(Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits tumbled last week to its lowest level in nearly 15 years, adding to bullish signals on the labor market. Though the decline probably exaggerates the jobs market’s strength given a holiday-shortened week, Thursday’s report suggested the economy was […]
Russia’s credit rating has been cut to junk – or below investment grade – by US ratings agency Standard and Poor’s for the first time in a decade. S&P gave Russia a rating of BB+, which puts it at the same level as Indonesia and Bulgaria. This makes it harder […]
DAVOS, Switzerland (CNNMoney) The European Central Bank has taken a dramatic step to stimulate the region’s troubled economy, unveiling a massive bond buying program worth at least $1.3 trillion. President Mario Draghi said the ECB program would cover public and private sector securities including — for the first time — […]
The two nation theory was not as much an ideology as it was a lawyer’s argument to get his client — in this case the Muslim people of the subcontinent — a better deal in power sharing This article is partially in response to Muhammad Taqi’s column, ‘Pakistan, Islam and […]
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Big energy companies aren’t the only ones losing out on the dramatic fall in oil prices. Banks are in the hot seat, too. Hundreds of banks were forced to shut down in Texas when the state fell into a recession in 1986 during a steep decline in […]
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday easily passed legislation to ease some of the banking regulations adopted after the financial crisis, with 29 Democrats shrugging off President Obama’s veto threat to join united House Republicans. The bill, which passed 271 to 154, follows two other measures approved in the last […]
(Reuters) – U.S. retail sales recorded their largest decline in 11 months in December as demand fell almost across the board, tempering expectations for a sharp acceleration in consumer spending in the fourth quarter. Economists, however, cautioned against reading too much into the surprise weakness, noting that holiday spending made […]
For many on the left, tolerance comes easily. But economic disarray has sapped the will to defend our principles of rationalism and individual liberty More…http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/11/europe-survive-islamist-terror-learn-to-fight-for-values-holds-dear
WASHINGTON — President Obama is facing opposition from fellow Democrats to one of his top priorities: winning the power to negotiate international trade agreements and speed them through Congress. As Mr. Obama’s team works privately to line up support for the so-called trade promotion authority, a coalition of Democratic lawmakers […]
(Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and job cuts declined for a second straight month in December, adding to signs of a strengthening labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 for the […]
Deflation has returned to Europe. Official data shows consumer prices across the eurozone fell by 0.2% in December, marking the first time prices have fallen in the region since the Great Recession. The figure was worse than most analysts were expecting and the weakest since September 2009. Eurozone inflation stood […]
(Reuters) – Growth in the U.S. services sector braked in December and new orders for manufactured goods fell for a fourth straight month in November, signs the economy lost some momentum in the fourth quarter. But with domestic demand picking up, against the backdrop of lower gasoline prices and firming […]
fivethirtyeight.com There Are Way Too Many ‘Best Of 2014′ Lists By HAYLEY MUNGUIA They’re everywhere. You can’t escape them. You can even set your watch by them. Every year, as the air begins to chill and radio stations begin flipping the Christmas music switch, the inevitable comes: the annual year-end […]
The Telegraph: Russia is facing a “full-blown economic crisis”, a former finance minister has warned, as the country is forced to take emergency financial measures. The economy has been battered by a wave of sanctions as a result of tensions over Ukraine, geopolitical uncertainty, and falling oil prices. Alexei Kudrin, […]
Oil prices have plunged so rapidly that financial markets are treating them less as an opportunity than a danger, like a falling knife. Currency rates are gyrating, oil-producing countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran are hurting, and sectors of the bond market are threatened. But unless you’re directly involved in […]
No political actor dominated the global stage in 2014 like Vladimir Putin. He meddled in Ukraine and successfully annexed Crimea, but now Putin looks like he overplayed his hand. Tough sanctions from the West and plunging oil prices have left Moscow with a scary currency crisis. The fear is that […]
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin tried to play down Russia’s dire economic straits in his annual news conference on Thursday, attributing the troubles to declining oil prices that, following a short period of economic turbulence, were bound to recover along with global demand. “We are going through a trying […]
(Reuters) – U.S. housing starts and permits fell in November, but remained at levels consistent with a gradually improving housing market. Groundbreaking declined 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.028 million units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. October’s starts were revised up to a pace of […]
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The recent drop in gas prices may spell the end for a nearly 40-year old ban on U.S. oil exports. The oil industry has been pushing to lift the nation’s ban for sometime, but consumer worries about high gas prices have generally made the proposal to lift […]
(Reuters) – Global demand for OPEC crude in 2015 is expected to fall to the lowest level in more than a decade and far below current output, the group said on Wednesday, pointing to a hefty supply surplus without OPEC output cuts or a slowdown in the U.S. shale boom. […]