Economy | Latest News Wires
- Wall Street rallies on China stimulus
Tech stocks rallied on Monday as China's central bank's efforts to stimulate its economy prompted cautious optimism on Wall Street.
- Will Federal Reserve start raising interest rates soon?
Minutes from a Fed meeting in January released Wednesday show that officials struggled to determine the appropriate timing for a rate hike. The Fed's benchmark interest rate has been at a record low near zero since December 2008.
- US housing starts fall in January, but construction is speeding up
US housing starts slipped 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million last month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Despite the monthly decline, the broader economy should help boost home sales and apartment construction this year.
- Is Snapchat really worth $19 billion?
Snapchat, the mobile messaging app, is seeking funding at a $19 billion valuation, according to a report from Bloomberg. Snapchat is aiming to raise $500, making it the third most highly-valued tech startup backed by venture capitalists.
- Confidence slides, but US homebuilders still optimistic
US homebuilder confidence took a dip in February, according the NAHB's monthly sentiment index. Despite the decline, homebuilders remain relatively optimistic a month before the start of the spring buying season
- Starwood CEO resigns as resort company reorganizes
Starwood Hotels CEO Frits van Paasschen has resigned by mutual agreement, the resort giant said Tuesday. Starwood shares were up over 2 percent in morning trading on the decision.
- Obamacare enrollment ends: Is an extension preferable to penalties?
Congressional Democrats are arguing that the approximately 4 million uninsured – who now owe tax penalties – should get a second chance to sign up for Obamacare. For 2014, the fine for remaining uninsured was $95 or 1 percent of household income, due with 2014 returns, but the fine goes up for 2015 and 2016.
- US imports take biggest slide since 2008
US import prices tumbled 2.8 percent in January as the cost of petroleum and a range of other goods fell, according to the Labor Department. It was the biggest monthly drop for import prices in over six years.
- Elon Musk 'secret weapon' comments irk Tesla investors. Stock plunges.
Tesla reported a fourth quarter loss of $108 million dollars, which was worse than analysts expected. But CEO Elon Musk was confident as ever, even as his cryptic comments during an earnings call sent Tesla shared into free fall Thursday.
- Expedia to buy rival Orbitz for $1.33 billion
Expedia announced Thursday that it would buy rival online travel site Orbitz for about $1.33 billion, further consolidating the travel booking industry. Shares of Orbitz are up more than 23 percent in premarket trading and Expedia is up 5 percent on the announcement.
- Coca-Cola gets good news: Soda sales are up
Coca-Cola reported a slightly higher-than-expected profit on Tuesday as sales in North America, its biggest market, rose for the first time in four quarters. Analysts say US consumers are still drinking less soda but are paying more for it, boosting Coca-Cola sales.
- Qualcomm to pay $975M fine over Chinese anti-monopoly claim
The mobile technology giant will pay the Chinese government what may be the country's biggest every corporate fine.
- Death toll for faulty GM ignition switches rises
Initially, General Motors had said at least 13 people had died in crashes caused by the switches. Currently the total is 52. Legislators have estimated that at least 100 people were killed. GM set aside $400 million to make payments, but conceded that could grow to $600 million.
- McDonald's sales slide is a global affair
McDonald's Corp's worldwide same-restaurant sales fell a steeper-than-expected 1.8 percent in January, as the company struggles to shake off the after-effects of food scandals in Asia. January marked the eighth straight month of worldwide same-restaurant sales declines at McDonald's,
- Dropping the ‘senior’ in senior center: Beyond bingo, there’s speed dating and travel
- On the plane with Harris – but is she really opening up to the press?
- His own party calls him traitor. Can Japan’s new PM rebuild trust in politics?
- Apology but no cash payments: California reparations for slavery start incrementally
- Once ‘extinct’ in Canada, the Sinixt people are reclaiming their ancestral home