates substantially this year as inflation cooled. But price increases have been surprisingly stubborn, and that is forcing a rethink on Wall Street. Investors and economists are…
U.S. Economy Grew at 1.6% Rate in First-Quarter Slowdown
The U.S. economy remained resilient early this year, with a strong job market fueling robust consumer spending. The trouble is that inflation was resilient, too. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, increased at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the…
Antony Blinken Visits China – The New York Times
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken cheered on the sidelines at a basketball game in Shanghai on Wednesday night, and spent Thursday chatting with students at New York University’s Shanghai campus and meeting American business owners. It all went to…
N.F.L. Draft Is Like Super Bowl for City of Detroit
When the N.F.L. took its college draft on the road a decade ago, its first stops were Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas, three of the league’s biggest markets. The concept was an instant hit, turning a show cloistered for a half…
‘Pay Later’ Lenders Have an Issue With Credit Bureaus
Shoppers in recent years have embraced “buy now, pay later” loans as an easy, interest-free way to purchase everything from sweaters to concert tickets. The loans typically are not reported on consumers’ credit reports, however, or reflected in their credit…
A Bill to Limit Canada’s Trade Negotiators on Farm Goods Edges Nearer to Law
Private members’ bills, particularly those from members of the Bloc Québécois, rarely make their way through the parliamentary process. But after passing the House of Commons with strong support from members of all parties, a bill from Yves Perron, who…
Could the Union Victory at VW Set Off a Wave?
“If workers in Chattanooga get a great contract, a big raise, better health benefits, and then the same thing at Mercedes, there will be a lot more good opportunities to win good contracts in short order,” said Madeline Janis, co-executive…
VW Workers in Tennessee Vote for Union
In a landmark victory for organized labor, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee have voted overwhelmingly to join the United Automobile Workers union, becoming the first nonunion auto plant in a Southern state to do so. The company said…
Start-Up Founder Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Fraud
Another start-up founder is going to prison for overstating his company’s performance to investors. Manish Lachwani, who last year pleaded guilty to three counts of defrauding investors at his software start-up, HeadSpin, was sentenced to one and a half years…
A Japanese Village Wants Tourists to Come for Heat, Soot and Steel
To lure visitors, residents of Yoshida, famed for its high-quality steel, are inviting tourists to help produce it.
Chinese Exports Are Threatening Biden’s Industrial Agenda
The president is increasingly hitting back with tariffs and other measures meant to restrict imports, raising tensions with Beijing.
VW Workers in Tennessee Start Vote on U.A.W., Testing Union Ambitions
Last fall the United Automobile Workers union won big pay increases from the Detroit automakers, and the impact rippled quickly through the nonunion auto plants scattered across the South. Afterward, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai and Tesla raised wages for…
Biden, Competing With Trump to Be Tough on China, Calls for Steel Tariffs
President Biden on Wednesday called for major increases to some tariffs on steel and aluminum products from China, speaking to members of a national steelworkers union in Pittsburgh as he vies with former President Donald J. Trump for votes in…
The Global Turn Away From Free-Market Policies Worries Economists
Meeting outside Paris last week, top officials from France, Germany and Italy pledged to pursue a coordinated economic policy to counter stepped-up efforts by Washington and Beijing to protect their own homegrown businesses. The three European countries have joined the…
Why Better Times (and Big Raises) Haven’t Cured the Inflation Hangover
Some 64 percent of Pennsylvanians responding to a Quinnipiac poll in early January described their financial situation as excellent or good; 24 percent characterized it as “not so good,” and only 9 percent called it poor. But in the same…
3 Facts That Help Explain a Confusing Economic Moment
The path to a “soft landing” doesn’t seem as smooth as it did four months ago. But the expectations of a year ago have been surpassed. April 13, 2024 The economic news of the past two weeks has been enough…
Immigrants in Maine Are Filling a Labor Gap. It May Be a Prelude for the U.S.
Maine has a lot of lobsters. It also has a lot of older people, ones who are less and less willing and able to catch, clean and sell the crustaceans that make up a $1 billion industry for the state….
Is the Boom-and-Bust Business Cycle Dead?
