The threat of a trade war with Canada has taken a toll on the confidence of U.S. homebuilders, according to index released Monday. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday fell two points to 68 ...
Read More »3 money tasks you shouldn’t tackle on your own
No one cares as much about your money as you do, however, never asking for help can be dangerous — and expensive. In a previous column, I detailed the hazards of trying to do your own estate plan and how ...
Read More »US industrial production fell 0.1 percent in May
U.S. industrial production slipped 0.1 percent in May, primarily dragged by a drop in manufacturing caused by a major fire at a parts supplier for trucks. The Federal Reserve said Friday that the manufacturing component of industrial production fell 0.7 ...
Read More »AT&T, Time Warner close $81B merger 2 days after judge OKs
AT&T has completed its $81 billion takeover of Time Warner, one of the biggest media deals ever. A federal judge approved the combination just two days earlier despite objections by the Justice Department that it would hurt consumers. The merger ...
Read More »Google barely moves needle on gender, diversity in workforce
Google barely raised the number of women and under-represented minorities among its ranks, while it got less white and more Asian in the past year, according to the search giant’s fifth annual diversity report. The report released Thursday comes a ...
Read More »US long-term mortgage rates jump; 30-year at 4.62 percent
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped this week after two straight weeks of declines, reaching their second-highest level this year. Against a backdrop of rising interest rates in the economy, long-term loan rates have been running at their highest levels in ...
Read More »US retail sales boom in May, though inflation is lurking
U.S. retail sales rose by the most in six months in May, a sign that confident consumers are leading a strong economic rebound after a slow start to the year. Yet with high gas prices and inflation eating away at ...
Read More »Apple closing iPhone security gap used by law enforcement
Apple is closing a security gap that allowed outsiders to pry personal information from locked iPhones without a password, a change that will thwart law enforcement agencies that have been exploiting the vulnerability to collect evidence in criminal investigations. The ...
Read More »Producer prices up 0.5 pct from April, 3.1 pct in past year
U.S. wholesale prices last month posted the biggest 12-month gain since January 2012, a sign that the strong economy is beginning to rouse inflation. The Labor Department said Wednesday that its producer price index— which measures inflation before it reaches ...
Read More »Will Amazon’s work to kill Seattle tax spook other cities?
A tax on large companies such as Amazon that was meant to fight a growing homelessness crisis got rolled back during a raucous Seattle City Council meeting that exposed divisions regarding how much companies that have fueled booming economies should ...
Read More »Comcast offer for Fox expected after favorable AT&T ruling
Now that a federal judge has cleared AT&T’s $85 billion takeover of Time Warner, other companies are likely to rush to consolidate. Tuesday’s ruling signaled that federal regulators will have a hard time stopping companies from getting bigger by gobbling ...
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