The U.S. saw average retail gasoline prices drop below $2 per gallon in early January, the lowest prices observed since 2009 during the depths of the global financial crisis. Cheap Continue Reading
England, birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, has been moving away from industry, shutting factories and steel mills. Throughout the 20th century, the global economy was fueled by burning coal to Continue Reading
America’s trade deficit widened in February to a six-month high as an increase in imports exceeded a more modest pickup in shipments overseas. The gap increased 2.6 percent to $47.1 Continue Reading
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen raised more than a few eyebrows in a Mar. 29 speech by highlighting oil prices at less than $30 per barrel as a development that Continue Reading
The U.S. economy continued to shrug off fears of a global economic downturn on the back of consistent job gains, wage growth and resilient consumer spending. After entering the year Continue Reading
Construction tied to the natural gas and renewable energy sectors helped add to contract values in Texas, a report from the Dallas Federal Reserve found. A report last week from Continue Reading
International Monetary Fund researchers said the benefits from cheap oil may not materialize until demand in the global economy picks up and central banks in advanced nations move away from Continue Reading
The US economy added significantly more jobs than expected in February, but wages continued to stagnate, highlighting the dilemma facing the Federal Reserve over when next to raise rates. Friday’s Continue Reading
Oil price weakness is finally catching up with Texas oil producers and contraction is now expected throughout 2016, an industry economist said. Oil field services company Baker Hughes estimates 305 Continue Reading
We have been living in a world of rapid globalization, but this is not a condition that we can expect to continue indefinitely. Figure 1. Ratio of Imported Goods and Continue Reading
The energy meltdown has taken bank stocks hostage. Investors should cut them free. Fear that oil’s crash will spawn losses that blow holes in big-bank balance sheets are somewhat understandable. Continue Reading
Wall Street analysts have slashed expectations for US earnings in the first quarter as companies grapple with plummeting oil prices and slow economic growth. The growing pessimism comes amid a Continue Reading
Prices for mansions in Houston’s swankiest neighborhood have tumbled in lock step with crude prices. The Houston Opera has offered free season tickets to patrons who lost their jobs in Continue Reading
Sovereign wealth funds may withdraw $404.3 billion from global stock markets this year if crude prices stay between $30 to $40 per barrel as oil-rich nations seek to shore up Continue Reading
Despite upbeat U.S. and European labor reports, lingering concerns over U.S. economic momentum throttled crude oil prices in early Thursday trading. Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed seasonally adjusted Continue Reading
Many observers, from the International Monetary Fund to Virgin’s Richard Branson, say the stock market is overreacting to the oil-price shock. (Crude closed at $26.21 on Wednesday.) The basic argument Continue Reading
The insurance industry is becoming the latest casualty of the oil price slump, with postponements and cancellations of energy projects forcing down premium rates and income in a market that Continue Reading
You cannot understand the vulnerable state of the U.S. and global economies — and nervous stock markets — without coming to grips with the crash of “emerging-market” countries. Led by Continue Reading
A Texas energy regulator struck a note similar to the struggling industry, saying the state’s oil sector is positioned for a rebound once markets improve. Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick, Continue Reading
The extra yield investors are demanding to hold U.S. high-yield energy company debt has soared to the highest level in more than four years as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Continue Reading
Sovereign bonds surged, sending the Japanese benchmark 10-year yield below zero for the first time, as investors seeking the safest assets gorged on government debt. Treasury yields dropped to a Continue Reading
The global economy seems trapped in a “death spiral” that could lead to further weakness in oil prices, recession and a serious equity bear market, Citi strategists have warned. Some Continue Reading
With oil hovering at $30 a barrel and gasoline below $2 a gallon, the pleasure of lower fuel prices is turning painful for more of the U.S. economy. The problem Continue Reading
More and more news headlines and stock market analysts’ reports have started predicting , or at least insinuating , that a recession could be near in the United States. I’ve Continue Reading
With oil hovering at $30 a barrel and gasoline below $2 a gallon, the pleasure of lower fuel prices is turning painful for more of the U.S. economy. The problem Continue Reading