The rise of international trade, Mr. Kelly added, can often offset slowing domestic demand since businesses, enabled by the internet, can find customers throughout the globe. And the service sector’s growth, he concluded, has “made the economy more stable and,…
Soft Landing or No Landing? Fed’s Economic Picture Gets Complicated.
America seemed headed for an economic fairy-tale ending in late 2023. The painfully rapid inflation that had kicked off in 2021 appeared to be cooling in earnest, and economic growth had begun to gradually moderate after a series of Federal…
Higher for Longer After All? Investors See Fed Rates Falling More Slowly.
Investors were betting big on Federal Reserve rate cuts at the start of 2024, wagering that central bankers would lower interest rates to around 4 percent by the end of the year. But after months of stubborn inflation and strong…
TSMC Will Receive $6.6 Billion to Bolster U.S. Chip Manufacturing
The Biden administration will award up to $6.6 billion in grants to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the leading maker of the most advanced microchips, in a bid to bring some of the most cutting-edge semiconductor technology to the United States….
New Questions on How a Key Agency Shared Inflation Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics shared more information about inflation with Wall Street “super users” than previously disclosed, emails from the agency show. The revelation is likely to prompt further scrutiny of the way the government shares economic data at…
Why a Second Trump Term Could Be Bad for Corporate America
There was anxiety in the thin mountain air when the planet’s economic leaders gathered in January at Davos for the 54th meeting of the World Economic Forum. Donald Trump had just trounced Nikki Haley in the Iowa caucuses, all but…
Yellen Warns China on Exports and Russia Support
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen confronted her Chinese counterpart about China’s surging exports of inexpensive electric vehicles and other green energy goods, saying that they were a threat to American jobs and urging Beijing to scale back its industrial strategy,…
Consumers Hate ‘Price Discrimination,’ but They Sure Love a Discount
Zohar Gilad runs Fast Simon, a company that helps retailers optimize their websites. Instead of offering different prices, they might display higher-end items for customers with a free-spending buying history, and clearance items for bargain hunters. Targeted coupons for hesitant…
Mercedes-Benz Workers in Alabama Ask for Unionization Vote
Workers at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama have petitioned federal officials to hold a vote on whether to join the United Automobile Workers, the union said on Friday, a step forward for its drive to organize workers at car factories…
U.S. Employers Added 303,000 Jobs in 39th Straight Month of Growth
Another month, another burst of better-than-expected job gains. Employers added 303,000 jobs in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, from 3.9 percent in February. Expectations of…
Kate Shindle on Why She’s Stepping Down as Actors’ Equity President
Kate Shindle, who has served as president of Actors’ Equity Association for nine years, is stepping down after a tenure dominated by the coronavirus pandemic that for a time idled all of the labor union’s members. Shindle, 47, said she…
As Wildfires Grow Fiercer, Some Companies Look to Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain
When it came to wildfires, 2021 was an increasingly common kind of year in Montana: Flames consumed 747,000 acres, an area nearly the size of Long Island. About 2,700 of those acres were on Don Harland’s Sheep Creek Ranch, where…
Fed Chair Powell Wants Inflation to Cool More
Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, reiterated on Wednesday that the central bank can take its time before cutting interest rates as inflation fades and economic growth holds up. The central bank chief also used a speech…
Poor Nations Are Writing a New Handbook for Getting Rich
For more than half a century, the handbook for how developing countries can grow rich hasn’t changed much: Move subsistence farmers into manufacturing jobs, and then sell what they produce to the rest of the world. The recipe — customized…
Will A.I. Boost Productivity? Companies Sure Hope So.
