Economic Recovery | featured news

Stocks tumbled for a second day Friday after concerns grew that the deep spending cuts under Europe's bailout plan would slow a global recovery.

Retail sales and industrial production in April both enjoyed continued growth, reinforcing the sustainability of the economic recovery in the United States. On Friday the U.S. Commerce Department reported retail sales gained 0.4% in April, ahead of Wall Street’s expected 0.2% rise, but below the 2.1% jump in March. Peter Newland, economist at Barclays Capital, notes that the total was driven by a 0.5% increase in both autos and gasoline, and a 6.9% jump in building material sales. All of that is nice, but core sales, which exclude these elements, actually fell 0.2%, which is much weaker than excepted.

While improving, the job market still has a long way to go before it can be counted on to provide a base for a sustained economic recovery.

Signs of a recovery in the U.S. labor market grew on Wednesday as data on the private sector labor market showed job gains for the first time since January 2008.

President Barack Obama acclaimed a government report on Friday that showed the economy expanded at a 3.2 percent rate in the first quarter, saying it was an "important milepost on the road to recovery."

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped for a second consecutive week, further evidence that the job market is slowing improving.

The Federal Reserve sounded a more confident note Wednesday that the economy is strengthening but pledged to hold rates at record lows to make sure it gains traction.

It took more than a year, but American diners are coming out of hiding, starting to splurge on everything from tea to tacos and tacking on some dessert.

Home sales rose sharply last month and claims for jobless benefits fell last week. The two reports Thursday sketched a picture of a modestly improving economy.

Economist says recovery is stronger than thought; 4-percent economic expansion expected this year.