Yahoo! News: Economy News

Economy News

• Retail sales unexpectedly rise 0.3 percent (Reuters)

  Reuters - Sales at U.S. retailers rose unexpectedly in February despite a drop in vehicle purchases and inclement weather that was expected to curtail shopping, according to a government report on Friday that bolstered hopes of a sustainable economic recovery.

• Retail sales rise 0.3 percent in February (AP)

  AP - Retail sales posted a surprising increase in February as consumers did not let major snowstorms stop them from storming the malls. The advance, the biggest since November, provided hope that the recovery from the Great Recession is gaining momentum.

• (AP)

  AP - Retail sales post surprising 0.3 pct February increase raising hopes economy gaining momentum.

• Obama to tap Yellen for Fed vice chair: source (Reuters)

  Reuters - President Barack Obama plans to nominate San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Janet Yellen, a respected policy dove, to be vice chairman of the central bank, a source familiar with the process said on Thursday.

  
  

• AP Source: Obama wants Yellen as Fed vice chair (AP)

  AP - President Barack Obama intends to nominate Janet Yellen, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, to take over as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, a person familiar with the selection said Friday.

  
  

• Dollar mixed before US data (AFP)

  AFP - The dollar traded mixed on Friday before the publication of official US economic data, while the yen was also in focus after Japan's leader called for "firm steps" against the currency's recent rise.

  
  

• European stock markets gain ground (AFP)

  AFP - Europe's main stock markets rose Friday as investors awaited crucial economic data and tracked US attempts to rein in the banking sector, dealers said.

  
  

• Eurozone industrial productions soars in January (AP)

  AP - Industrial production in the 16 countries that use the euro spiked by an impressive 1.7 percent in January from the month before, official figures showed Friday, raising hopes that the recovery from recession may be more buoyant than expected.

• Greek jobless rate eases but recession entrenched (Reuters)

  Reuters - Greece's gross domestic product shrank slightly less than feared at the end of 2009 and unemployment eased, but the economy looked set to deteriorate as the government imposes major cutbacks.

  
  

• U.S. "very close" to job growth: Summers (Reuters)

  Reuters - White House economic adviser Larry Summers said on Thursday that the United States is "very close" to the point where job growth can begin. (Reporting by Chris Baltimore; editing by Carol Bishopric)

• Regulators shut LibertyPointe Bank in NYC (AP)

  AP - Regulators on Thursday shut down LibertyPointe Bank in New York City, boosting to 27 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year following the 140 brought down in 2009 by mounting loan defaults and the recession.

• US criticizes China's domestic, economic policies (AP)

  AP - The Obama administration accused China on Thursday of abusing its citizens' rights and maintaining currency policies that cost millions of U.S. jobs, a double-barrel attack that comes amid a growing willingness to confront and even antagonize the Asian power.

  
  

• Slowly, Americans are regaining their lost wealth (AP)

  AP - Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth — gradually. Household net worth rose last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was slight. And it was less than in the previous two quarters.

  
  

• Obama lobbied on black unemployment, immigration (Reuters)

  Reuters - President Barack Obama on Thursday faced pressure to help create jobs in African-American communities and deliver an immigration overhaul even as he tried to push healthcare reform across the finish line.

  
  

• US household wealth jumps for first time since recession (AFP)

  AFP - American household wealth jumped in 2009 for the first time since a brutal recession struck the country, underscoring the impact of an economic recovery, data from the central bank showed Thursday.

  
  

• States tap stimulus as more U.S. families seek aid (Reuters)

  Reuters - Many states have used funds from the $863 billion U.S. economic stimulus plan to help give a rising number of poor families emergency cash assistance, the Government Accountability Office said on Thursday.

  
  

• A look at global economic developments (AP)

  AP - A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Thursday:

• Fed emergency loans decline in past week (AP)

  AP - Banks borrowed less from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program over the past week, providing further evidence that the strains caused by the financial crisis are easing.

• AT&T CEO accepts bonus; pay rises to $20.2M (AP)

  AP - The frugality of the recession eased in the 2009 pay package for AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson, who resumed taking a bonus and saw his compensation rise by one-third to $20.2 million, according to Associated Press calculations on a regulatory filing Thursday.

• Citigroup sees return to sustained profitability (Reuters)

  Reuters - Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit told investors on Thursday the bank is on track to return to sustained profitability and losses from some of its worst assets should be manageable if the economy does not deteriorate.