American consumers spent 1.9 percent more in September than in August, more than double the rate analysts were expecting. Clothing and department stores saw sales rise 11 percent, some of which analysts attribute to back-to-school purchases. Sales of health and beauty products, seen as non-essential during the shutdown, were up 1.5 percent. Grocery sales were...
Tag: oct 20 2020
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U.S. ANNUAL DEFICIT TRIPLES TO RECORD LEVEL
The annual U.S. budget shortfall tripled to a record $3.1 trillion, or 16.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product, in the fiscal year ended 30 September, according to the U.S. Treasury department. The new debt resulted from efforts to fight the pandemic and recover from the ensuing economic shutdown that continues across large swaths of the...
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SMALL BUSINESS DOWN, BIG BUSINESS UP
One in every five businesses operating last January has stopped doing business entirely, according to Womply, a business services website that estimates most of those idle businesses have closed permanently. Of 6,325 small businesses surveyed by business network website Alignable, 40 percent reported being at risk of failure before 2020 is over. Bank loans are...
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NO U.S. JOB BOUNCEBACK UNTIL 2023
The U.S. jobs market will recover more slowly than the GDP, according to the consensus among 63 economists the Wall Street Journal surveyed in early October. “We’re substituting away from labor-intensive services,” said economist Leo Feler at the University of California at Los Angeles. The group expects the U.S. economy to contract 3.6 percent this...
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STUDY: TRUE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 26.1 PERCENT
If an unemployed person is defined as someone seeking a full-time job that pays a living wage but is unable to find one, the actual U.S. unemployment rate is 26.1 percent, according to a study by the nonprofit Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. The official definition of unemployment is a person who is earning...
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UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS UP
In the week ending 10 October, 898,000 workers filed new claims for unemployment benefits, more than the 830,000 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The tally was the highest in seven weeks, indicating employers are still shedding jobs in high numbers, with some bracing for a second virus wave to crimp the economy in...
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STIMULUS ENDS, POVERTY RISES
The proportion of Americans living in poverty rose from 9.3 percent in June to 11.1 percent in September, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, and China’s Zhejiang University. The number translates to about eight million more Americans who now are poor. The poverty rate was...
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THAI PROTESTERS FACE ARCANE LAW CARRYING LIFE SENTENCE
Ruling authorities in Thailand are trying to get a hold on protesters who have taken to the streets in Bangkok by the thousands over the past three months. The protesters are calling on the country’s prime minister to step down and change its constitution to embrace democracy while reforming the role of the monarchy. Nattarika...
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ISRAEL APPROVES 4,000+ NEW SETTLER HOMES
Israel’s plan to build over 4,000 new settler homes in the West Bank prompted European countries to voice their concerns about the move and its effect on stability in the region. France, Germany, Britain, Italy, and Spain issued a joint statement that called the expansion of settlements a violation of “international law and further imperils...