Economy News

Oil prices rose above $76 a barrel Wednesday as the dollar weakened and investors awaited data on the U.S. economy and crude inventories.

WASHINGTON - The economy is not growing as fast as the government first thought and the recovery still faces significant obstacles, including households nervous about spending and rising unemployment.

LONDON (AFP) - World oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday as traders awaited the weekly US energy report and digested slower-than-expected third-quarter American economic growth.

CHICAGO - The Miles family is changing it up this year in the annual American race to make it to the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of booking plane tickets, they opted to take the 1,100-mile trip by train.

WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes are expected to post a modest increase in October, reinforcing data this week that showed the real estate market is regaining its footing after a dramatic collapse.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Swift interest rate hikes aimed at containing inflation in product and asset prices could cause another downturn in the slowly recovering economies of the United States and Europe, the head of the World Bank said.

The Federal Reserve upgraded its view of the U.S. economy on Tuesday, saying this year's contraction won't be as steep as previously thought and that growth next year may be better than expected.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration, facing criticism its economic stimulus plans are failing to halt layoffs, on Tuesday said hiring prompted by the spending would accelerate next year.

Reports on GDP and consumers signal modest rebound

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas commercial banks posted a net loss for the third quarter as the recession and bad loans continued to punish the state's lenders.

PORTLAND, Ore. - H.J. Heinz Co.'s says its business is thriving in emerging markets but the recession continued to drag down its U.S. and European sales during the second quarter as shoppers limited spending or chose lower-priced products.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials are increasingly confident the U.S. economic recovery will be durable, but do not see employment or inflation picking up soon, minutes from their November meeting showed.

NEW YORK - Gold prices managed to carve out a small gain Tuesday, while other commodities fell after the latest economic data signaled that the recovery will be slow.

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Cash-strapped states in search of new revenue may establish their own “cap-and-trade” program for greenhouse gases covering more than half the U.S. economy if Congress doesn’t set up a federal emissions market.

NEW YORK - The dollar was mixed Tuesday as economic reports signaled a modest rebound, while the Federal Reserve said it could take "five or six years" for a recovery and inflation is under control.

WASHINGTON - The apparent end of the recession and stabilizing financial markets have not cured the banking industry, as souring and past-due loans have reached the highest levels in 26 years, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve doesn't expect the recovery will be strong enough to quickly drive down the jobless rate, and acknowledged its efforts to keep the rebound going could feed a new speculative bubble.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US economic rebound in the third quarter was weaker than initially estimated, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in cutting its estimate to a 2.8 percent annual pace of expansion.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew more slowly than first thought in the third quarter, but a fifth month of gains in house prices in September and an improvement in consumer morale signaled the anemic recovery was intact.

Oil prices fell to around $76 a barrel Tuesday with new data showing a slow U.S. economic recovery and consumer confidence that remains lukewarm at best.

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (Reuters) - Dave Huston's Kansas-based plastics company is down to 34 employees from 63 a year ago. With the U.S. recession starting to retreat, he would like to add back workers but will likely buy new equipment instead.

PARIS (Reuters) - Half of the losses suffered by banks could still be hidden in their balance sheets, more so in Europe than in the United States, the International Monetary Fund's chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday raised its outlook for US economic growth in 2010 to a range of 2.5 to 3.5 percent, and said the troubles in unemployment appeared to be near a peak.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. food makers H.J. Heinz Co and Hormel Foods Corp said they expect sales to rise in the coming months as they spend more on marketing to win the attention of recession-weary consumers who are dining at home instead of eating out.

WASHINGTON - Fed says recovery will be gradual with jobless rate dropping 'slowly' over next few years.

HARTFORD, Conn. - WSP Holdings Inc., a Chinese manufacturer of oil and natural gas exploration and drilling products, posted a third-quarter loss — its first — on lower demand and prices due to the global recession.

NEW YORK - Retailers heading into the traditional start of holiday shopping are facing consumers who are only a bit less gloomy than they were a year ago as they worry about a weak job market.

NEW YORK - US Airways was the only airline stock in the green Tuesday, after the Phoenix-based airline said it will delay delivery of 54 Airbus jets until at least 2013 so it can hold on to more cash.

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday: