Economy Grows in Q3, Signals End of Recession

(NEWSER) - If you’re the glass-half-full type, recent economic indicators look good: Unemployment fell last month, the savings rate is up, and productivity hit a 6-year high. But that same data proves that ordinary people aren’t likely to feel the good vibrations anytime soon, the Washington Post reports. “It's going to be a recovery only a statistician can love,” said a Wells Fargo economist. More»

Fall twice as far as anticipated

(NEWSER) - Retail sales fell more than twice as much as analysts predicted in December, thanks to mounting job losses and reduced credit, Bloomberg reports. Sales fell 2.7%, extending the longest string of declines on record to 6 consecutive months. Purchases excluding automobiles slid 3.1%. “Consumers are pulling back,” said one economist. “The first half is going to be bleak in terms of consumer spending and economic activity.” More»

Unexpected 2.2% fall has analysts fearing major crisis for powerful economy

(NEWSER) - China’s exports have taken a sudden, unexpected hit from the global economic crisis, possibly an early indication that the world’s fourth-largest economy is on the verge of crisis. Exports, expected to rise at least 15%, shrunk instead by 2.2%, marking the first such fall in 7 years for the Asian giant, the Daily Telegraph reports. More»

...But we won't just yet

(NEWSER) - The Federal Reserve yesterday reassured the public that it was “prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed” to support the recovery, but that it didn’t think it was needed just yet. But merely suggesting the possibility was enough to send markets in the right direction, with interest on Treasury bonds falling, in theory making mortgages and other long-term loans cheaper, the Washington Post reports. More»

Former Fed chief takes heat on Capitol Hill

(NEWSER) - Alan Greenspan is taking more heat on Capitol Hill today as a three-day series of hearings begins on the economic meltdown. “What we tried to do was the best we could with the data that we had,” the former Fed chief told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. “Did we make mistakes? Of course we made mistakes." But he defended the central bank's efforts and said it was "quite active in pursuing consumer protections for mortgage borrowers," reports Bloomberg . More»