Wendy’s menu boards. Ben & Jerry’s grocery store freezers. Abercrombie & Fitch’s marketing. Many mainstays of the American customer experience are increasingly powered by artificial intelligence. The question is whether the technology will actually make companies more efficient. Rapid productivity…
Fed’s Key Inflation Gauge Climbed 2.5% Annually in February
The latest reading of the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge was in line with economists’ expectations, as price increases hovered above the central bank’s target even after months of cooling. The Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation measure climbed by 2.5 percent…
Fed Chair Says Central Bank Need Not ‘Hurry’ to Cut Rates
Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said on Friday that resilient economic growth is giving the central bank the flexibility to be patient before cutting interest rates. Fed officials raised interest rates sharply from early 2022 to…
Baltimore Bridge Collapse Creates Upheaval at Largest U.S. Port for Car Trade
Baltimore ranks first in the United States for the volume of automobiles and light trucks it handles, and for vessels that carry wheeled cargo, including farm and construction machinery, according to a statement by Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland last…
California $20 Fast-Food Minimum Wage Is Coming April 1
The ambitious law, which supporters hope to see replicated nationwide, has been characterized by opposing sides in stark terms. To backers, it is a step toward fair compensation for low-wage workers who faced significant risk during the pandemic. To opponents,…
Another Wayward Container Ship Shows World Trade’s Fragility
Even before an enormous container ship rammed a bridge in Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday, sending the span hurtling into the Patapsco River, and halting cargo traffic at a major American port, there was ample reason to worry…
They Grow Your Berries and Peaches, but Often Lack One Item: Insurance
Farmers who grow fresh fruits and vegetables are often finding crop insurance prohibitively expensive — or even unavailable — as climate change escalates the likelihood of drought and floods capable of decimating harvests. Their predicament has left some small farmers…
Happy-Go-Lucky Australia Is Feeling Neither Happy, Nor Lucky
For nearly three decades, Australia seemed to have a sort of get-out-of-jail card that allowed it to glide through the dot-com bust and the global financial crisis without a recession, while its citizens mostly enjoyed high wages, affordable housing and…
The Trustbuster Who Has Apple and Google in His Sights
Shortly after Jonathan Kanter took over the Justice Department’s antitrust division in November 2021, the agency secured an additional $50 million to investigate monopolies, bust criminal cartels and block mergers. To celebrate, Mr. Kanter bought a prop of a giant…
‘Strike Madness’ Hits Germany While Its Economy Stumbles
A wave of strikes by German workers, feeling the sting of inflation and stagnant growth, is the latest sign of the bleak outlook for Europe’s economic powerhouse.
What Comes Next for the Housing Market?
Federal Reserve officials are planning to cut interest rates this year, real estate agents are likely to slash their commissions after a major settlement and President Biden has begun to look for ways his administration can alleviate high housing costs….
Why the Panama Canal Didn’t Lose Money When Ship Crossings Fell
Low water levels have forced officials to slash the number of ships that are allowed through the Panama Canal, disrupting global supply chains and pushing up transportation costs. But, remarkably, the big drop in ship traffic has not — at…
Email ‘Mistake’ on Inflation Data Prompts Questions on What Is Shared
One afternoon in late February, an employee at the Bureau of Labor Statistics sent an email about an obscure detail in the way the government calculates inflation — and set off an unlikely firestorm. Economists on Wall Street had spent…
Fed Meets Amid Worries That Inflation Progress Might Stall
Slowing America’s rapid inflation has been an unexpectedly painless process so far. High interest rates are making it expensive to take out a mortgage or borrow to start a business, but they have not slammed the brakes on economic growth…
Japan’s Labor Market Has a Lesson for the Fed: Women Can Surprise You
Japan’s economy has rocketed into the headlines this year as inflation returns for the first time in decades, workers win wage gains and the Bank of Japan raises interest rates for the first time in 17 years. But there’s another,…
Biden Budget Lays Out Battle Lines Against Trump
President Biden in his budget this week staked out major economic battle lines with former President Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The proposal offers the nation a glimpse of the diverging directions that retirement programs, taxes, trade…
U.S. Judge Blocks Rule Extending Reach of Labor Law to Franchisers
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which led a group of business groups challenging the rule, applauded the ruling. “It will prevent businesses from facing new liabilities related to workplaces they don’t control, and workers they don’t actually employ,” Suzanne P….
Biden’s $7.3 Trillion Budget Proposal Highlights Divide With Trump and GOP
President Biden proposed a $7.3 trillion budget on Monday packed with tax increases on corporations and high earners, new spending on social programs and a wide range of efforts to combat high consumer costs like housing and college tuition. The…
The jobs report comes as the Fed considers the timing of interest rate cuts.
