Fishermen off the Alaskan coast. A Florida maker of boat trailers. A building-materials distributor in Tennessee. Those and hundreds of other American businesses are delivering the same plea to President Donald Trump as he considers imposing tariffs on nearly 40 ...
Read More »Trump team predicts economic boom, defying most analysts
Is the latest pickup in U.S. economic growth destined to slow in the years ahead as most analysts say? Or, as the Trump administration insists, is the economy on the cusp of an explosive boom that will reward Americans and ...
Read More »After Alex Jones timeout, Twitter CEO mulls deeper changes
A day after Twitter gave right-wing conspiratorialist Alex Jones a weeklong timeout, CEO Jack Dorsey is mulling deeper changes to the social media service that might limit the spread of fake news, misinformation and hate speech. Twitter joined other prominent ...
Read More »Average US mortgage rates fall; 30-year at 4.53 percent
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week for the second straight week, with relatively lower rates continuing to fail to spark home sales. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 4.53 percent ...
Read More »July housing starts up a slight 0.9 percent as tariffs bite
U.S. housing starts ticked up just 0.9 percent in July, a sign that higher construction costs might be weighing on homebuilders. The Commerce Department said Thursday that housing starts last month rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.17 ...
Read More »US productivity grew at strong 2.9 percent rate in Q2
U.S. productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in more than three years, while labor costs actually fell. The April-June increase in productivity followed a much weaker 0.3 percent rate of ...
Read More »US retail sales rose at robust 0.5 pct. annual rate in July
Americans shopped at a healthy pace in July, buying more cars, clothes and appliances, evidence that confident consumers are helping drive robust economic growth. Retail sales rose at a 0.5 percent annual rate in July, after a 0.2 percent increase ...
Read More »Ride-hail drivers rush to register cars before license cap
New York City, the largest American market for Uber, is becoming the first U.S. city to regulate the growth of app-based rides. Uber drivers lined up for hours to register their cars Monday, the day before Democratic Mayor Bill de ...
Read More »Warren Buffett’s investing continues to evolve even at 87
Warren Buffett is still finding new places to invest decades after he started, even though his basic approach of finding businesses selling for less than they are worth hasn’t changed much. Buffett resisted investing in tech companies for years because ...
Read More »VF, following millions of consumers, will shed its denim
The company that makes Wrangler and Lee jeans is breaking off its denim division to focus on its fast-growing outdoor and activewear business as Americans swap out jeans for yoga pants. VF Corp. said Monday the non-denim division would include ...
Read More »New law may force small businesses to reveal data practices
A Rhode Island software company that sells primarily to businesses is nonetheless making sure it complies with a strict California law about consumers’ privacy. AVTECH Software is preparing for what some say is the wave of the future: laws requiring ...
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