Economy

Companies added jobs at a faster-than-expected pace in September due in good part to a surge in manufacturing hires, according to a report Wednesday from ADP. The firm’s monthly private-sector jobs count showed growth of 749,000, ahead of the 600,000 expected from a Dow Jones economist survey. The report, done in conjunction with Moody’s Analytics,

People wearing facemasks wait to buy vegetables at a market vegetable stall as essential retailers reopen from the coronavirus (Covid-19) shutdown. SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images Smaller-sized businesses have been battered during the six months of the coronavirus pandemic but are feeling confident about their ability to withstand a second wave, according to

People wait to visit a house for sale in Garden City, Nassau County, New York, the United States, on Sept. 6, 2020. Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Strong demand from homebuyers in July, coupled with rock-bottom mortgage interest rates, caused home prices to accelerate in major markets across the nation. Nationally, home values rose

The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits were slightly higher than expected last week as the labor market continues its sluggish recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 19 came in at 870,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected first-time claims at

shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images Racial inequality is bad for the U.S. in innumerable ways, of course, many of which are hard to calculate directly. But now Citi has put a number to at least one aspect of social injustice, finding in a new study that $16 trillion has been erased from U.S. GDP

People wait to visit a house for sale in Floral Park, Nassau County, New York, the United States, on Sept. 6, 2020. Wany Ying | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Exceptional demand for both new and existing homes, brought on by the stay-at-home culture of the coronavirus pandemic, has the housing market severely depleted.

Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pledged continued support for an economy that he said has shown substantial improvement but still needs more work. In

A home for sale is seen in Santa Monica, California. Lucy Nicholson | Reuters After a record-setting July, the housing market still shows no sign of cooling off. Sales of existing homes rose 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 10.5% higher

Contractors work on a new home under construction at Taylor Morrison Home Corp.’s La Solara Community in Dublin, California. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images With no major move in mortgage rates, there was no sudden incentive to refinance a home loan last week, so fewer people did. That drove overall mortgage application

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, wearing a face mask, testifies before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee during a hearing on oversight of the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve response to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 30, 2020. Tasos Katopodis | Reuters The Federal Reserve

Pedestrians wearing protective masks walk by a sign displayed outside a retail store in Harlem, New York City, saying it’s going out of business. Noam Galai | Getty Images Yelp on Wednesday released its latest Economic Average Report, revealing business closures across the U.S. are increasing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic’s economic toll. 

The Fed left rates unchanged in its last meeting before the 2020 presidential election in November. It also indicated rates were unlikely to rise until at least 2023. Three experts weigh in on what the Fed decision means. David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said this is unprecedented stimulus.  “I don’t think

The Federal Reserve kept its pledge to keep interest rates anchored near zero and promised to keep rates there until inflation rises consistently. As the central bank concluded its two-day policy meeting Wednesday, it said short-term rates would remain targeted at 0%-0.25%. Officials also changed their economic forecasts to reflect a smaller decline in GDP

James Bullard Olivia Michael | CNBC St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard offered an optimistic look on the U.S. economy, with “off the charts” growth that will help lift inflation. Bullard also said he sees the unemployment rate falling to 6.5% by the end of the year, an estimate well below the median projection

A Kelly Center for Hunger Relief volunteer sorts through food for distribution as residents in vehicles wait in line at a church in El Paso, Texas, on July 17. Joel Angel Juarez/Bloomberg via Getty Images Are you in the top 1%, 5% or 10% of the U.S. income and wealth scale? If you are, congratulations

Bobcat fire approaches Sierra Madre and Arcadia communities in California, U.S., September 13, 2020 in this picture obtained from social media. Photo taken September 13, 2020. John Mirabella | Reuters Despite official resistance to the idea in the Trump administration, the wildfires raging across California, Oregon and Washington — swallowing millions of acres and leaving

First-time claims for unemployment insurance beat Wall Street estimates last week as the U.S. economy enters a critical new stage. Filings totaled 860,000 for the week ended Sept. 12, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 875,000, against the previous week’s upwardly revised 893,000. The number represents a modest downshift

Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, Jan. 29, 2020. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Fed does not expect to see inflation pick up for years, and it is willing to keep rates at zero even