Finally: Signs of a real economic recovery for the US
Christmas brought some good news for the US economy: the best holiday-season retail-sales spike since 2011. That’s the word from Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks sales both online and in...
View ArticleChina tariffs could make your shoes a lot more expensive
A proposed 25 percent tariff on consumer goods made outside this country could hit the shoe industry hard — and shoppers’ wallets harder. Consumers could see a $67 pair of China-sourced boots jump in...
View ArticleWeak consumer spending slows US economy growth in first quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy slowed to a moderate 2.3 percent annual growth rate in the first quarter as consumer spending turned in the weakest performance in nearly five years. Still, the...
View ArticleThe big tax cuts haven’t goosed consumer spending
The US economy’s growth slowed down in the first quarter as consumers reined in spending even after the big tax cuts got signed by President Trump. The economy grew at a moderate 2.3 percent rate...
View ArticleBanks are stepping up lending to small businesses
Small businesses are America’s engine of job growth, employing nearly half of the US private workforce. And now they have finally come in from the cold — thanks to surging owner optimism and bank loan...
View ArticleTrump celebrates roaring economy as experts urge caution
The US economy surged to a growth rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter — the fastest pace since 2014 — driven by consumers spending their tax-cut cash and exporters rushing to get products out the...
View ArticleConsumers are spending money like crazy
Consumer spending is soaring — so much so that a major trade group revised its annual forecast upwards. Thanks to the tax cuts, a tight jobs market and higher incomes, consumers are spending their...
View ArticleWhat we’ve forgotten about the importance of work
For decades, America’s economic debate has centered on “the pie,” with Republicans focused on making it bigger and Democrats on slicing it differently. The Manhattan Institute’s Oren Cass warns that...
View Article22-year-old woman makes $25,000 a month and people can’t handle it
She thought she had it in the bag. A 22-year-old e-commerce entrepreneur makes $25,000 a month — but lives in fear of spending her income on the very thing by which she makes a living: handbags. “I...
View ArticleConsumer spending spiked in October as inflation slowed
Consumer spending increased by the most in seven months in October, but underlying price pressures slowed, with an inflation measure tracked by the Federal Reserve posting its smallest annual increase...
View ArticleConsumer prices flat in November thanks to lower cost of gas
WASHINGTON — Consumer prices were unchanged in November, the best performance since prices actually fell eight months ago. The docile inflation reading reflected a big drop in the cost of gasoline and...
View ArticleConsumer confidence may take a hit thanks to turbulent Wall Street
Get ready for a holiday hangover. Consumer confidence, which is seen as driving higher-than-expected holiday spending, could be headed for a crash of sorts — or at least a serious slowdown. That’s...
View ArticleCommerce Department won’t publish economic data during shutdown
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau will not publish economic data during the ongoing partial government shutdown, the Wall Street Journal reported. The...
View ArticleFourth of July barbecues will come cheap despite trade wars
Despite the fireworks in Washington over President Trump’s tariff wars, Fourth of July barbecues are expected to come relatively cheap this year. Americans can stock up on staples like hot dogs,...
View ArticleNew York households spend far more than the national average
Hooray for us! The Labor Department said this week that households in the New York metropolitan area spent an average of $70,875 in 2017-18, which is the latest figure available. That’s way over the...
View ArticleInside the destructive life of a shopping addict
At the height of her shopping addiction, Lisa, a 56-year-old registered nurse, had blown through her and her husband’s $10K of savings, taken out three clandestine loans and accrued $50K in credit-card...
View ArticleChina’s retailers offer deals to kick-start spending amid coronavirus decline
Electronics stores, coffee chains and even local authorities in China are slashing prices and handing out millions of dollars worth of discount coupons to kick-start an economy battered by gradually...
View ArticleStates ask big tech to step up vigilance against online price-gouging
A group of 32 US states have a message for the nation’s leading online platforms: You are not doing enough to stop price gouging amid the coronavirus crisis. In a letter sent on Wednesday to Amazon,...
View ArticlePeople are splurging on luxury goods during the coronavirus pandemic
Call it a spendemic.
View ArticleConsumer confidence at lowest point in 6 years amid joblessness
US consumer confidence plunged in April as millions lost their jobs and there was an unprecedented deterioration of an index that monitors their attitudes about current business and work conditions....
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