The Federal Reserve is considering when and how much to cut interest rates, and the employment report on Friday will give policymakers an up-to-date hint at how the economy is evolving ahead of their next policy meeting. Fed officials meet…
How Trump’s Justice Dept. Derailed an Investigation of a Major Company
In December 2018, a team of federal law enforcement agents flew to Amsterdam to interview a witness in a yearslong criminal investigation into Caterpillar, which had avoided billions of dollars of income taxes by shifting profits to a Swiss subsidiary….
The Surprising Left-Right Alliance That Wants More Apartments in Suburbs
For years, the Yimbytown conference was an ideologically safe space where liberal young professionals could talk to other liberal young professionals about the particular problems of cities with a lot of liberal young professionals: not enough bike lanes and transit,…
The Surprising Left-Right Alliance That Wants More Apartments in Suburbs
For years, the Yimbytown conference was an ideologically safe space where liberal young professionals could talk to other liberal young professionals about the particular problems of cities with a lot of liberal young professionals: not enough bike lanes and transit,…
U.S. Employers Add 275,000 Jobs in Another Strong Month
Economists are trying to gauge whether forecasts of a slowing labor market were mistaken or just premature. For now, gains are consistent and strong.
Biden Portrays Next Phase of Economic Agenda as Middle-Class Lifeline
President Biden used his State of the Union speech on Thursday to remind Americans of his efforts to steer the nation’s economy out of a pandemic recession, and to lay the groundwork for a second term focused on making the…
Rivian Will Delay Construction of a $5 Billion Factory in Georgia
“Our Georgia site remains really important to us,” Rivian’s chief executive, R.J. Scaringe, said at an event on Thursday where he unveiled two new sport-utility vehicles. “It’s core to scaling across all these vehicles.” One of the S.U.V.s, called the…
Bank Runs Spooked Regulators. Now a Clampdown Is Coming.
One year after a series of bank runs threatened the financial system, government officials are preparing to unveil a regulatory response aimed at preventing future meltdowns. After months of floating fixes at conferences and in quiet conversations with bank executives,…
Brighter Economic Mood Isn’t Translating Into Support for Biden
Economic vibes don’t necessarily predict electoral outcomes, though, and this campaign is different in many ways from those in the past. “We’re kind of in an unprecedented situation where we’re weighing two incumbents,” said Joanne Hsu, who runs the Michigan…
The U.S. Economy Is Surpassing Expectations. Immigration Is One Reason.
The U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic has been stronger and more durable than many experts had expected, and a rebound in immigration is a big reason. A resumption in visa processing in 2021 and 2022 jump-started employment, allowing foreign-born…
Biden Seeks Housing Solutions Amid High Mortgage Rates
President Biden and his economic team, concerned that elevated mortgage rates and housing costs are hurting Americans and hindering his re-election bid, are searching for new ways to make housing more available and affordable. Mr. Biden’s forthcoming budget request will…
Reduflación: qué pasa cuando los comestibles pesan menos y cuestan igual
Los compradores de comestibles están notando algo raro. Bolsas de papas fritas llenas de aire. Latas de sopa que se han encogido. Paquetes de detergente más pequeños. Las empresas están reduciendo el tamaño de sus productos sin reducir los precios,…
How 33-Year-Olds, the Peak Millennials, Are Shaping the U.S. Economy
I have covered economics for 11 years now, and in that time, I have come to the realization that I am a statistic. Every time I make a major life choice, I promptly watch it become the thing that everyone…
Brian Mulroney Divided and Reshaped Canada Through Free Trade With the U.S.
