2012 | featured news

At a community meeting in a Lutheran church earlier this year, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing got an earful about his city’s distressingly high crime rate. The heckling started with members of his own police force... What could the mayor say? The best crime news out of Detroit these days is that the rate of violent crimes – murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – fell 10% last year to 2,137 per 100,000 residents. That’s still more than five times the national average and more than enough to make Detroit America’s Most Dangerous City for the fourth year in a row.

A second month of sharp gains in gasoline costs drove wholesale prices higher in September. But outside of the surge in energy, prices were well contained.

Home prices kept rising in July across the United States, buoyed by greater sales and fewer foreclosures. National home prices increased 1.2 percent in July, compared to the same month last year, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller index released Tuesday. That's the second straight year-over-year gain after two years without one.

Unemployment rates in August rose in 26 states from July, but most states showed lower rates than a year ago, the federal government reported Friday. Nevada continued to lead the country with the highest unemployment rate, 12.1% in August.

Consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in early September to its highest level in four months as Americans were more upbeat about their economic and job prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

Retail sales in the U.S. increased in August by the most in six months, boosted by demand for automobiles along with higher gasoline prices that left consumers with less to spend on other goods. The 0.9 percent gain followed a revised 0.6 percent advance in July that was smaller than initially reported, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase of 0.8 percent. Sales slowed at department stores, apparel retailers and electronics outlets.

The U.S. trade deficit grew to $42 billion in July, widened by fewer exports to Europe, India and Brazil that offset a steep decline in oil imports.

Most retailers, including Costco Wholesale Corp and Limited Brands Inc , posted better-than-expected sales gains at existing stores in August, in what is expected to be a healthy month as parents and students wrapped up back-to-school purchases.

Despite some recently improving economic data, consumer confidence dropped in August to its lowest level since late last year, according to a leading indicator released Tuesday.

Orders for long-lasting goods posted the strongest gain of the year in July due to demand for cars and airplanes, though weakness continued outside the transportation sector.