Tag Archives: economy

Entrepreneur Bill Brown had scaled back his San Jose, Calif., construction firm as demand for new Silicon Valley homes and offices dried up in recent years, cutting his staff by two-thirds, to 50 by late 2011. But over the course …

Home prices are rising, and so are mortgage rates, making it tough for would-be buyers, particularly first-time purchasers, to close a deal on a new place. Meanwhile, the looming threats of new mortgage rules and pending housing-finance reform are adding …

The shortened holiday shopping season spurred consumer spending in November, as Americans took advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to make holiday purchases, according to the National Retail Federation. November retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, …

The unemployment rate declined from 7.3 percent to 7.0 percent in November, and total non-farm payroll employment rose by 203,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in transportation and warehousing, health care and manufacturing. Both the …

An estimated 141 million unique shoppers shopped during Thanksgiving weekend, up from 139 million over the same time frame last year, according to the National Retail Federation. For those who shopped multiple times over the weekend, the survey estimated more …

When I was younger I wanted to open a chain of stores. The stores would be part shoe retailer, part hair salon and part pub, and I wanted to name them Jaime’s Shoes, Dos and Brews. While this was just …

October retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, increased 2.5 percent seasonally adjusted over September, according to the National Retail Federation. “Consumer spending is growing as we head into the holiday shopping season, and the timing couldn’t be better,” …