Brian Mulroney first led the Progressive Conservatives to power while I was early in my career as a journalist. But his political life was never something that I covered in any great detail. His decision to negotiate a free trade…
California’s Economy Pinched by Unemployment
For decades, California’s behemoth economy has outpaced those of most nations, holding an outsize role in shaping global trends in tech, entertainment and agriculture. While that reputation remains, the state has a less enviable distinction: one of the nation’s highest…
Shrinkflation 101: The Economics of Smaller Groceries
Grocery store shoppers are noticing something amiss. Air-filled bags of chips. Shrunken soup cans. Diminished detergent packages. Companies are downsizing products without downsizing prices, and consumer posts from Reddit to TikTok to the New York Times comments section drip with…
Disney Heirs Line Up Against Nelson Peltz and Activist Investors
It’s a classic Disney movie plot: A family comes together to fight an enemy. Only this time it is happening in real life, with the grandchildren of Walt and Roy Disney, who founded the company in 1923, joining forces to…
Auto Insurance Spike Hampers the Inflation Fight
Job growth, wage growth and business growth are all lively, and inflation has steeply fallen from its 2022 highs. But consumer sentiment, while improving, is still sour. One reason may be sticker shock from some highly visible prices — even…
Biden Targets a New Economic Villain: Shrinkflation
On Super Bowl Sunday, the White House released a short video in which a smiling President Biden, sitting next to a table stocked with chips, cookies and sports drinks, slammed companies for reducing the package size and portions of popular…
An Emboldened F.T.C. Bolsters Biden’s Efforts to Address Inflation
An independent federal agency has become one of the most reliable executors of President Biden’s attempts to fight inflation, at a time when the White House has few weapons of its own to quickly bring down stubbornly high prices of…
Starbucks and Union Agree to Work Out Framework for Contract Talks
Starbucks and the union that represents employees in roughly 400 of its U.S. stores announced Tuesday that they were beginning discussions on a “foundational framework” that would help the company reach labor agreements with unionized workers and resolve litigation between…
Yellen Urges Israel to Restore Economic Ties to West Bank
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Tuesday that she had personally urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to increase commercial engagement with the West Bank, contending that doing so was important for the economic welfare of both Israelis…
Housing Costs Are Running Hot, but Is the Data Missing a Cooling Trend?
The Federal Reserve may have a housing problem. At the very least, it has a housing riddle. Overall inflation has eased substantially over the past year. But housing has proved a tenacious — and surprising — exception. The cost of…
Can a Tech Giant Be Woke?
The December day in 2021 that set off a revolution across the videogame industry appeared to start innocuously enough. Managers at a Wisconsin studio called Raven began meeting one by one with quality assurance testers, who vet video games for…
What Is Your Housing Situation? We Want to Hear From You.
“No society can be fully understood apart from the residences of its members.” I have that quote (from “Crabgrass Frontier,” the seminal history of America’s suburbs) taped to a wall behind my desk. It summarizes why I love covering housing…
Fed Minutes Show Embrace of Inflation Progress but No Hurry to Cut Rates
Federal Reserve officials welcomed a recent inflation slowdown at their last meeting in late January but were intent on proceeding carefully as they tiptoe toward rate cuts, according to minutes from that gathering, which were released on Wednesday. Central bankers…
2 Years Into Russia-Ukraine War, U.S. Campaign to Isolate Putin Shows Limits
The Biden administration and European allies call President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a tyrant and a war criminal. But he enjoys a standing invitation to the halls of power in Brazil. The president of Brazil says that Ukraine and…
New Freighters Could Ease Red Sea Cargo Disruptions
After the Houthi militia started attacking container ships in the Red Sea last year, the cost of shipping goods from Asia soared by over 300 percent, prompting fears that supply chain disruptions might once again roil the global economy. The…
What Is Your Housing Situation? We Want to Hear From You.
“No society can be fully understood apart from the residences of its members.” I have that quote (from “Crabgrass Frontier,” the seminal history of America’s suburbs) taped to a wall behind my desk. It summarizes why I love covering housing…
U.S. Economy: Has an Era of Increased Productivity Returned?
The last time the American economy was posting surprising economic growth numbers amid rapid wage gains and moderating inflation, Ace of Base and All-4-One topped the Billboard charts and denim overalls were in vogue. Thirty years ago, officials at the…
For Michigan’s Economy, Electric Vehicles Are Promising and Scary
Last fall, Tiffanie Simmons, a second-generation autoworker, endured a six-week strike at the Ford Motor factory just west of Detroit where she builds Bronco S.U.V.s. That yielded a pay raise of 25 percent over the next four years, easing the…
U.S. Awards $1.5 Billion to Chipmaker GlobalFoundries
The Biden administration on Monday announced a $1.5 billion award to the New York-based chipmaker GlobalFoundries, one of the first sizable grants from a government program aimed at revitalizing semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. As part of the plan…
Nature Has Value. Could We Literally Invest in It?
