U.s. Economy | featured news

Bob Benham’s Oklahoma City clothing store was so busy over the holiday shopping season he had to ask his sales staff to work extra hours to keep up with the pickup in foot traffic. But with business now softening again in the new year, he’s not convinced it’s time to start hiring more full time workers yet.

U.S. employers ramped up hiring in February, adding 236,000 jobs and pushing the unemployment rate down to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent in January. Stronger hiring shows businesses are confident about the economy, despite higher taxes and government spending cuts.

U.S. retailers are posting moderate sales for February, dealing with mixed signals like payroll-tax increases and later income-tax refunds that were countered by a rousing stock market and better housing reports.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting a pick-up in the labor market recovery.

A private survey shows U.S. businesses added a solid number of jobs in February, indicating higher taxes and looming government spending cuts have yet to slow hiring.

U.S. service companies grew in February at the fastest pace in a year, buoyed by higher sales and more new orders.

Despite everything, the stock market is back at a record high. The Dow Jones industrial average, which measures the performance of 30 blue-chip companies, rose more than 140 points in afternoon trading on Tuesday, surpassing its previous record close of 14,164.53, which it achieved nearly five and a half years ago, as well as its record intraday high, set around the same time, of 14,198.10.

U.S. home prices jumped in January, a sign the housing market is gaining momentum as it nears the spring selling season.

... the auto industry is weighing in with what appears to have been a solid February – buoyed by a recovery in another key sector of the economy. “The housing sector has now joined auto sales in propelling the U.S. economy forward,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations for General Motors, which reported a 7% increase, year-over-year.

The U.S. economy should emerge from the doldrums next year if the Federal Reserve sticks to its super-easy monetary policies, a top Fed official said on Thursday, even as he warned that cutting back too early would be a "big mistake."