Manufacturing unexpectedly expanded in September, exceeding even the most optimistic forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. Sustained strength in motor vehicle sales and a rebound in demand for home construction materials provided a major lift for American factories, which outperformed their counterparts in Europe and Asia, according to the Institute for Supply Management's factory index.
Consumer confidence jumped to its highest level in seven months in September as Americans were more optimistic about the job market and income prospects. The index spiked to 70.3 this month from an upwardly revised 61.3 in August.
Fliers rejoice: Travelers are late to fewer business meetings and missing fewer chances to tuck their kids into bed now that U.S. airlines are more punctual and less likely to lose their bags than at any time in more than two decades.Read More
Residential construction, remodeling, moving, gardening and furniture buying add up to about 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product — which is why the upward momentum in housing, which continues to gain steam, is such a powerful boost to the economy.
A clutch of data pointed to growing momentum in the economy during the first quarter, with jobless claims trending lower and factory activity and homes sales both on the rise.
US employers stepped up hiring in February, adding a greater-than-expected 236,000 workers to their payrolls and helping to push the jobless rate to a four year-low in a bright signal on the economy's health.
The economy added 165,000 jobs in April, surprising economists and easing fears of an imminent collapse in the recovery. Also, an optimistic report released last week showed the number of Americans filing unemployment claims fell last week to the lowest level since January 2008.
If you know anyone looking for a job, you might want to tell them to go see a start-up. Eighty seven percent of technology startups plan to hire new employees this year, according to an interactive report by Silicon Valley Bank, which serves high growth tech companies across the United States. In the US, that number is 14 percent higher than four years ago.
Despite behemoths like Starbucks and Amazon, the number of independent bookstores, coffeeshops, and other businesses is growing. At the annual Business Alliance for Local Living Economies conference, where more than 600 high-energy people strategized about the transition to a more localized, Main Street economy, I learned that independent retailers are thriving.
Apple is banning the use of two potentially hazardous chemicals during the final assembly of iPhones and iPads as part of the company's latest commitment to protect the factory workers who build its trendy devices.
After a consumer petition demanded change, global cosmetics giant Revlon announced in December it is removing long-chain parabens and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from its beauty products.
The tech sector is fueling a job boom that stands in stark contrast to the malaise of the general job market. Competition for cloud computing engineers, security experts, and mobile developers as well as sales professionals in the technology industry has gotten so fierce that companies are going to greater lengths to woo prospective employees.
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