Topic: Economic Issues

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What kind of an eater are you?

From locavores to femivores, to fast food junkies and punk domestics, here are 11 labels for every kind of person at the dinner table.
Five ways to improve Obama's pre-k plan

President Obama’s Preschool for All plan is well intentioned but includes features that are not justified by research and won’t help it pass in Congress. The plan must make the following five adjustments.
Bestselling books the week of 5/5/13, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.
Top 5 bull markets since 1929

The bull market that started in 2009 is currently the fifth most spectacular rise in stock prices since at least 1929. Can you guess which bull markets have been even more impressive?
GMO, Organic, and seven other food labels you should know

A quick, easy guide to nine commonly seen (and misunderstood) food labels, from 'GMO' to 'grass-fed.'

All Content

Stocks edge higher; IBM pulls up Dow

Stocks overcame a morning slide to finish modestly higher, giving the Standard & Poor's 500 index another record close. Worries about slower economic growth have rattled stocks this month, but they have consistently bounced back.
Pre-K programs take biggest state funding hit ever

Pre-K study finds that states' total spending on early childhood education dropped by more than $400 per pupil for the 2011-12 school year – and about $1,100 per pupil over a decade.
Robert Reich Public debt and economic growth

If slow growth makes debt burdens larger, Reich writes, government should be fueling growth through, say, spending more – at least in the short run.
The Monitor's View: In China and US, a values upheaval as economies slow

As the economy slows, Beijing leaders try to push a 'China dream.' In the US, the 'American dream" has shifted to a desire for economic security. The two global giants need watching as their values norms shift.
Change Agent A different road out of poverty: saving instead of borrowing

Microloans get all the publicity, but the key to upward mobility for the world's poor may be to rely on simple savings plans, which offer a debt-free way to build wealth, make investments, and better one's life.
GMO, Organic, and seven other food labels you should know

A quick, easy guide to nine commonly seen (and misunderstood) food labels, from 'GMO' to 'grass-fed.'
Team of rivals: Italy, finally, forms new government (+video)

Center-left leader Enrico Letta will be Italy's new prime minister, after his party formed a coalition government with former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives.
Robert Reich GDP growth slows: why Washington must repeal the sequester

GDP grew only 2.5 percent in the first quarter. It's evidence that the economy is slowing, the recovery is stalling, and Washington must repeal the sequester, Reich writes.
Paper Economy GDP shows 2.5 percent growth in Q1

GDP grew 2.5 percent in Q1 2013, according to the latest GDP report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The latest quarterly results indicate that the most notable source of weakness in the economy came from declines in government spending.
Madrid ups taxes, punts on pension reform. Will Europe be satisfied?

The Spanish government hopes that its measures will be enough to convince Europe to okay a two-year extension on its deficit-reduction goals.
Down the Up Escalator

Barbara Garson tells the stories of Americans who have lost jobs – and hope – during the Great Recession.
The New Economy GDP up 2.5 percent: Smaller-than-expected bounce for US economy

GDP flashed 2.5 percent growth in the first quarter: much better than the fourth quarter but below expectations. Economists expect another slowdown in GDP growth for the summer.
The Reformed Broker Is Europe backing away from austerity?

Europe's leaders may be revisiting austerity policies in the face of slow economic growth and weak public support. Will that lead to concrete changes?
Global News Blog China sends largest fleet yet to disputed islands

China sent a fleet of patrol ships today to the sea area it disputes with Japan, following a controversial visit by Japanese officials to a war shrine. The latest moves are seen as a setback for a diplomatic resolution.
Change Agent Ben Affleck will live on $1.50 to support charity (+video)

Ben Affleck supports Live Below the Line by taking on the challenge of living on $1.50 per day, just as 1.4 billion people around the world must do every day.
Netflix soars. Other stocks rise on recovery in oil prices.

Netflix gains 20 percent after adding 2 million subscribers during the first quarter. Dow, S&P edge up as oil prices rise after last week's tumble.
Change Agent EcoZoom builds a market for clean cookstoves in developing economies

In impoverished areas, people spend $1 to $2 per day to burn charcoal or wood to cook food, a huge expensive for them. A clean-burning cookstove cuts that cost by more than half.
Will Paraguay's presidential election be a 'return to the past'?

Leading candidate Cartes is a member of the conservative Colorado Party, which ruled Paraguay for 61 years, until 2008. Last year the left-leaning president Lugo was impeached.
Could mining bonanza be Afghanistan's next source of funding?

Afghanistan is weighing new regulations to extract its natural resources worth nearly $1 trillion. As foreign aid declines with the NATO forces withdrawal in 2014, this could bring the Afghan government new sources of income.
Southern Europe digs in against further austerity, as IMF calls for relief

But the EU has little room to give, as Europe waits for signals from September elections in Germany – the ultimate decider of Europe's economic direction.
Asian shares dip amidst slowing economic recovery

Worries about trends in global growth, drove down U.S. and European equities, commodities and Asian markets on Wednesday. Earnings forecasts continue to be revised downward, say analysts.
Stocks down on signs of global economic slowdown

Stocks fell on Wall Street Wednesday as evidence of a slowing global economy grows. The drop comes just one week after US stocks hit an all-time high.
Global News Blog Britain bids farewell to Thatcher's funeral, debates her controversial legacy

Even former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's funeral was the subject of hot debate. The conservative powerhouse was loved and reviled by Britons.
Gold price: biggest tumble in 30 years (+video)

Gold price falls $140 – 9 percent – in a single day. Here are four reasons the two-year decline in the gold price is accelerating.
Energy Voices How oil exporters reach financial collapse

High oil prices are good for oil exporters while low oil prices are good for oil importers, Tverberg writes. The result is a price tug of war between oil importers and oil exporters.