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1. Midsummer job market good Despite worries about weakness in housing construction and the auto industry, the job market still has plenty of steam as it approaches the dog days....
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TOP 5
1. GDP no balm for slowing growth The economy's ultraslow growth during the opening months of 2007 sparked fears of recession, falling to a measly annual rate of 0.6 percent....
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1. No boost from housing starts Predictions that the housing market would recover by midyear haven't been greeted with any meaningful rebound. Don't expect that to change much with Wednesday's...
Local stocks rise above tumult
Amid rising investor nervousness, volatility and turmoil in debt markets stemming from defaults on subprime mortgages, Chicago-area stocks managed to largely hold their own over the last three months. Perhaps...
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1. A mixed bag for June reports As the summer's biggest holiday approaches, jobs remain plentiful and incomes are growing. Another test comes Friday. Economists expect the June employment report...
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1. A moderate vote of confidence An economic lull that flattened activity early in 2007 prompted pessimists to predict that the consumer, weighed down with debts, would soon wilt. A...
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1. Housing starts and rate spikes A rapid and unexpected spike in mortgage rates, to levels not seen in nearly five years, is casting a shadow over the construction industry....
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1. Consumers keep on spending Consumers, beset by sky-high debts, soaring gasoline costs and stagnant home prices, have for months been able to defy predictions that they would stop spending....
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1. Glaring trade gap to narrow a bit By now, a slowing economy and weakening dollar were supposed to take a chainsaw to the huge and worrisome trade deficit. Yet,...
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1. Pay at the pump for fun in the sun As the holiday dawns, Americans are paying nearly 50 cents a gallon more for motor fuel than they did last...