Recession, Good News | featured news

Consumers spent more on autos, furniture, clothing and gas in July, pushing up retail sales by the largest amount in four months. The gain signaled that Americans are a little more confident in the economy and could helped dispel fears that the country is headed for another recession....

Job growth in the U.S. rebounded higher in July and the unemployment rate edged lower, the government reported Friday, providing a pinch of good news amid turmoil in global markets and intensifying fears of a recession.

California's unemployment rate ticked down to 11.9% in April after the state added 8,900 jobs, a relatively small number in a state still suffering from the Great Recession.

Layoffs are down, and at pre-recession levels, but hiring remains slow, Labor Department data showed.

Second-quarter economic growth was revised to an anemic 1.6%, a decline that was slightly less than many economists had predicted. But the report was a sobering cap to a week of bad economic news that has raised fears the nation could plunge into another recession.

Most banks have stopped toughening their lending standards for consumers and businesses, and manufacturing activity is at the highest levels in five years—both further signs of a strengthening U.S. economy.

Personal incomes rose more than expected in December and consumer spending increased for the third straight month, helping the economy slowly recover from the worst recession in decades.

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.

Data, coupled with new information on jobless claims, provides a bit of hope for the economy.