Economy News

The US Federal Reserve in Washington, DC. The United States has slipped into recession, the head of the San Francisco branch of the central bank has said.(AFP/File/Karen Bleier)

Fed: Economy sinks deeper into rut

AP - Wed Oct 15, 2:37 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The country has sunk deeper into an economic rut, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday, reflecting mounting damage from the financial and credit crises.

  • American flags flutter in the wind over the sign splashed across the windshield of a an unsold used 2005 Subaru Legacy sedan at a Mazda dealership in the west Denver suburb of Lakewood, Colo., on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008. Retail sales fell off a cliff in September, plunging by the largest amount in three years as worried consumers shunned the malls and auto showrooms in the midst of the country's financial meltdown. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
    Retail sales plunge 1.2 percent in September AP - Wed Oct 15, 11:36 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Retail sales fell off a cliff in September, plunging by the largest amount in three years as worried consumers shunned the malls and auto showrooms in the midst of the country's financial meltdown.

  • August inventories up less than expected AP - Wed Oct 15, 10:26 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Businesses increased their inventories in August by the smallest amount in five months, a possible indication of concerns about the slowing economy.

  • Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson speaks at a press conference at the Treasury Department in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
    Bush, Paulson say economy's rebound will take time AP - Wed Oct 15, 9:56 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The country hit fresh economic potholes Wednesday as President Bush sought to reassure anxious Americans that the government's latest rescue plan will eventually bring relief.

  • Wholesale prices drop for second straight month AP - Wed Oct 15, 8:36 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The government says wholesale prices fell for the second straight month in September, driven by a sharp drop in energy costs.

  • Japan's current account surplus down 52.5 percent AP - Tue Oct 14, 10:08 PM ET

    TOKYO - Japan's current account surplus in August shrank 52.5 percent from a year earlier as the country's spending on oil imports soared, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.

  • Japan's core machinery orders plunge in August AP - Wed Oct 8, 10:44 PM ET

    TOKYO - A key barometer of corporate capital spending in Japan plunged in August to its lowest level in more than five years, the government said Thursday, as business investment retreated sharply amid fears of a broader global slowdown.

  • Retirement accounts have lost $2 trillion AP - Tue Oct 7, 2:45 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday.

  • Payrolls drop by most in 5 years; more pain ahead AP - Fri Oct 3, 3:21 PM ET

    THE LATEST: Employers slashed 159,000 jobs in September, the most in more than five years and the ninth month in a row of nationwide job losses. So far this year, the economy has lost a staggering 760,000 jobs.

  • The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner sits on the assembly line at the company's Everett, Washington plant, May 19, 2008. (Robert Sorbo/Reuters)
    Factory orders drop by 4 percent in August AP - Thu Oct 2, 10:38 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Orders to U.S. factories plunged by the largest amount in nearly two years in August as the credit strains began to hit manufacturing with full force.