U.s. Economy | featured news

The rebound in the U.S. housing market accelerated in August as residential construction starts increased 2.3% and sales of existing homes rose 7.8%, according to new figures released Wednesday.

Consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in early September to its highest level in four months as Americans were more upbeat about their economic and job prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

Retail sales in the U.S. increased in August by the most in six months, boosted by demand for automobiles along with higher gasoline prices that left consumers with less to spend on other goods. The 0.9 percent gain followed a revised 0.6 percent advance in July that was smaller than initially reported, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase of 0.8 percent. Sales slowed at department stores, apparel retailers and electronics outlets.

The Federal Reserve, hoping to give another shot in the arm to the pallid recovery, announced it would launch a new round of a controversial bond-buying stimulus program. The central bank also further extended its pledge to keep short-term interest rates near zero, now through the middle of 2015.

Producer prices rose by the most in three years in August as energy costs surged, but underlying inflation pressures remained contained, keeping the door open to a further easing of monetary policy.

Odds are mounting that the Federal Reserve could take action as soon as Thursday to energize a U.S. economy that is struggling to gain momentum in the face of a lackluster labor market and uncertain fiscal policy, according to a Reuters poll.

Wholesale inventories in July rose by the most in five months, beating forecasts in a sign economic growth started the third quarter on stronger footing than expected.

The next generation iPhone 5, which Apple Inc. plans to release this week, could not only boost the tech giant's bottom line - but could give a significant boost to the overall U.S. economy.

It may be premature to call it a runaway hit, but in the first month since the Census Bureau released its first mobile application, it’s been downloaded more than 32,000 times. The app, called America’s Economy, provides updated statistics from the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It includes 16 monthly economic indicators,such as house sales, personal income, international trade, gross domestic product and the unemployment rate.

"It took 10 years to get out of the Great Depression," said [Ross] Baker. He said people shouldn't be surprised "if this recovery is half as long..." But, [Nigel] Gault added, "I'm more optimistic that whoever wins the presidency, the next four years will be much better than the past four years."