News

The service sector that underpins the US economy contracted this month, with the Markit preliminary purchasing managers’ index for the sector sliding to 49.8 from 53.2 in January. It was the worst showing in more than two years and the […]

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities rose 5.7% in December compared with the same month during the previous year. Portland, Ore., led the way with an 11.4% year-over-year increase. San Francisco and Denver were next on the […]

Indexes of state economic performance monitored by Moody’s Analytics suggest that North Dakota, West Virginia, Alaska and Wyoming and are already in recession. In addition, New Mexico, Louisiana and Oklahoma could slip into recession. The strong dollar and a decline […]

The world’s real economy may soon begin to feel the effects of sliding stock markets, Moody’s warned. “Investors may start to price in the possibility of lower economic growth and returns, which could become partly self-fulfilling via negative wealth effects […]

First-time jobless claims in the US fell by 7,000, to 262,000, last week, the smallest number since the last week of November, the Labor Department said. The four-week rolling average, which economists say better indicates labor-market trends, fell by 8,000, […]

US industrial output rose 0.9% last month, mostly because of increased activity by manufacturers and utilities, according to the Federal Reserve. The expansion, the first since July, is triple the improvement expected by economists polled by MarketWatch.

There was a decrease in the number of bonds and stocks companies registered to sell in January, indicating that capital markets activity may decline, according to data from CUSIP Global Services. Companies are wary of entering the markets while they […]

Core US retail sales grew 0.6% in January, reversing a 0.3% decline in December, the Commerce Department said. Also, a University of Michigan survey found that consumers are generally optimistic and say their purchasing power will benefit from low inflation.

The Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate increase in nine years isn’t the reason markets are volatile, says Janet Yellen, head of the central bank. The increase had little effect on markets because investors expected it, she told the Senate banking committee. […]