Coverage: Big job growth occurred in December
U.S. employers hired the most workers in 10 months in December while boosting wages, pointing to sustained strength in the economy that could ease fears of a sharp slowdown in growth. Lucia Mutikani of Reuters had the news: Nonfarm payrolls surged by 312,000 jobs last month, the largest gain since February, as employment at construction and […]
Cedar Rapids Gazette seeks a business reporter
The Gazette, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is seeking a business reporter to join our news reporting team. This reporter won’t be focused on earnings reports, but will instead focus on context-based reporting about business and economic trends in Iowa and within the region. This reporter is able to quickly turn daily stories, but enjoys […]
Coverage: Trump wants to fire Fed chair, or maybe not
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says President Donald Trump has denied ever suggesting firing Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell. Darlene Superville of the Associated Press had the news: Trump has been attacking the Fed — and Powell personally — for the central bank’s interest rate increases. Trump blames the independent agency’s hikes for recent stock […]
Coverage: Fed raises rates, signals two hikes for 2019
The Federal Reserve again raised interest rates, but that might be the last hike for a while. The central bank indicated it would raise rates more slowly in 2019, nodding to signs that the U.S. and global economies are cooling. Irina Ivanova of CBS News had the story: U.S. stocks tumbled on the news, with market […]
Coverage: What will the Fed do this week?
The Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve Board’s main policymaking body, meets this week to decide whether to raise interest rates in a closely watched decision. Heidi Chung of Yahoo Finance had the news: The Federal Reserve will be holding its highly-anticipated Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting Tuesday, December 18 to Wednesday, December 19. Federal Reserve […]
NPR seeks a chief economics correspondent
NPR’s Business Desk is looking for an economics correspondent. The global economy has entered an era of dramatic and profound change, much of it driven by policies emanating from America at an unforeseen pace. Long existing global trade deals are being upended, new tariffs are being imposed, and taxes and regulations are either being removed […]
Coverage: Trump and China’s leader call truce in tariff war
China and the United States agreed to a ceasefire in their bitter trade war on Saturday after high-stakes talks in Argentina between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, including no escalated tariffs on Jan. 1. Roberta Rampton and Michael Martina of Reuters had the news: Trump will leave tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese […]
Coverage: New home sales drop to lowest level since 2016
Sales of new U.S. homes slid sharply in October as higher mortgage rates and rising construction costs created significant headwinds for home builders. Laura Kosisto and Harriet Torry of The Wall Street Journal had the news: Purchases of newly built single-family homes fell 8.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 544,000 in October, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. From a year […]
Coverage: Home construction rises 1.5 percent in October
U.S. home construction improved a slight 1.5 percent in October, but in a troubling sign, ground breakings for single-family houses fell. Josh Boak of the Associated Press had the news: The Commerce Department said Tuesday housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million, up from 1.21 million in September. The gains came […]
Coverage: Manufacturing activity rises for fifth straight month
U.S. manufacturing output rose for a fifth straight month in October, shrugging off a sharp drop in motor vehicle production and suggesting underlying strength in factory activity. Lucia Mutikani of Reuters had the news: The Federal Reserve said on Friday manufacturing production rose 0.3 percent last month. Data for September was revised up to show output […]