Picture this: You own a few hundred acres near a growing town that your family has been farming for generations. Turning a profit has gotten harder, and none of your children want to take it over. You don’t want to…
The Great Compression – The New York Times
Robert Lanter lives in a 600-square-foot house that can be traversed in five seconds and vacuumed from a single outlet. He doesn’t have a coffee table in the living room because it would obstruct the front door. When relatives come…
Amazon Argues National Labor Relations Board Is Unconstitutional
In the latest sign of a growing backlash within corporate America to the 88-year-old federal agency that enforces labor rights, Amazon argued in a legal filing on Thursday that the National Labor Relations Board was unconstitutional. The move followed a…
Three Lessons From a Surprisingly Resilient Job Market
The pandemic created an economic crisis unlike any recession on record. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the aftermath, too, has played out in a way that almost no economists expected. When unemployment soared in the first weeks of…
Can America Turn a Productivity Boomlet Into a Boom?
Kevin Rezvani came of age in kitchens: spending summers at his grandfather’s bakery in Japan, doing work-study in his college cafeteria and working for years as a line cook at mid-tier restaurants, along with some stints in fast food. By…
This Arctic Circle Town Expected a Green Energy Boom. Then Came Bidenomics.
In Mo i Rana, a small Norwegian industrial town on the cusp of the Arctic Circle, a cavernous gray factory sits empty and unfinished in the snowy twilight — a monument to unfulfilled economic hope. The electric battery company Freyr…
Fed Chair Powell Says Officials Need More ‘Good’ Data Before Cutting Rates
Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, made clear during a “60 Minutes” interview aired on Sunday night that the central bank is moving toward cutting interest rates as inflation recedes, but that policymakers need to see continued…
‘Zombie Offices’ Spell Trouble for Some Banks
Graceful Art Deco buildings towering above Chicago’s key business district report occupancy rates as low as 17 percent. A set of gleaming office towers in Denver that were full of tenants and worth $176 million in 2013 now sit largely…
Pro Sports in Las Vegas Aren’t Cheered by Everyone
The history of Las Vegas has been marked by a relentless churn of hotels, casinos, theaters and restaurants. But only recently has the city’s landscape included major professional sports teams. The Golden Knights of the National Hockey League were the…
American Firms Invested $1 Billion in Chinese Chips, Lawmakers Find
A congressional investigation has determined that five American venture capital firms invested more than $1 billion in China’s semiconductor industry since 2001, fueling the growth of a sector that the United States government now regards as a national security threat….
President of Powerful Service Workers Union Will Step Down
Mary Kay Henry, the president of the Service Employees International Union, one of the nation’s largest and most politically powerful labor unions, announced Tuesday that she would step down after 14 years in her position. Ms. Henry was the first…
For First Time in Two Decades, U.S. Buys More From Mexico Than China
In the depths of the pandemic, as global supply chains buckled and the cost of shipping a container from China soared nearly twentyfold, Marco Villarreal spied an opportunity. In 2021, Mr. Villarreal resigned as Caterpillar’s director general in Mexico and…
Maui Economy, 6 Months After Wildfire, Is Still Reeling
Twisted and charred aluminum mixed with shards of glass still lines the floor of the industrial warehouse where Victoria Martocci once operated her scuba diving business. After a wildfire tore through West Maui, all that remained of her 36-foot boat,…
Ford Reports Quarterly Loss but Says Sales Grew
Ford Motor said it lost $526 million in the final three months of 2023, mainly as a result of special charges related to its employee pension programs and the reorganization of some of its overseas operations. The automaker said its…
Yellen Says Stable Financial System Is Key to U.S. Economic Strength
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that the United States has had a “historic” economic recovery from the pandemic but that regulators must vigilantly safeguard the financial system from an array of looming risks to preserve…
Why Are Americans Wary While the Economy Is Healthy? Look at Nevada.
