A Stern Glance

Worker productivity slowed in the summer while wage pressures increased, but both developments were better than expected and are unlikely to raise inflation alarms at the Federal Reserve.
The Labor Department reported today that productivity, the key ingredient for rising living standards, rose at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the July-September quarter. That’s down [...]

Thank you for the opportunity to provide an update on the current state of the U.S. economy, our implementation of the financial rescue package and strategies for use of the remaining TARP funds. 
Today we continue to work through a severe financial crisis.  While we are making progress, the journey ahead will continue to be [...]

The Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during October 2008 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,072.6 billion, 1.2 percent (±1.4%)* below the revised September estimate of $1,085.7 billion. The October figure is 4.6 percent (±1.9%) below the October 2007 estimate of $1,124.2 billion.
During the first 10 months of this [...]

Factory activity fell in November to its weakest since 1982, according to an industry report released on Monday.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity fell to 36.2 in November from 38.9 in October, below economists’ median forecast for a reading of 37.0.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

The government released a quartet of reports today that paint a bleak picture of the nation’s economy: Jobless claims remain at recessionary levels, Americans cut back on their spending by the largest amount since the 2001 terrorist attacks, orders to U.S. factories plummeted and home sales fell to the lowest level in nearly 18 years.
The [...]