Jobless claims fell by 2,000 in the first full week of January, according to numbers released this week by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The total number of weekly applications for benefits fell to 326,000, the lowest in six weeks.
Its the latest in the a host of positive economic news in the past month – with the possible exception of the unemployment numbers, which showed only a gain of 75,000 in December 2013.
A majority of United States economists who work for private companies are optimistic about the country’s economy in 2014, according to a new survey released this week.
The survey, from the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), found that more than 40% of economists working for U.S. companies said they expect firms to raise prices for the first time since 2012 and that the overall economic outlook is improving.
Japan-based Toyota retained it lead in global vehicles sales in 2013, outselling General Motors and Volkswagen.
Toyota sold 9.98 million vehicles around the world in 2013. The company is forecasting that it will sell more than 10 million vehicles in 2014, which would be the first time the company ever surpassed that mark. The Toyota sales numbers include sales from Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor Company, which are owned by Toyota.
The wealthiest 85 people in the world have more money than the combined holdings of the 3.5 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world’s population, according to a new report.
The report illustrates why the World Economic Forum (WEF) finds income disparity to be one of the greatest risks to the global population in the next year or two. The WEF projects that increased disparity will undermine social stability worldwide.
Housing starts in the United States increased by 9.8% in December, a number that meant an annual pace of 999,000 new homes started across the country, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
That number is higher than the 975,000 predicted by economists, and even higher than the numbers from the warm summer months.
J.C. Penney, one of the nations largest retail companies, is laying off 2,000 people and closing 33 stores. The news did not surprise most economists and those who keep an eye on the business world.
Jobless claims fell by 2,000 in the first full week of January, according to numbers released this week by the U.S. Department of Labor. The total number of weekly applications for benefits fell to 326,000, the lowest in six weeks.
A group of leading economists, including seven Nobel laureates, have joined the effort to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
The Fair Minimum Wage Act – introduced by Rep. George Miller, D-California, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa – would increase the minimum wage in a series of steps over three years. The current minimum wage is $7.25.
The fortunes of Bitcoin have risen and fallen, but lately more companies are beginning to accept the digital currency as payment.
Over the past weekend, social gaming company Zynga announced that it now accepts Bitcoin as a form of in-game payment.
The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December – but primarily because so many people dropped out of the workforce, according to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The 6.7% number is the lowest since October 2008. However, the BLS reported that 347,000 people stopped looking for work. The federal government only counts those who are looking for work but unable to find a job as the “unemployed.”