Toni Irizarry recognizes that the economy has improved. Compared with the first wave of the pandemic, when Las Vegas went dark, and joblessness soared to levels not seen since the Great Depression, these are days of relative normalcy. Ms. Irizarry,…
How Nevada Is Pushing to Generate Jobs Beyond the Casinos
Before the pandemic brought everyday life to a halt, Joe Kiele supported himself through the industry that dominates Nevada’s economy. He waited tables at a steakhouse inside a casino in Reno. Four years later, Mr. Kiele, 49, remains in Reno,…
For Biden, a Sunny Economy Could Finally Be a Potential Gain
A run of strong economic data appears to have finally punctured consumers’ sour mood about the U.S. economy, blasting away recession fears and potentially aiding President Biden in his re-election campaign. Mr. Biden has struggled to sell voters on the…
U.S. Leading Soft Landing for Global Economy
The world is starting 2024 on an optimistic economic note, as inflation fades globally and growth remains more resilient than many forecasters had expected. Yet one country stands out for its surprising strength: the United States. After a sharp pop…
A City Built on Steel Tries to Reverse Its Decline
Gary, Ind., was once a symbol of American innovation. The home of U.S. Steel’s largest mill, Gary churned out the product that built America’s bridges, tunnels and skyscrapers. The city reaped the rewards, with a prosperous downtown and vibrant neighborhoods….
Job Market Starts 2024 With a Bang
The United States produced an unexpectedly sizable batch of jobs last month, a boon for American workers that shows the labor market retains remarkable strength after three years of expansion. Employers added 353,000 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted…
Trump’s Tariffs Hurt U.S. Jobs but Swayed American Voters, Study Says
New research finds that former President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs did not bring back U.S. jobs, but voters appeared to reward him for the levies anyway.
Biden Takes Aim at Grocery Chains Over Food Prices
President Biden, whose approval rating has suffered amid high inflation, is beginning to pressure large grocery chains to slash food prices for American consumers, accusing the stores of reaping excess profits and ripping off shoppers. “There are still too many…
Walmart to Add 150 U.S. Stores in Five-Year Expansion Drive
Walmart will add 150 stores in the United States over the next five years, a major expansion drive for the retail giant. The company said the move, which it announced in a statement on Wednesday, would involve millions of dollars…
The Federal Reserve Meets Wednesday. Here’s What to Watch.
Federal Reserve officials will conclude their two-day meeting on Wednesday, and they are widely expected to keep interest rates steady at a two-decade high when they release their policy decision at 2 p.m. But investors are likely to closely watch…
Global Economy Is Heading Toward ‘Soft Landing,’ I.M.F. Says
The global economy has been battered by a pandemic, record levels of inflation, protracted wars and skyrocketing interest rates over the past four years, raising fears of a painful worldwide downturn. But fresh forecasts published on Tuesday suggest that the…
Why Cut Rates in an Economy This Strong? A Big Question Confronts the Fed.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday, but investors will be watching closely for any hint at when and how much it might lower those rates this year….
Walmart Offers Store Managers Company Stock to Make Them Feel Like ‘Owners’
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, is raising salaries and benefits for store managers as it looks for ways to retain them. Walmart said on Monday that managers of its U.S. stores would be eligible for grants of up to…
Hottest Job in Corporate America? The Executive in Charge of A.I.
In September, the Mayo Clinic in Arizona created a first-of-its-kind job at the hospital system: chief artificial intelligence officer. Doctors at the Arizona site, which has facilities in Phoenix and Scottsdale, had experimented with A.I. for years. But after ChatGPT’s…
Private Equity Is Starting to Share With Workers, Without Taking a Financial Hit
In 2018, Anna-Lisa Miller was working with agricultural cooperatives in Hawaii, helping them reinvest in their communities through shared ownership. Ms. Miller, who had gone to law school and had planned to do civil rights litigation, loved the principle of…
Yellen Hits Trump Over Handling Of Economy
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen defended the Biden administration’s economic agenda on Thursday, drawing sharp contrasts with the policies of the Trump administration as President Biden begins to make the general election argument that he has been a stronger steward…
Taking on Trump, Biden Promotes ‘Infrastructure Decade’ in Wisconsin
Consumer confidence is up. Fears of a recession are abating. The economy is growing. And a corroded bridge in Wisconsin is receiving more funding. It is a wintry mix of positive news for President Biden, who traveled to the shores…
Economists Predicted a Recession. Instead, the Economy Grew.
