Free Republic

Routine One of the biggest wastes of time imaginable is to read news stories about what’s expected in upcoming economic reports. Late last week, we were regaled with stories about how economists were expecting news of robust job growth, and how this would be followed by serious consideration on the part of the Federal Reserve Board to finally raise interest rates—which have been kept artificially low for years in the hope of spurring job growth. But as is so often the case, the reality didn’t meet the expectations. Job growth stumbled again, with only 142,000 nonfarm jobs added to payrolls...

A day after Ben Bernanke said rising wages would likely spur household spending, a spate of weak economic reports is painting an entirely different picture. While the US has "a considerable way to go" before the economy fully recovers, the Federal Reserve chairman said on Monday that rising demand from households and businesses should sustain growth. Undercutting Bernanke's optimistic outlook was a series of economic reports yesterday showing consumer spending was flat in June as personal income growth ground to a halt. "The data confirm the growth momentum doesn't look good," said economist Bill Cheney at John Hancock Financial Service,...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Regional economic reports on Monday suggested the U.S. economy has clambered back to levels associated with the end of recession, but recovery will be patchy and may prove fleeting. Economic activity and manufacturing data for the U.S. Mid West and Texas hinted the impact of the global financial crisis is slowly abating as the economy emerges from the longest recession in 70 years. However, an index of national economic activity slipped on a monthly basis and a Texas manufacturing output index fell. ... The indices preceded gross domestic product results on Thursday, the broadest measure of...