msnbc.com: Stocks & economy

Stocks end the trading day with minor gains

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 20:09:44 GMT

Investors showed a greater appetite for risk Thursday, putting money back into banking and industrial stocks as well as commodities.

Nation’s retailers report weak June sales

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 16:20:46 GMT

Escalating job worries and rainy weather dampened shoppers’ appetite for buying summer staples like shorts and dresses, resulting in sharp June sales declines for many merchants.

Weekly jobless claims drop unexpectedly

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 18:04:19 GMT

The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits last week fell to lowest level since early January, largely due to changes in the timing of auto industry layoffs.

Obama: Nations must fight global warming

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 17:43:58 GMT

President Barack Obama says the global recession makes it harder to strike an international climate agreement but that leaders must "fight the temptation toward cynicism" and press forward.

Oil wavers near $60 as consumers scale back

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 19:27:57 GMT

Oil prices wavered around $60 per barrel with new consumer and employment data casting a pall over energy markets, but still rose slightly at the close for the first time in more than a week.

Consumers trim borrowing again in May

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 15:59:09 GMT

Consumers trimmed borrowing in May for the fourth straight month as the recession took another bite out of investments and drove unemployment higher.

It's summertime and the living is stingy, mostly

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 15:06:46 GMT

Americans are cutting back their spending but not abandoning favorite summertime pursuits despite the extra expense, a new survey released Wednesday indicates.

Ad pushes legal pot as solution to Calif. deficit

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 20:14:59 GMT

A pro-marijuana group is launching a television bid to legalize pot in California with the pitch that legalizing and taxing the drug could help solve the state's massive budget deficit.

One casualty of the recession: U.S. mobility

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 14:10:00 GMT

The weak economy and limp housing market have meant that many more people in this ordinarily footloose nation are staying put. It’s a trend that reverses a decades-old pattern.

Credit card delinquencies at record high

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 18:16:26 GMT

Soaring unemployment and a shrinking economy drove delinquencies on credit card debt to an all-time high in the first quarter.

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Tue, 7 Jul 2009 18:16:26 GMT

Service sector shrinks less than expected

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 16:29:53 GMT

The U.S. services economy contracted less than expected in June in its best showing since before the financial crisis struck last fall, according to a private trade group’s gauge.

Wall Street to turn its attention to earnings

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:44:56 GMT

Investors, whose optimism was recently shaken by surprisingly weak economic data, are now hoping companies can provide some clues about a recovery.

Administration plans for end of ‘too big to fail’

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:48:31 GMT

Financial regulations proposed by President Obama would result in leaner and simpler financial institutions that don't carry the weight of the system on their marble columns.

Stimulus spending signs rile taxpayers

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 15:27:16 GMT

With the economy tanking and the nation deeply in debt, "Putting America to Work" markers have struck a nerve with some taxpayers.

Jobless consumers will hold back recovery

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:54:00 GMT

Many forecasters now expect the U.S. economy to begin growing later this year. But it probably won’t feel like a recovery for most people. By John W. Schoen.