U.s. Economy | featured news

Single-family home prices rose for the fourth month in a row in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, suggesting the recovery in the housing market continued to gain traction, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

“We tried our plan — and it worked. That’s the difference. That’s the choice in this election. That’s why I’m running for a second term.” ...In any case, the Romney campaign clearly ripped these words out of context, leaving them untethered from their original meaning — in order to score political points in a highly misleading way. Obama was not talking about today’s economy, but about different philosophies of taxation.

Growth at or below 2% isn't enough to lower the unemployment rate. The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The slowdown in growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended.

President Obama and aides will again have to defend their economic policy amid more tepid data... Alan Krueger, who chairs Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, noted that the Gross Domestic Product -- the total amount of goods and services produced in the country -- has grown for a dozen straight quarters, adding up to 6.7% over the past three years.

New orders for a range of long-lasting manufactured goods fell in June and a gauge of planned business spending plans dropped, pointing to a slowdown in factory activity. The Commerce Department said on Thursday durable goods orders excluding transportation dropped 1.1 percent, the biggest decline since January, after rising 0.8 percent in May. Economists had forecast this category being flat last month.

Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in June as fewer properties came on the market, an industry group said on Thursday, pointing to weak home resales in July.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to near a four-year low but an unusual pattern for summer factory shutdowns kept hopes in check that the weak labor market was improving.

Economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers write that “the debate in Washington about economic policy is phony. It’s manufactured. And it’s entirely political.” ... Turns out that there’s wide agreement that the stimulus created jobs, TARP was necessary, market factors drive gas prices, tax cuts reduce revenue, tax increases and spending cuts will have to be part of a deficit solution and more.

Manufacturing this month expanded at its slowest pace since late 2010, hobbled by weak overseas demand for American goods, though a rise in domestic orders helped cushion the blow.

U.S. home prices in the second quarter rose from the year-ago period for the first time since 2007, according to a closely watched index, the latest indication that the housing market is starting to recover.