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Economic outlook

Obama team wrongly says Romney moves goal posts
President Barack Obama's campaign says Republican rival Mitt Romney is trying to "move the goal posts" and reverse his position on unemployment.
CBO warns of US falling off 'fiscal cliff'
A new government study released Tuesday says that allowing Bush-era tax cuts to expire and a scheduled round of automatic spending cuts to take effect ...
Stocks rally further in run-up to EU summit
Global stocks enjoyed one of their best days in weeks on Tuesday ahead of a summit of European leaders that's expected to be dominated by calls to ...
Eurozone warned 'severe recession' looming
The 17-country eurozone risks falling into a "severe recession," the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Tuesday, as it ...
Greece worries hammer home amid gloomy forecast
Political and financial uncertainty in Greece saw shares on the Athens Stock Exchange drop to their lowest level in 22 years on Tuesday, despite broad ...
Economists more upbeat about job growth, housing
A new survey shows economists are growing slightly more optimistic about recovery in the job and housing markets but expect other pillars of the ...
Fed: Several members could support further easing
Federal Reserve policymakers are open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or threats escalate. Minutes of the central ...
EU sees hope of recovery from recession this year
The European Union says that a recession brought on by a crippling debt crisis could give way to a modest recovery later this year — provided ...
China's inflation rate slows slightly to 3.4 pct
China's inflation rate slowed slightly to 3.4 percent in April, down from 3.6 percent a month earlier, giving the government greater leeway to ease ...
Poll shows Americans' pessimism on economy growing
Americans are growing more pessimistic about the economy and handling it remains President Barack Obama's weak spot and biggest challenge in his bid ...
US trade gap widens at fastest pace in 10 months
The U.S. trade deficit rose in March at the fastest rate in 10 months. A rise in consumer goods lifted imports to a record level, outpacing a solid ...
Small biz optimism rose in April but is still weak
Small business owners recovered some of their optimism during April, but they're still wary about the economy. The National Federation of Independent ...
Australia cuts defense, aid to hit budget surplus
Australia's government said it will rein in defense spending and scale back promised increases in foreign aid as it tries to become the first major ...
Job growth slowed again in April; rate ticks down
One month of slower job growth might have been a blip. Two suggest a worrisome trend: The economy may be faltering again. The United States generated ...
Economists forecast slow but steady US hiring
U.S. hiring likely picked up last month after its March swoon, though the gains are expected to be modest. Economists predict employers added 163,000 ...
US economy recovering but isn't yet accelerating
The U.S. economy's recovery looks enduring. It's just not very strong. Hiring, housing, consumer spending and manufacturing all appear to be ...
ECB chief sees slow recovery, offers no new help
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi offered little prospect that the bank would deliver more support for the struggling economies of the ...
US worker output fell in Q1 by most in a year
U.S. worker productivity fell from January through March by the most in a year. Stronger hiring at the start of the year was partly responsible for ...
ECB chief expects economy to recover gradually
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi says he still expects the eurozone economy to "recover gradually" over the rest of this year. Draghi said ...
Ahead of the Bell: US Unemployment Benefits
The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits likely fell last week after rising in the past month. A drop in applications would ease ...
Growth slowed at year's start but some see rebound
Don't panic yet. The government reported Friday that the economy got off to a tepid start this year, but that doesn't foreshadow a repeat of the ...
Spain crisis deepens with jobless rise, downgrade
The hole in Spain's economy is getting deeper. The government reported Friday that unemployment rose to 24.4 percent in the first quarter — compared ...
S&P cuts Spain's long-term credit rating 2 notches
Standard & Poor's lowered Spain's long-term credit rating by two notches on Thursday, saying the country's budget problems are likely to get worse ...