EconoBlog

The Labor Department reported Thursday that claims for unemployment benefits fell by 33,000 last week to 342,000. Economists had been expecting claims would rise by 3,000.
The four-week moving average for claims fell by 7,250 to 369,500. Even with the improvements, analysts are still worried that the weak economy is putting greater pressures on the labor […]

New home sales fell in March to the lowest level in more than 16 years, according to a key government report on the battered housing market released Wednesday.March sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 526,000, the Census Bureau report showed, down 8.5% from a revised 575,000 in February and down 36% […]

In light of entering into an agreement to merge with JPMorgan Chase, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC) will not be announcing its first quarter 2008 financial results on Monday, March 17, 2008, as previously scheduled.
And a cool one from their website:
“Bear Stearns
Founded in 1923, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC) is a […]

Bear Stearns was bought by its competitor JPMorgan Chase for a bargain-basement price of $2 a share, or $236.2 million.
The stunning last-minute buyout was aimed at averting a Bear Stearns bankruptcy and a spreading crisis of confidence in the global financial system sparked by the collapse in the subprime mortgage market. Bear Stearns was the […]

It is estimated that by 2011 China’s software offshore outsourcing market scale will reach 54.91 billion yuan, in 2006 -2011, a compound annual growth rate of about 38 per cent. According to Analysys International’s latest report “China’s offshore outsourcing market trend forecasts 2007-2011,” The results showed that, it is estimated that in 2011 China’s software […]

The euro continued its rapid climb to new highs against the dollar on Friday, hitting $1.5238 in early European trading before retreating slightly. Continued concern that the U.S. economy is headed into recession, further falls in equity prices and talk of the collapse of a U.K. hedge fund are all contributing to the latest wave […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled the U.S. central bank is prepared to lower interest rates again even amid signs of accelerating inflation. The Fed “will be carefully evaluating incoming information bearing on the economic outlook and will act in a timely manner as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against […]

Retail sales in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in January, easing concern that the world’s largest economy has already slipped into a recession. The 0.3 percent increase was led by spending on autos, clothes and gasoline, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The figure followed a 0.4 percent decrease the previous month. Purchases excluding automobiles […]

Dean Foods Co.’s fourth-quarter net income dropped 55% amid higher interest costs from last year’s recapitalization, as fluctuating commodity prices continued to bleed margins. The company offered a dissapointing forecast for the first quarter and year, while predicting growth in the second half, citing instability in the milk market.
The nation’s largest dairy processor and […]

Bank of America Corp. and Chevron Corp. will replace tobacco company Altria Group Inc. and manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. in the Dow Jones industrial average, giving the stock market’s best-known indicator bigger slices of the banking and energy sectors.
Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., is the nation’s biggest bank by deposits. Chevron, the energy […]