If you’re looking for good news from the Congressional Budget Office’s annual summer update of its budget and economic outlook, which was released today, there’s always this: at least the CBO isn’t predicting that double-dip recession. According to the non-partisan agency that provides economic data to Congress, real GDP will …
It’s tempting to read the resignation of Deven Sharma, who stepped down as president of S&P Monday night, as an admission that the rating agency goofed in downgrading the United States’ sovereign rating from AAA to AA+, even as Fitch and Moody’s maintained America’s top grade. Warren Buffett said the U.S. should be rated “quadruple A.” …
Amidst all the economic anxiety gripping Washington and the rest of the nation, more new Hogs are hitting the road.
There are many aspects of the debt ceiling talks that are untoward. The political posturing. The lack of compromise. The somewhat terrifying reality that the U.S. might not be able to pay its bills.
But one part of the whole affair is really irritating: the righteous indignation of the rating agencies.
Dollar stores were the stars of the recession – and recovery. During the depths of the financial crisis, customers flocked to these super-discount retailers, as they “traded down” from even cheaper outlets like Wal-Mart in order to save some sparse cash. When the economy bounced back, analysts worried that more confident consumers …
Consumer sentiment may have dropped to a seven-month low in June. But wallets are sending a different message.
Twitter and Facebook. Facebook and Twitter. You may love, or loathe, one app more than the other. Or you may love – or loathe – both equally. Here’s what’s indisputable: they are the two social media titans of our age.
Yet, …
As a consumer, nothing is more annoying than being told to wait for the cable guy during a ridiculously long window – yes, we’ll fix your system, but our repairman will arrive between noon and 4 p.m. When he’s then late, or doesn’t show up at all, smashing the set with a baseball bat sounds like a reasonable response.
When the economy improves – and no matter how stagnant the recovery has been, 2010 was a better year than 2009 – you’d expect shoplifting incidents to decrease. The better off people are, the less incentive they have to steal.
According to a new report from the National Retail Federation (NRF), however, “shrinkage” – the industry term …
The job interview has always been a crucial part of the hiring process. But in today’s intensely competitive labor market, it couldn’t be more key. For every open position, expect to find an army of qualified, and even overqualified, candidates starving for work in a country with 9% unemployment. If you’re lucky enough to make it …
The new austerity. The great reset. The new normal. While America was suffering through the financial crisis, a chorus of economists, consumer behavior experts, and journalists predicted that the psychological scars of the Great Recession would permanent change spending habits (and they were quick to stick pithy labels on this supposed …
Know who seemed to enjoy the State of the Union address? The stock market. On Wednesday, the Dow inched above 12,000, a level last seen in June 2008. Maybe investors were cheering the President’s pep talk on “winning the future.” More likely, they dig that chatter about lower corporate tax rates. Even more likely, hard-core data, not the …
