Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT

In fiscal year 2021, Amtrak gave top executives the highest incentive bonuses in years, despite the company’s mediocre financial performance and weak ridership during the COVID lockdown, The New York Times reported. Of the railroad’s 12 top executives, nine took in bonuses between $230,000 and CEO Stephen Gardner’s $293,000 last year. Gardner has received more...

After pushing steadily higher for more than a year, apartment rents now are rising at a slower pace, The Wall Street Journal reported. U.S. average apartment rent gained 9.4 percent in this year’s second quarter, year on year, less than the 11-percent boost that marked each of the previous two quarters, data service CoStar said....

Gasoline prices across the U.S. fell for 50 consecutive days as of 3 August, settling the national average price of a gallon of regular gas at $4.16, according to data service OPIS. The price dropped to $4.05 on 8 August. As of that date, the average price had sunk 17 percent from the peak average...

Last week, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the price benchmark for oil pumped in the U.S., fell below $90 last week for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. The price dropped to $88.54 on 4 August, its lowest since 2 February, and rebounded to $90.49 at 5 p.m....

American consumers layered on another $40.1 billion in debt last month, up 10.5 percent year on year, compared to May’s addition of $23.8 billion, or a 6.3-percent annual rate, according to a new U.S. Federal Reserve report. Revolving debt, mainly credit card balances, grew 7.8 percent in May and more than doubled to 16 percent...

Despite inflation clouding the economy, 52 percent of Americans think now is a good time to find a job, compared to just 11 percent who say it is not, a New York Times survey found. Fifty-six percent say the labor market now is more favorable to workers than employers. A majority of respondents believe these...

The U.S. labor market stunned analysts by sprouting 528,000 new jobs in July, more than twice analysts’ estimates. The economy has now restored all of the roughly 22 million jobs lost during the COVID War, leading several economists to pronounce the jobs recovery complete. At one point during this year’s first quarter, payrolls grew faster...

Lumber prices shed as much as 5 percent on 5 August, sinking to $474 per thousand board feet, reflecting the slowdown in the U.S. housing market, CNBC reported. After peaking above $1,000 in May 2021, lumber prices are down about 70 percent since then, giving up 56 percent so far in 2022. In June, monthly...

Prices for grains, metals, and other commodities, many of which soared to record heights during the post-COVID recovery, are tanking now that hedge funds are selling their holdings, The Wall Street Journal reported. The price plunge has been particularly dramatic in corn, soy, and wheat, which now are cheaper than supply and demand warrant, some...

After going into a deep slump, tech giants Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Tesla combined market value spiked $1.3tn since July, pushing up tech-heavy Nasdaq by 14.8 percent. On the other side of the equity fence, investors, aka “gamblers,” are dumping private equity and venture capital funds at the fastest pace on record. The Financial...