March | featured news

Thousands of demonstrators rallied Saturday in Washington to demand tougher gun control laws, many describing themselves as first-time capital marchers who've had enough of gun violence.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer prices rose modestly in March amid signs a spike in gasoline costs was ebbing, but inflation still outpaced workers' earnings and threatened to undermine consumer spending.

The number of Americans filing for jobless aid rose last week to the highest level since January, a development that could raise fears the labor market recovery was stalling after job creation slowed in March.

March 2012 will go down as the warmest March in the United States since record-keeping began in 1895, NOAA said Monday.

Employers hired far fewer workers in March than in previous months, keeping the door open for the Federal Reserve to provide more monetary support for a still sluggish economy.

The pace of growth in the manufacturing sector picked up a tad in March, while new orders dipped modestly, according to an industry report released on Mon day.

A new study finds that children conceived in March are significantly more likely to have autism.

Consumers spent more in March on furniture, electronics and at restaurants, but also paid more for gas. Retail sales increased 0.4 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the ninth consecutive monthly gain.

Analysts project that sales will increase across the industry, despite worries about rising gasoline prices and production stoppages in Japan.

U.S. consumer confidence fell in March after hitting a three-year high in the prior month as expectations about jobs and income growth worsened.