April | featured news

A severe weather forecast this week is expected to heap more tornadoes into a month that has already seen a record number of twisters.

You may not appreciate getting pranked with a whoopee cushion or hot sauce in your food on April Fool’s Day, but a good laugh may be just what the doctor ordered. April is National Stress Awareness Month, and a report from the Society for Vascular Surgery shows kicking it off with laughter can be very beneficial for your vascular health.

Initial requests for jobless benefits rose last week to their highest level since April, a sign that hiring remains weak and some companies are still cutting workers. The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for unemployment insurance rose by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 479,000. Analysts had expected a small drop. Claims have risen twice in the past three weeks.

A 3.8% increase in April compared with the same period last year is the third straight month of appreciation but analysts say prices are likely to drop again with the end of the tax credit. L.A., San Diego see gain of 0.7%.

Home prices in 20 major cities gained ground for the third consecutive month in April when compared with their year-earlier levels.

In a sign that the state's struggling labor market may be strengthening, 14,200 positions were added by employers in April, the second straight month of expansion.

Retail sales and industrial production in April both enjoyed continued growth, reinforcing the sustainability of the economic recovery in the United States. On Friday the U.S. Commerce Department reported retail sales gained 0.4% in April, ahead of Wall Street’s expected 0.2% rise, but below the 2.1% jump in March. Peter Newland, economist at Barclays Capital, notes that the total was driven by a 0.5% increase in both autos and gasoline, and a 6.9% jump in building material sales. All of that is nice, but core sales, which exclude these elements, actually fell 0.2%, which is much weaker than excepted.

While improving, the job market still has a long way to go before it can be counted on to provide a base for a sustained economic recovery.

Early reports from retailers show that Americans took a a breather from their March shopping spree in April, partly because Easter came earlier. But the spring selling season is ending up respectable, an encouraging sign for the economy....

General Motors said its domestic sales in April rose 20% for the four brands the company is keeping thanks to continued strength in crossover vehicles and cars.

U.S. auto sales continued to rise in April as the stabilizing economy and attractive discounts brought more consumers into showrooms.