By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG AP Business WriterNEW YORK (AP) — Recent economic indicators point to an easier time ahead for small manufacturers and companies in the home remodeling industry. A decline in the home repair and remodeling market that began in the first quarter of 2019 is projected to end with the third quarter of […]

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — Low interest rates and reduced trade tensions will likely buoy the global economy over the next two years and help nurture steady if modest growth. That’s the view of the International Monetary Fund, which foresees world economic growth accelerating from 2.9% last year to 3.3% in 2020 […]

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — Rising energy costs drove U.S. consumer prices higher in December, and American workers’ earnings couldn’t keep up. The Labor Department said Tuesday that its consumer price index rose 0.2% last month, lifted by a 2.8% increase in gasoline prices. Over the past year, consumer inflation is up […]

By JOSH BOAK AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers downshifted their hiring in December, adding 145,000 jobs as consumer spending appeared to aid gains in the retail and hospitality sectors. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate held at 3.5% for the second straight month, prolonging a half-century low. Hiring slipped after […]

By JOSH BOAK AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. job market appears to be entering 2020 on a solid footing. Economists expect that Friday’s jobs report will show job gains of 160,000 in December, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.5%, according to the data provider FactSet. But key in the report will […]

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit fell in November to the lowest level in more than three years as U.S. exports rose while imports declined, putting the country on track to see the first annual decline in the trade deficit in six years. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that […]