[06/06/14]  Jobs numbers released by The Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday morning were better than what economists were predicting, leading the markets to pick up steam in early trading. Non-farm payrolls added 217,000 jobs in May, slightly above the 215,000 that economists were expecting. The unemployment rate, which is drawn from a different survey of households, remained unchanged at 6.3% and is 0.1% better than the 6.4% consensus. The labor force participation rate also remained unchanged from the 62.8% rate reported for April, the lowest rate in decades. The BLS said Friday that the participation rate has shown no clear trend since this past October but is down by 0.6% over...

[05/16/14]  Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in May from a nine-month high, showing Americans are being shaken by rising grocery bills and elevated fuel costs. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary sentiment index decreased to 81.8 from 84.1 in April. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a gain to 84.5. Food prices have risen and the cost of gasoline has held near its highest level of the year, making buyers less secure in their finances. Falling unemployment, rising home prices and near-record stock indexes could provide support for sentiment, giving Americans the wherewithal to boost the spending that makes up 70 percent of the economy. “We’re...

[05/13/14]  Retail sales barely rose in April, tempering hopes of a sharp acceleration in economic growth in the second quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that retail sales edged up 0.1 percent last month, held back by declines in receipts at furniture, electronic and appliance stores, as well as restaurants and bars, and online retailers.

Retail sales, which account for a third of consumer spending, rose by a revised 1.5 percent in March. That was the largest increase since March 2010 and reflected pent-up demand after a brutally cold winter.

“You really had a spectacular March,” said Guy Berger,...

[05/12/14]  The stock market returned to record levels on Monday as investors regained their appetite for riskier stocks. After beating down Internet and small companies for two months, investors decided that those stocks had fallen enough. Among the big gainers were Twitter and Facebook, which plunged in March and April. The Russell 2000, an index composed of small companies, climbed the most in two months. Investors have been more cautious this year than last. They've favored big, less volatile stocks that pay rich dividends because of concerns about the outlook for the economy. Utility and energy companies have been among the beneficiaries of this trend and have outperformed...

[04/04/14]  Companies powered the U.S. job market past a milestone in March as private employment exceeded the pre-recession peak for the first time, showing the kind of progress Federal Reserve officials look for to maintain their current policy course. Payrolls excluding government agencies rose by 192,000 workers after a 188,000 gain in February that was larger than first estimated, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. That brought the job count to 116.1 million, beating the January 2008 high of 116 million. The jobless rate held at 6.7 percent even as almost half a million people entered the workforce. Retailers, construction companies and health-care providers were among those taking on additional staff as...