The recession America was expecting never showed up. Many economists spent early 2023 predicting a painful downturn, a view so widely held that some commentators started to treat it as a given. Inflation had spiked to the highest level in…
Airlines Hoping for More Boeing Jets Could Be Waiting Awhile
Boeing hoped 2024 would be the year it would significantly increase production of its popular Max jets. But less than a month into the year, the company is struggling to reassure airline customers that it will still be able to…
U.S. Economy Grew at 3.3% Rate in Latest Quarter
The U.S. economy continued to grow at a healthy pace at the end of 2023, capping a year in which unemployment remained low, inflation cooled and a widely predicted recession never materialized. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew at…
In a New Cannabis Landscape, a Navy Veteran Battles for Racial Equity
“Transforming Spaces” is a series about women driving change in sometimes unexpected places. Jam the towel under the door. Open the window. And hide the bong. For decades, college students have found ways to mask the pungent aroma of marijuana…
Climate Change Takes Center Stage in Economics
In early January in San Antonio, dozens of Ph.D. economists packed into a small windowless room in the recesses of a Grand Hyatt to hear brand-new research on the hottest topic of their annual conference: how climate change is affecting…
Americans’ Economic Confidence Is Returning. Will Biden Benefit?
Low approval ratings and rock-bottom consumer confidence figures have dogged President Biden for months now, a worrying sign for the White House as the country enters a presidential election year. But recent data suggests the tide is beginning to turn….
Where Textile Mills Thrived, Remnants Battle for Survival
In his 40-year career, William Lucas has seen nearly every step in the erosion of the American garment industry. As general manager of Eagle Sportswear, a company in Middlesex, N.C., that cuts, sews and assembles apparel, he hopes to keep…
War Has Already Hurt the Economies of Israel’s Nearest Neighbors
In the Red Sea, attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants on commercial ships continue to disrupt a crucial trade route and raise shipping costs. The threat of escalation there and around flash points in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and now Iran…
The U.S. Seems to Be Dodging a Recession. What Could Go Wrong?
With inflation falling, unemployment low and the Federal Reserve signaling it could soon begin cutting interest rates, forecasters are becoming increasingly optimistic that the U.S. economy could avoid a recession. Wells Fargo last week became the latest big bank to…
The Farmers Had What the Billionaires Wanted
When Jan Sramek walked into the American Legion post in Rio Vista, Calif., for a town-hall meeting last month, everyone in the room knew that he was really just there to get yelled at. For six years a mysterious company…
A Fed Governor Reiterates That Rate Cuts Are Coming
A prominent Federal Reserve official on Tuesday laid out a case for lowering interest rates methodically at some point this year as the economy comes into balance and inflation cools — although he acknowledged that the timing of those cuts…
New U.S. Solar and Electric Car Factories Face Familiar Challenge: China
The Biden administration has begun pumping more than $2 trillion into U.S. factories and infrastructure, investing huge sums to try to strengthen American industry and fight climate change. But the effort is facing a familiar threat: a surge of low-priced…
Trump’s Dominance and Snowy Weather Put Iowa’s Caucus Economy on Ice
Even before a snowstorm brought Des Moines to a near standstill on Friday, the city felt decidedly more subdued than it usually does around the Iowa caucuses: quiet restaurants, empty streets, bartenders with little to do. The numbers confirm it:…
Microsoft Tops Apple to Become Most Valuable Public Company
For more than a decade, Apple was the stock market’s undisputed king. It first overtook Exxon Mobil as the world’s most valuable public company in 2011 and held the title almost without interruption. But a transfer of power has begun….
Supreme Court to Hear Starbucks Bid to Overturn Labor Ruling
The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a case brought by Starbucks challenging a federal judge’s order to reinstate seven employees who were fired at a store in Memphis amid a union campaign there. Starbucks argued that the criteria…