Search

For many Americans, the end of the year is a time for parties, family gatherings, festive meals and, of course, shopping. And all that celebrating makes the fourth quarter the [...]

The government invested heavily in infrastructure, state banks financed factory construction and consumers spent more, but real estate suffered. China's economy grew more than expected over the summer, though the [...]

The government invested heavily in infrastructure, state banks financed factory construction and consumers spent more, but real estate suffered. China's economy grew more than expected over the summer, though the [...]

The slowdown is posing perhaps the most sustained challenge to President Xi Jinping's agenda in over a decade in power. He now faces a tangle of difficult choices. In Xi [...]

The economic recovery may be durable, but it is anything but dynamic. Weighed down by anemic business spending, overstocked factories and warehouses, and a surprisingly weak housing sector, the American [...]

BERLIN -- Germany more than doubled its economic growth rate in the first quarter as higher state and household spending more than offset a fall in exports, the country's Federal [...]

A growing chorus of retailers partly blamed the unusually harsh winter for a disappointing quarter on Thursday. But the sluggish results of chains like Walmart also underscored the sustained financial [...]

INCOME AND SPENDING On Monday, the Commerce Department will announce the data on personal income and spending in November. Economists on Wall Street are looking for an increase of 0.5 [...]

BACK in March, I wrote about a wily raccoon that kept sneaking into our house through a swinging cat door. We thought we had solved the problem by installing a [...]

WASHINGTON -- Retail sales edged up in July despite a drop in auto sales, and a category of purchases that excludes the most volatile areas rose by the most in [...]

Wholesale businesses barely increased their stockpiles in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, even though their sales grew strongly. The data suggested that many companies underestimated consumer demand and may [...]

The Federal Reserve said that the economy expanded at a ''moderate'' pace in 11 of 12 districts, led by gains in manufacturing and consumer spending. ''Overall economic activity increased at [...]

Princeton, N.J. CHRISTMAS is nearly upon us. Americans, once again, are told that it's our civic duty to shop. The economy demands increased consumer spending. And it's true. The problem [...]

AS an economic historian who has been studying American capitalism for 35 years, I'm going to let you in on the best-kept secret of the last century: private investment -- [...]

If you want a big swig of despair, listen to the people who know something about the global economy. Roger Altman, a former deputy Treasury secretary, is arguing that America [...]

Consumers spent more on gasoline, clothing and cars in April, pushing retail sales up for a 10th consecutive month, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. But much of the gain [...]

ROOM FOR DEBATE In the depths of the recession, we were supposed to be in a new era of thrift. Why are Americans spending again? [...]

THREE years ago this month, I wrote a column about the secrecy, envy and anxiety that surrounded talk of money. While most of us were perfectly happy to speculate back [...]

A campaign now under way is asking consumers to consider something revolutionary in this economy: spending money on leisure travel. The campaign is for Colonial Williamsburg, the venerable attraction that [...]

More consumers flooded the nation's stores on Thanksgiving weekend in search of bargains. But with retailers dangling rock-bottom prices and consumers only biting at less expensive merchandise like small appliances […]

3 percent potential growth next year, a gradually rising Dow -- one of the things you hear a lot about these days, economy-wise, is 'the stratified American consumer': that poor […]

In a different economy, Billy Mitchell and Nicole Drucker of San Francisco might have splurged on a $10,000 engagement ring. But Ms. Drucker is out of work and they need […]

Japan's economy, the world's second largest, is deteriorating at its worst pace since the oil crisis of the 1970s, hurt by shrinking exports and anemic spending at home. The country's […]

Liz Claiborne, the apparel company that owns popular labels including Kate Spade, Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand, said Tuesday it would cut 725 jobs, or 8 percent of its work […]

DEARLY beloved. We are gathered here today, in the midst of economic calamity, to ask if we really should be gathered here today, in a funhouse of merchandise designed to […]

A gloomy retail sales report pushed Wall Street sharply lower on Wednesday as investors received another reminder that business was bad. At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was […]

As times get tougher and reconfigured budgets force a cutback on eating out, taking out and buying expensive processed foods, a growing number of American families must now rely more […]

Gold was raining from above for luxury brands in the good old days of 2007. Last December, the designer Marc Jacobs held his annual holiday party for 800 guests, including […]

IMAGINE what would happen if the price of gasoline remained the same, but instead of selling it by the gallon, gas stations knocked down the size a few ounces. It […]

For one afternoon at least, it was like the good old days again at Chrysler. Lee Iacocca, the savior of Chrysler in its darkest hour, was back. Retired for 16 […]

The Federal Reserve's policy makers ratcheted up their worries about inflation on Wednesday without abandoning their view that the American economy is weak. They left the key short-term interest rate […]

A fully loaded Ford F-250 pickup truck is a whole lot of vehicle. It can tow a horse trailer with multiple horses. It comes with a DVD-based navigation system for […]

Fear of a dreaded disease has been part of the bargain for years. Shame came slower, as smokers were cast from offices, restaurants and even bars. Now, in New York […]

The Sears Holdings Corporation, the parent of Sears and Kmart, reported an unexpected $56 million first-quarter loss on Thursday, dealing another setback to Edward S. Lampert, the billionaire hedge fund […]

PALMER MURRAY and his wife, Stephanie, could buy a fractional residence in Aspen. He makes enough money as an investment manager to afford a three-bedroom unit at the St. Regis […]

OUR politicians are devising economic stimulus measures to encourage consumers to spend more. These measures will cost taxpayers $200 billion or more. This is not money well spent. The problem […]

Not long ago, many experts were convinced that a vibrant world economy would prevent an American recession. Even if the beleaguered American consumer suddenly turned thrifty, they reasoned, healthy spending […]

Right on time, the Season of Excess has begun with a flood of big issues to ponder. All the way from Australia, comes the first 'War on Christmas' dust-up with […]

but so is inflation, offering the Federal Reserve more room to stimulate the economy by lowering interest rates next month, if it wants. Retail sales softened in October, rising 0.2 […]

Personal income and spending continued to grow in September, a government report showed yesterday, suggesting strength in the economy even as analysts feared widespread troubles in the next few months. […]

When home builders' stocks plunged in 2006, Wall Street was confident that the problems would not spill over into the larger economy. Exhibit A? Department store stocks rose steadily despite […]

From department stores to discount chains, sales were dismal last month, suggesting that rising gas prices and the flagging housing market are starting to weigh on American consumers. Worries about […]

Wall Street managed a razor-thin gain yesterday as investors sifted through data that pointed to stable interest rates, but also suggested that the economy had moderated more than expected. The […]

On a recent Sunday morning here, free-spending customers have emptied Vintage, a trendy upscale bar, of nearly all its best vodka. At the Castellana Chevrolet dealership nearby, buyers wait eight […]

KEEP spending. That message came through in several ways this week, in decisions by corporate boards to pursue mergers despite high valuations, in the determination of drivers to burn more […]

Until this summer, the Kaierlai Sports Goods Company in Shishi, China, depended heavily on exports of its windbreakers to Germany. But when the European Union reimposed import quotas and abruptly […]

The Japanese economy shrank slightly for the third consecutive quarter in the last quarter of 2004 as consumer spending weakened, putting the country into a mild recession, according to figures […]

The American economy slowed to an annual growth rate of 3.1 percent in the final three months of 2004, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. That was the weakest quarterly pace […]

Consumer spending rebounded in September while manufacturing activity expanded in October, though at a slower pace than in September. Over all, these numbers and other data released yesterday painted a […]