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US Economy

Article Index

March Jobs Report: Still Stuck in Second Gear

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

U.S. Labor Department jobs report The highly anticipated March jobs report out today supported what U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said earlier this week: The job market is not back to normal and the Fed has more to do on the unemployment front. This morning, the U.S. government announced that the economy barely missed expectations of 200,000 new jobs […]

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Janet Yellen Testimony: Key Takeaways as Fed Stays the Course

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

What stands out most from the Janet Yellen testimony Thursday to the Senate Banking Committee is that her remarks mirrored comments made on Feb. 11 in her first monetary policy testimony to a House panel.

Speaking on Capitol Hill about the Semiannual Monetary Report, Yellen repeated that the central bank is likely to maintain its approach of progressively trimming asset purchases. The taper will continue even as policy makers monitor data to determine if the recent spate of soft economy data is temporary or something more serious.

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This One Animal Could Send Food Prices Soaring

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @TaraKateClarke -

On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will provide $3 million to help the one animal that will make or break U.S. food prices: bees.

Commercial honeybees pollinate an estimated $15 billion worth of the nation's agricultural produce each year, as reported by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Bees and other pollinators account for one out of every three bites of food Americans consume.

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Why U.S. Retail Sales Dropped in January - and How You Can Profit

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @TaraKateClarke -

U.S. retail sales - which account for 70% of economic activity - unexpectedly fell 0.4% for the month of January according to the Commerce Department today (Thursday). The decline marks the second straight drop after a 0.1% fall in December.

Auto sales were the major contributor to the miss. Sales of motor vehicles and parts dropped 2.1%, while Americans also spent less on restaurants and clothing. The report also showed soft holiday sales for retailers at the end of last year.

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Why Wall Street Would Love to Bug Our Phones

By , Executive Editor, Money Morning • @privatebrief -

Bill patalon's private briefing

Every month or so, Keith Fitz-Gerald, Shah Gilani or a few of the other editors here at Money Map Press will wonder aloud if the big Wall Street investment banks have secreted a bunch of listening-device "bugs" in our offices or on our phones.

They haven't, of course. And our comments were made in jest - and meant only as a joke.

But the coincidences that prompt these surveillance-by-Big-Brother quips can be quite remarkable.

Let me share a brand-new story that shows you what I mean....

Today's Stock Market News and Earnings Calendar

By , Executive Producer, Money Morning -

Today's stock market news, Feb. 12, 2014: The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 192 points on Tuesday after new Fed chair Janet Yellen stressed that monetary policy is unlikely to change under her leadership. The Dow ticked above 16,000 for the first time since Jan. 24. The S&P rose 1.1% to close at 1,819.75 and the Nasdaq increased 1% to 4,191.04.

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Does Weather Move the Markets?

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @TaraKateClarke -

Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald appeared on FOX Business' "Varney & Co." this morning (Tuesday) to answer the question, "Does weather move the markets?"

Georgia will fall victim today to a winter storm the National Weather Service is calling "a historic, catastrophic event." Atlanta will shut down for the next two days, and U.S. President Barack Obama declared an emergency for the state. The storm will ultimately affect more than 100 million people, from Texas to Georgia, New York, and Massachusetts this week.

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Stock Market Sell-Off: The Chart That's Keeping Wall Street Up at Night

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @DavidGZeiler -

For months, Wall Street insiders have passed this chart around amongst themselves and nervously discussed whether it foretells a major stock market sell-off.

The chart compares the path of the current Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past year and a half to the Dow's moves over the 1928-1929 period.

While the Dow is trading at a much higher level now than in the 1928-1929 period, the pattern is eerily similar to the path that led to the worst stock market crash in Wall Street history, right up to the recent stock market sell-off and recovery.

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Janet Yellen Testimony to Congress

By , Money Morning -

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen delivered the semiannual Monetary Policy Report Tuesday morning before the House of Representatives. This was Yellen's first public address since assuming the role as head of the U.S. central bank after predecessor Ben Bernanke on Feb. 3, 2014.

Yellen, who until last week served as vice chair of the Fed, testified on the health of the U.S. economy, her commitment to the central bank's ongoing stimulus efforts, and regulatory needs for the financial system.

The full text of Yellen's remarks follows.

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Stock Market Today Fluctuates Ahead of Yellen's Debut

By , Money Morning -

Stock Market Today, Feb. 10: U.S. stocks were buoyant but fluctuating today, with both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closing in green territory, although the Dow slipped.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.1%, or 7.71 points, at 15,801.79 points; The S&P 500 closed up 0.2%, or 2.82 points at 1,799.84; and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.5%, or 22.3 points at 4,148.17 points.

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