Economic Recovery | featured news

Dow futures were up 30 points. The S&P Case-Shiller home-prices indexes showed U.S. home prices decreased at a slower annual rate in October, but prices were flat compared to September.

U.S. employers expect to hire more new workers in 2010 than they did in 2009, a sign the U.S. recession may be easing its grip, research showed on Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he believes it's reasonable to expect "positive job growth" by spring and that people should have confidence about an improving economic climate.

The downward revision, to 2.2 percent growth from 2.8 percent, was partly because shoppers did not spend as much and construction was weaker than first thought.

The recovery may have gotten off to a slow start in the third quarter, but a surge in sales of existing homes in November could presage a more robust end to the year.

California's unemployment rate fell in November, another sign that a recovery is underway, even as the state shed jobs from its payrolls.

The state's unemployment rate slid to 12.3%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning, down from 12.5% the month before. It is one of 36 states that saw unemployment rates decline in November.

Focused on keeping the recovery going and driving down double-digit unemployment, the Federal Reserve is poised to leave interest rates at a record low.

Consumers spent more on gasoline and a wide range of other goods, data showed, raising hopes of a self-sustaining economic recovery.

Americans got wealthier for a second straight quarter in the fall, as the economic recovery again boosted home values and investments.

The Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000. That was above analysts' expectations of 460,000.