Fair Minimum Wage Act 2007 Rolls Out Tomorrow
July 23, 2007
The first federal minimum wage increase in a decade comes into force tomorrow.
The Fair Minimum Wage Act will create a legally minimum hourly rate across 18 states in which the wage rate has remained at the previous federal minimum.
The news has been celebrated by the liberal camp, with the promise of what has been called […]
Dollar Slumps Again
July 20, 2007
The dollar has hit an even greater all-time low against the Euro. The struggling dollar is thought to have been wakened even further by growing concerns as to the state of the US economy.
The news is yet another sign of underlying problems within the US economy, which has been under performing for a sustained period […]
Bernanke Announces ‘Gradual Growth’ For US
July 18, 2007
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke has announced a strategy of ‘gradual growth’ for the US economy over the next two years.
In a speech made to Congress, Bernanke stated that growth would begin to accelerate through 2008, despite the potential risks of inflation, which he assures the US central Bank is determined to avoid.
“Overall, […]
The Spiraling Price of Gasoline Bursts Through $3.00
July 18, 2007
The price of gasoline has risen to beyond $3.00 a gallon, figures released today reveal.
The price hike is the second increase in two weeks, signaling the impact of increasing oil prices and slowing refinery output
The price for a gallon of unleaded petrol has risen to $3.05, an almost 7 cent rise over the course of […]
Weakened Dollar Makes Importing A Struggle
July 17, 2007
The weakness of the value of the dollar is causing significant problems for importers of goods into the US, figures today have revealed.
As the dollar struggles against other currencies, importing becomes increasingly more expensive, with exports looking increasingly attractive to foreign buyers, which is having a knock-on effect on the growing US trade deficit.
The dollar, […]
Dow Jones Reaches New Heights Beyond US Housing Slump
July 13, 2007
The Dow Jones closed at a record peak yesterday, reflecting major growth in retail and consumer spending, and several large-scale industry takeover bids. The news comes in spite of a sharp slump in share value earlier in the week, largely attributed to the faltering housing market across the US.
The Dow Jones, America’s predominant share index, […]
America’s Trade Deficit Continues To Increase Month on Month
July 12, 2007
The US trade deficit has again shown an increase on last month’s figures, a report from the US government has today shown. Despite the increase in deficit, exports have also grown by 2% from last month to record high levels, highlighting the degree to which escalating oil prices are affecting the world’s largest economy. […]
China, US to talk about WTO complaint on government subsidies
March 7, 2007
China and the United States will meet at the end of March to talk about the complaint the US has filed with the World Trade Organization concerning what the US sees as illegal subsidies by the Chinese government to several industries, according to reports in the Chinese media. Among the industries the US believes […]
Congressional Democrats challenge Treasury on Japanese currency
February 9, 2007
Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson in an effort to pressure the Bush administration to in turn put pressure on the Japanese to strengthen the yen. The letter claims that the Japanese government is deliberately pursuing a policy to keep the yen weak […]
US urges Eruope to tighten Iran sanctions
February 8, 2007
The United States is expressing frustration that European governments have not placed more stringent economic sanctions on Iran in an effort to get that nation to scale back or abandon its program for enriching nuclear fuel. US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Gregory Schulte said Wednesday night that Europe should be doing […]
US economy grew at 2.5 percent in second quarter
July 28, 2006
The US Commerce Department issued a report on Friday showing that the US economy grew less in the second quarter than analysts expected it to. Growth was at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the April/May/June quarter, lower than the 3 percent that had been expected and much lower than the 5.6 percent […]
US on track to surpass 2005 trade deficit
July 12, 2006
The US trade deficit was higher in May than it was in April, but still came in lower than had been anticipated by analysts. The increase from April to May was entirely due, according to reports, to the higher cost of crude oil, which was $4.92 per barrel higher in May than it was […]
US housing starts up despite low sentiment among homebuilders
June 20, 2006
Housing starts in the United States were up more than had been expected in May. Overall, new starts were up 5 percent to an annual figure of 1.96 million starts. Analysts had expected that the annualized rate would be 1.85 million. The May figure also was above a revised annualized rate in […]
Energy costs send US consumer price index up
May 17, 2006
New data released on Wednesday showed that consumer inflation in the United States rose more than expected in April. The consumer price index rose 0.6 percent in April, when it was expected to only go up by 0.5 percent. The core index, which takes costs for food and energy out of the equation, […]
Consumer income, spending up in US
May 1, 2006
New data on a number of measures of the US economy were released on Monday, showing that the economy continues to grow. Construction spending, personal income and personal spending were all up, as was manufacturing.The Institute for Supply Management said that its manufacturing index was up to 57.2 in April, surpassing Marchs 55.2. […]
US economy sees first-quarter growth
April 28, 2006
Led by higher consumer spending, the US economy grew at an annualized pace of 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2006, new data has revealed. That figure was about what analysts had expected and comes after growth of just 1.7 percent in the last quarter of 2005.Consumer spending was up by 5.5 percent […]
Bernanke: rate rises might pause
April 27, 2006
In testimony before the US Congress on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that it is his belief that economic growth in the US will become more moderate as the year progresses and that this will put growth at a more sustainable level. He also said that at some point the Fed will […]
Data shows 211,000 new jobs in the US in March
April 7, 2006
There were 211,000 more people employed in the United States in March than there were in February, according to new numbers released on Friday. This increase in new jobs was greater than had been expected and cut the US unemployment rate from 4.8 percent to 4.7 percent despite a downward revision of 34,000 jobs […]
US new home sales down in February
March 24, 2006
The sales of new homes in the United States was down 10 percent to 1.08 million in February, the fourth month in a row that sales have declined. Prices were down from last year as well, by 3 percent, and the supply of unsold new homes is higher than it has been in 10 […]
US industrial output up on utiliites
March 17, 2006
According to new data released on Friday by the US Federal Reserve, industrial output in the United States was up 0.7 percent in February, around the amount of increase that had been expected by analysts. The new figures also showed that capacity utilization, the amount of capacity in use by mines, utilities, and factories, […]