In a stunning development, Standard & Poor?s Friday downgraded the U.S. Government's credit rating from AAA to AA+, arguing Washington has made inadequate progress cutting the budget deficit. The U.S. Treasury disagrees with S&P?s analysis and conclusion, but interest rates on U.S. home mortgages and car loans are likely to rise.
Consider the case of Canada, which lost its top-notch rating in April 1993 ? it took the country nine long, hard years to regain the coveted rating after enacting serious debt and deficit reductions.
In the states, oil has been the stuff of riches and the glamour energy form. The reality is, however, in the 21st century the preferred and superior U.S. energy form could very well be domestic natural gas.
One of the world's leading economists says don't get giddy over the July jobs report, which indicated the U.S. economy created a better-than-expected 117,000 jobs. NYU Professor Nouriel "Dr. Doom" Roubini, who accurately predicted the housing crisis four years ago, says U.S. GDP will be sub-par in 2011 and the risk of a recession is real.
America's unemployment rate improved slightly in July, but the high figure is weighing heavily against President Barack Obama in his re-election bid.
U.S. job growth accelerated more than expected in July as private employers stepped up hiring, a development that could ease fears the economy was sliding into a fresh recession.
The U.S. economy unexpectedly added 117,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday. Equally significant, the private sector added 154,000 jobs. The report was a pleasant surprise, but the nation is still in a deep hole job-wise -- short about 14 million jobs.
Markets remained jittery Friday even as Dow futures rose ahead of a jobs report that was slightly better than expected.
The Thai parliament elected the nation's first female Prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra , on Friday. Ten years back another South East Asian country had elected its first female president. Megawati Sukarnoputri became Indonesia's first female president in 2001. Both women have a somewhat similar background. Will both share the same fate too?
The Tea Party-swayed Republican Party won the U.S. debt deal crisis: federal spending was cut substantially. But amid a weak economy, did the coalition cut spending too soon?
The Dow is plunging, as stocks are coming back to the woes that Main Street has grappled with since the recession. Stocks had soared this year while Main Street America grappled with slow growth and high unemployment.
The U.S. debt deal means that federal spending will now generate even less demand in the quarters ahead, in an economy that?s already weak, and with an unemployment rate at 9.2 percent. To say the Fed has been monitoring the situation would be an understatement.
New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits were little changed last week, a government report showed on Thursday, pointing to a marginal improvement in the labor market.
The two large banks decided to keep interests rates steady.
With signs emerging that the financial foundations of two of Euro Zone's founding members -- Italy and Spain -- are shaken badly by the worsening debt crisis, the continued existence of the euro area grouping has become doubtful, according to a major think tank.
Is there oil statistic that can provide a rough "report card" on the U.S. economy and its outlook? Indeed there is.
Is there one statistic that can provide a quick-read on the U.S. economy's health and outlook? Indeed there is: it's the price of oil.
South Africa has agreed to a 2.5 billion rand bailout for Swaziland to help it through a budget crunch that had prompted unprecedented protests against Africa's last absolute monarch, officials said on Wednesday.
Indian conglomerate Essar plans to spend up to $4 billion constructing a plant to process iron ore from Zimbabwe's Mwanesi resource within the next five years, Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube said on Wednesday.
According to a new report, the president's land seizure program has cost the country $12 billion.
Congress has done the urgent -- passed the U.S. debt deal to help eliminate the budget deficit. But what about an equally important U.S. problem: the jobs deficit?
The United States had its triple-A rating confirmed by two key ratings agencies on Tuesday after Washington struck a last-minute deal to avoid a debt default, but threats of future downgrades remain.
