Federal Reserve Says Recession Has “Leveled Off”
While warning that the economy will remain weak for some time, the US Federal Reserve said that the economy has begun to “level off”. As expected, the Fed held interest rates steady at between 0 percent and 0.25 percent. More
US Retail Sales Drop 0.1%
The US Commerce Department reported that retail sales for July fell by 0.1 percent, and apart from a surge in new car sales spurred on by the “cash for clunkers” program, most other areas suffered a drop. The result is particularly stunning as analysts had predicted a 0.7 percent gain. More
US Home Foreclosures on the Rise
Another dubious record was set in July as foreclosure proceedings were initiated on more than 360,000 US homes. This is a 7 percent increase over June and a 32 percent from one year ago. More
France and Germany Post Positive Growth
Both France and Germany posted positive growth of 0.3 percent between April and June marking an end to the recession for Europe’s two largest economies. However, for the eurozone as a whole, the economy contracted 0.1 percent. More