Beneath the surface of the global financial system lurks a multitrillion-dollar problem that could sap the strength of large economies for years to come. The problem is the giant, stagnant Continue Reading
The U.S. economy eked out anemic growth in the final three months of 2015, and the struggling performance of the oil and gas sector was a major contributor to the Continue Reading
For lovers of dramatic numbers, China has long been a gift. The flood of cash leaving the country has produced another impressive statistic: We are witnessing the greatest episode of Continue Reading
The first signs are emerging that falling commodity prices are starting to hurt U.S. defense exports, as companies deal with varying levels of demand for equipment, especially in the Middle Continue Reading
U.S. economic growth likely braked sharply in the fourth quarter as businesses doubled down on efforts to reduce an inventory glut and unseasonably mild weather cut into consumer spending on Continue Reading
The dollar fell broadly on Thursday as a plunge in U.S. durable goods orders supported the view of weakening U.S. growth due to softer global demand, which may cause the Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington September 16 2015. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and said it was “closely monitoring” global economic and financial developments, but Continue Reading
The next task awaiting the global authorities is how to manage debt write-offs without setting off a political storm The global financial system has become dangerously unstable and faces an Continue Reading
It has been a truism of the American economy for decades: When oil prices rise, the economy suffers; when they fall, growth improves. But the decline of oil prices over Continue Reading
While the economic implosion progresses this year, there will be considerable misdirection and disinformation as to the true nature of what is taking place. As I have outlined in the Continue Reading
The International Monetary Fund cut its world growth outlook, as the commodities slump and political gridlock push Brazil deeper into recession, plunging oil prices hobble Mideast crude producers, and the Continue Reading
If currencies at least partly determine where things get made, the continued rise in the US dollar is bad news for manufacturers in the US. It is especially bad news given Continue Reading
U.S. retail sales fell in December as unseasonably warm weather undercut purchases of winter apparel and cheaper gasoline weighed on receipts at service stations, the latest indication that economic growth Continue Reading
Freight volumes in the United States have fallen year on year for the first time since 2012 and before that the recession of 2009, according to the Bureau of Transportation Continue Reading
What you need to know about Friday’s U.S. economic data: RETAIL SALES (DECEMBER) Fell 0.1 percent after a 0.4 percent (revised from 0.2 percent) gain in November Rose 2.1 percent Continue Reading
A survey from the Dallas Federal Reserve finds pressure from energy sector weakness may be spilling over into other parts of the economy. “Demand for oilfield services remained depressed as Continue Reading
Global stocks resumed the steep declines that have characterized much of the year on Thursday, as fears around commodity prices and the outlook for global growth continued to weigh on Continue Reading
Developing economies last year recorded their slowest growth since the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and are facing the prospect of an equally grim 2016, the World Bank Continue Reading
Steep falls in Chinese equities pummeled global markets on Thursday, as widening concerns over the world’s No. 2 economy pushed investors out of shares, oil and metals. The selloff came Continue Reading
Growing signs of weakness in the U.S. economy are helping keep oil prices under pressure even as tensions escalate across North Africa and the Middle East. U.S. manufacturers reported business Continue Reading
Automakers on Tuesday set a new U.S. sales record for 2015 even as December sales fell short of expectations, and most forecasters said the new year will be even better. Continue Reading
US manufacturers last month recorded their largest contraction in demand in more than six years as the strong dollar and low oil prices continued to drag on the economy. The Continue Reading
Global economic growth will be “disappointing” next year, the head of the International Monetary Fund said in a guest article for German newspaper Handelsblatt published on Wednesday. IMF Managing Director Continue Reading
Investors can’t seem to get away from non-energy commodities fast enough. A record $857 million was pulled this year from U.S. exchange-traded funds backed by broad baskets of everything from Continue Reading
When it comes to falling oil prices and the U.S. economy, maybe the second time’s a charm. The sharp decline in crude prices in the latter half of 2014, and Continue Reading
