The number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 11,000 to 428,000 last week, the government said Thursday. The number had been expected to drop modestly to 411,000. Initial weekly claims are now at their highest level since late June. Analysts say that the figure must be below 400,000 before the overall
Continue reading …Here’s a curious fact about our current economic straits: Non-whites have been hit harder than whites by the downturn (though everyone’s been hit hard). But non-whites are also more likely to report being satisfied with their economic circumstances. Look at the numbers, compiled by Good magazine: Between 2005 and 2009, median household income for whites
Continue reading …With Congress getting set to consider President Obama’s $447 billion job-creation package, there’s another chance for an economic boost on the horizon that isn’t getting as much attention. Next week, Federal Reserve board policymakers will meet to mull whether to launch a new program of bond buying, or other measures designed to loosen credit and
Continue reading …Their encounter occurred while Rice was in Anchorage attending a basketball tournament and Palin apparently covered the event. Quoting from the book, the tabloid said that at the time, the 23-year-old Palin had a “fetish” about black men.
Continue reading …We learned Tuesday that a record number of Americans are living in poverty, and that the poverty rate–15.1 percent–rose for the fourth straight year. But those raw numbers leave out some key details that can help us understand the fuller implications of how poverty affects individual Americans. For instance, how is poverty defined? What specific
Continue reading …Michael Giesey spent thousands of dollars in immigration fees to try to keep his German-born wife as a legal resident of the United States. For a while, Giesey thought all the money and time spent on forms and interviews would finally pay off. He and his wife and their 7-year-old daughter were going to be
Continue reading …Optimism among small business owners is plummeting, just as Washington mulls help for the economy’s main job creators. A survey conducted by the National Federation of Small Business showed that confidence was at its lowest level since July 2010. The index declined for a record sixth straight month. Driving the pessimism is ongoing concern about
Continue reading …Only 20 states and Washington D.C. paid the hefty sums required to get their students’ tests checked for suspicious erasures last school year, according to a report in USA Today. Checking standardized tests for erasures from wrong to right answers is a good way to catch teacher-sanctioned cheating, and is also required under the federal
Continue reading …46.2 million Americans lived in poverty last year–the highest total since record keeping began more than half a century ago, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Thanks to an unemployment rate that averaged 9.6 percent, and anemic economic growth, the share of Americans who lived below the official poverty line over 2010 rose to 15.1 percent,
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