US economic growth “showed widespread signs of deceleration” in the six weeks to the end of August, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book.
The book supports recent economic data showing that the recovery is losing momentum.
It did, however, report a slight increase in consumer spending.
The influential Beige Book, compiled eight times a year and used to help set interest rates, is based on… more...
President Barack Obama is to back new company tax breaks in a bid to regain the initiative as mid-term polls loom.
He will lobby Congress - including a blocking minority of Republicans in the Senate - to let companies in the US write off investment costs until 2011.
With unemployment stuck at 10% and the economy appearing to slow sharply, the president’s Democratic Party could face big… more...
President Barack Obama has called for a new comprehensive infrastructure plan as part of efforts to jump-start the spluttering US economy.
The plan will invest about $50bn (£32.5bn) in roads, railways and airports as well as high-speed rail and the creation of an infrastructure bank.
US infrastructure has long been considered underfunded and receives poor grades from government agencies.
The move comes amid signs that the… more...
High unemployment is undermining the US recovery
The US economy shed another 54,000 jobs in August, the third month in a row that jobs have been lost, Labor Department figures have shown.
As a result of the overall fall in job numbers, the unemployment… more...
Mr Bernanke faces opposition from at least one colleague to further stimulus measures
The US Federal Reserve will buy up more debt if the outlook worsen “appreciably”, minutes from its August meeting have
US consumer spending rose by a faster-than-expected 0.4% in July, as shoppers saved less of what they earned.
Personal income, however, grew only 0.2%. Economists had expected both numbers to rise by 0.3%.
Meanwhile, a regional manufacturing survey for Texas showed zero growth in August, confirming a nationwide slowdown in industrial output.
Wall Street was underwhelmed by the data, with the Dow Jones dropping some 0.7%… more...
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — A wave of weak economic reports has prompted some Democrats to embrace a short-term extension of the Bush tax cuts — even for the rich.
President Obama has been campaigning to extend the tax cuts for the middle class, while allowing the tax breaks for individuals who earn more than $200,000 a year and families who earn more than $250,000 to lapse
However, the Senate… more...
Mr Bernanke said all of the possible policy options contained risks
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has laid out four “unconventional” policy options to boost the US economy.
Top of the list is more “quantitative easing”… more...
The US economy grew 1.6% in the second quarter, revised dow
The figures were better than most analysts had expected.
Recent data on the US economy had raised worries that the US was entering a double-dip recession, dragging the rest of the world with it.
The revised figure was mostly due to the largest surge in imports in… more...
The end of tax credits for home buyers has hit the US housing market
Sales of existing homes in the US plunged 27.2% in July compared with June to their lowest