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Despite potential tax and investment problems, more investors have been borrowing from their 401(k) plans or taking hardship withdrawals in recent months, some retirement plan providers say. Many in the field expect more borrowing in 2008, as consumers struggle with tighter credit and potentially higher mortgage payments. "I don't think it's a groundswell but it's enough to be noticed," said Rick Meigs, president of 401khelpcenter.com, which provides information on 401(k) plans. Increased borrowing on 401(k)s could be because of the credit crunch and slumping housing prices. To be sure, the indications are preliminary; it's too early to say why it's...

All Bush's Fault Alert? First time I am doing a live thread to be kind.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs -- flashing a picture of a strong labor market as the midterm elections draw near.

Blue chip stocks rose and the Dow Jones industrial average neared its record high close Wednesday as investors shrugged off a lackluster durable goods report and appeared satisfied with an increase in new home sales. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 18.41, or 0.16 percent, at 11,687.80, just over 35 points away from its record high close of 11,722.98. Broader stock indicators were down. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.41, or 0.03 percent, to 1,335.93, and the Nasdaq composite index declined 0.82, or 0.04 percent, at 2,260.52. The Commerce Department said orders to U.S....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesale prices rose by a larger-than-expected 0.5 percent in June but core inflation, excluding food and energy, edged up just 0.2 percent. The Labor Department also reported Tuesday that wholesale food prices increased 1.4 percent last month, with prices for processed chickens jumping 12.1 percent and increases marked by eggs, fresh fruit and dairy products. Wholesale energy prices rose 0.7 percent.

Unexpected tax revenue to shrink U.S. budget deficit By MarketWatch Last Update: 3:35 PM ET Jul 8, 2006 NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- An unexpected spike in revenue from corporate taxes, individual stock market profits and executive bonuses is curbing the projected budget deficit this year, according to a media report. The White House on Tuesday is expected to say that tax receipts are about $250 billion higher than they were a year ago, rising twice as fast as the administration forecast, the New York Times reported Saturday. As a result, the budget deficit will be about $100 billion less than...

WASHINGTON - Casting off an end-of-year lethargy, the U.S. economy bounded ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 4.8 percent pace, the fastest pace of growth in 2 1/2 years. The latest report on the economy, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, showed that consumers, businesses and government all did their part in terms of robust spending and investment to spur a healthy pace of growth in the January-to-March quarter. The 4.8 percent increase in the gross domestic product marked a vast improvement from the feeble 1.7 percent annual rate registered in the final quarter of...

U.S. Jan. housing starts highest since 1973 By Rex Nutting Last Update: 8:30 AM ET Feb 16, 2006 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - New construction of U.S. homes soared 14.5% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.276 million, aided by the warmest weather of any January on record. It's the highest rate for seasonally adjusted starts since March 1973. The percentage gain was the largest in nearly 12 years, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Starts of new single-family homes rose 12.8% to a record seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.819 million in January. The gain in housing starts far...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida's unemployment rate dropped to 3.3 percent in December, the lowest in 30 years, and it posted the fastest job growth among the nation's 10 most populous states last year, the state's labor agency announced today. The December jobless rate, down from 3.6 percent in November, also is lowest among those states. It is 1.6 percentage points below the national rate of 4.9 percent, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation reported. "I wouldn't trade our economy for any other state's," said Rick McAllister, president of the Florida Retail Federation. "We seem to be the steady Eddie."...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Salvation Army will open an anchor store with 30,000 square feet of retail space in the former Service Merchandise building on Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre. When the store opens this fall, it will replace the non-profit organization's 15,000 square foot location on business Route 309, Wilkes-Barre Township, said Jerry Balara, general manager of Salvation Army's adult rehabilitation center. "We expect to get to the point where we can double our sales at that location," Balara said. "Once the store becomes established, given the fact it is twice the size, we expect the...

The Latest Press Release The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index Rises in June June 28, 2005 The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in May, improved further in June. The Index now stands at 105.8 (1985=100), up from 103.1 in May. The Present Situation Index increased to 120.7 from 117.8. The Expectations Index rose to 95.8 from 93.4 last month. The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS NFO. TNS NFO is one of the TNS group of companies (LSE: TNN)....

10:35AM: Market gets a boost following better than expected weekly oil inventories data... Crude supplies rose 2.1 mln barrels (consensus -800K) while distillate stockpiles came in at +600K (consensus -1.13 mln)... Stocks had been trading with a tinge of caution ahead of the data as broad-based gains that pushed every major indice to new highs yesterday had stalled early momentum... Showing some resilience have been homebuilding, materials, financial, airline, networking, retail and utility while sectors under early selling pressure have been disk drive and energy...NYSE Adv/Dec 1612/1226, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1442/1264

U.S. blue chips rise; J&J higher, Goldman falls Thu Dec 16, 2004 12:42 PM ET (Updates to late morning) By Anupama Chandrasekaran NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - U.S. blue chips moved higher on Thursday, getting a lift from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) following its acquisition of medical device maker Guidant Corp. (GDT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , but broader market gains were capped after investment bank Goldman Sachs posted disappointing quarterly revenues. Deutsche Bank also upgraded Johnson & Johnson to "buy" from "hold." The health-care products company sealed its $25.4 billion deal to buy Guidant late on...

Republicans are celebrating 337,000 new jobs created in October, but a look behind the numbers shows the same discouraging trend of the past four years. The U.S. economy can only create jobs in government and in areas of domestic services that cannot be outsourced or replaced with imports. Government employment accounts for 41,000 of the new jobs. The private economy produced 296,000 jobs in October. Of these jobs, 71,000 are in construction; 36,000 are in wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing; credit services account for 17,000 jobs; employment services (primarily temporary help) account for 55,000 jobs; school administrators and...