Stories related to: weakening economy

Again steering clear of the R-word, President Bush said today that the tax rebates scheduled to be distributed starting next week will "give our economy a boost to help us pull out of this economic slowdown," Bloomberg reports. More »

Lehman Brothers is selling $3 billion in new shares to allay fears after its stock dropped 42% this year, Bloomberg reports. "We still maintain that we don't need capital, but we've realized that perception is the dominant issue in today's markets,'' said CFO Erin Callan. Lehman fell up to 48% this month on rumors that it lacked cash and faced a Bear Stearns-style meltdown. More »

Soaring gas prices and a still-boiling housing crisis are taking their toll on America's smaller retailers, with store bankruptcies and vacancy rates rising steadily as customers avoid impulse-buys that once fueled the industry's rapid expansion, reports AP. Vacancies hover between 7% and 8%, up from 5% just six months ago—and some analysts predict rates as high as 12.5% by the end of 2008. More »

Winter storms and lagging gift-card redemption iced Wal-Mart’s January same-store sales growth, the retailer said, raising concerns the US is in a recession, reports the Wall Street Journal . Wal-Mart expected 2% sales growth in stores open more than a year, but saw sales bump just 0.5%. Its 1.4% rise in same-store sales for the fiscal year was the lowest in 30 years. More »

President Bush today introduces a record $3 trillion budget into opposition from congressional Democrats so fierce that they could hold up the spending plan until the next president takes office, reports AP. Bush's plan envisions at least $400 billion in deficits this year and next, twice 2007's $163 billion debt. The budget would make Bush's proposed first-year tax cuts permanent, while at the same time increasing spending on defense and national security. More »