Economy | featured news

While malls appear to be past their peak in the United States, in Russia they are luring shoppers with money to spend, and investors like Morgan Stanley... Shoppers who find that 250 stores aren’t enough can go ice skating, watch movies or even ride a carousel, all under a single roof.

A last-ditch tax deal in the Senate might let the U.S. economy will escape the worst of the so-called fiscal cliff and avoid going back into recession. But even if the House goes along, the tax increases likely coming in 2013 will dent economic growth anyway. In the early hours of the new year, the Senate voted to end a long stalemate and raise taxes on upper-income households, extend long-term unemployment benefits and postpone decisions over government spending cuts, officials said. But any deal needs approval from the House.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday called for improving the economy and living standards of his impoverished nation with the same urgency that scientists showed in successfully testing a long-range rocket recently....

Financial markets would be affected adversely if U.S. lawmakers fail to agree on a "fiscal cliff" deal before Tuesday, President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Sunday, while urging Congress to act quickly to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans.

Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a "self-inflicted wound to the economy."

Local governments across Spain have been paying their suppliers' bills months behind schedule, forcing companies to help shoulder the financial woes of the Spanish government.

Contracts for U.S. home resales hit a 2-1/2-year high in November and factory activity in the Midwest expanded this month, suggesting some strength in the economy despite the threat of tighter fiscal policy.

U.S. banks are ending the year with their best profits since 2006 and fewer failures than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis.

Brazil has had a tough two years. This last one in particular has been rough. A crime wave swept Sao Paulo, the nation’s largest city, towards the end of the year. But more importantly, a country that wants to be the country of the future, with all the amenities and a stable economy, has seen its confidence dwindle a bit. This is not the Lula years, in reference to popular president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The nation that will hold the FIFA World Cup in just two short years and later the Summer Olympics in 2016 is scratching its collective heads. How did Brazil go from one of the biggest economies in Latin America, to be usurped by Mexico now as measured by investor appetite and losing the No. 6 global economy position to the U.K. in less than a 12 months.

This is the second of three posts looking at how the U.S. economy will do in 2013. Wednesday's installment examined the positive fundamentals that should drive a good year. Today's considers the political risks that could undermine those fundamentals. Friday's will look at international risks to the outlook.