Economic growth was stronger during the second quarter than earlier estimated, although growth in a key measure of U.S. corporate profits moderated from the first quarter. Gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced across the economy—rose at a 4.2% annual rate in the second quarter, adjusted for seasonality and inflation, the Commerce […]
Fewer U.S. workers are moving around the country to seek new job opportunities, as changing family ties and more openings near home make people less willing to uproot their lives for work. About 3.5 million people relocated for a new job last year, according to U.S. census data, a 10% drop from 3.8 million in […]
Tesla Inc. has backed away from an agreement to buy all of the output from a solar-panel factory it operates with Panasonic Corp. , the Japanese company said Thursday, another sign of the uncertain outlook for Tesla’s SolarCity subsidiary. Panasonic said it began making solar cells and modules at the factory in Buffalo, N.Y., in […]
California’s energy regulators effectively cooked the books to justify their recent command that all homes built in the Golden State after 2020 be equipped with solar panels. Far from a boon to homeowners, the costs to builders and home buyers will likely far exceed the benefits to the state. The California Energy Commission, which approved […]
Home construction across the U.S. staged a modest rebound last month after a big June drop, but was weaker than Wall Street had expected, with many analysts taking a bleak view of the housing market. Housing starts grew 0.9% in July from the prior month, significantly weaker than the 8.3% bounce back economists surveyed by […]
The unemployment rate among young Americans fell to its lowest level in more than 50 years this summer, though the share of young people looking for work remained well below its peak in 1989. Of Americans between 16 and 24 years old actively looking for work this summer, 9.2% were unemployed in July, the Labor […]
A surge in retail sales and rising manufacturing output suggest the U.S. economy’s strong growth in the second quarter continued into the third. Retail sales—a measure of spending at U.S. stores, websites and restaurants—rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in July from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was well ahead of economists’ […]
U.S. worker productivity accelerated this spring at the best pace in more than three years, a possible sign stronger business investment is giving workers the tools they need to boost output. The productivity of nonfarm workers, measured as the output of goods and services for each hour on the job, increased at an annualized and […]
Last year’s corporate tax cut is reducing U.S. tax collections, as expected. But that change is likely to ripple far beyond the country’s borders in the years ahead, shrinking other countries’ tax revenue, according to a recent paper by economists at the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. tax law will reduce what other countries collect […]
Most liberal pundits argue that poverty is still a huge problem and that current programs are insufficient. Their conclusion: We shouldn’t change our welfare programs, except possibly to expand them. Those on the right, meanwhile, have argued that the U.S. has spent trillions to no effect. In fact, poverty has declined significantly over the past […]
Another challenge is state politicians who’d rather spend money on green pork. This year the Democratic legislature appropriated a mere $30 million of cap-and-trade revenues for fuel reductions on 60,000 acres of forest land. They allocated $335 million for electric vehicle subsidies. Democrats have also spent billions on high-speed rail, but only this year did […]
A humming U.S. economy is pushing inflation up to levels that the central bank considers healthy. But there’s a downside: Americans’ paychecks are barely keeping up. Consumer prices rose 2.9% over the past year, a rate last exceeded in late 2011, the Labor Department said Friday. Core prices—those outside of volatile food and energy-related expenses—climbed […]
Unfilled jobs are piling up in the transportation, retail and business-services sectors as workers become scarce in the fast-growing economy. The number of available jobs grew by nearly 750,000 this spring, compared with a year earlier, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. There were 6.7 million job openings on average in the three months […]
For the past century, a public pension was an ironclad promise. Whatever else happened, retired policemen and firefighters and teachers would be paid. That is no longer the case. Many cities and states can no longer afford the unsustainable retirement promises made to millions of public workers over many years. By one estimate they are […]
The Trump administration is proposing to freeze fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks in 2020, a move that will ease rules for auto makers and also likely intensify a legal fight with California. The proposal outlined Thursday would eliminate the sharp increase in fuel-economy requirements adopted under the Obama administration in collaboration with California. […]