Fed Changes Growth, Employment Forecast for the Worse

Staff / Truthdig Nov 3, 2011 Back in June, the Federal Reserve predicted a sunnier economic future for the U.S. than it did Wednesday, when the Fed released revised figures for both growth (it'll happen more slowly) and unemployment (it'll continue to hover around 9 percent) through 2012. But the news wasn't all gloomy. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. Income Levels Plunged as Recession Lifted

Staff / Truthdig Oct 10, 2011 More interesting, perhaps, than this New York Times article's proffered data on falling household incomes and the reasons for same is its official timeline for our nation's most recent recession: “ … From December 2007 to June 2009." (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Stock Market’s Wild Ride Continues

Staff / Truthdig Aug 18, 2011 The stock market is revisiting last week's extreme volatility, with the Dow Jones average plummeting 471 points in the first two hours of trading Thursday. (more) Update: At the closing bell, the Dow was down about 419 points, 3.7 percent, to roughly 10,990. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Paul Krugman’s ‘Twilight Zone’ Economics

Staff / Truthdig Aug 15, 2011 Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman employed a bit of imagination while discussing the need for fiscal stimulus on Fareed Zakaria's "GPS" last week, playfully suggesting that the discovery of an impending alien attack would force (more). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Take the U.S. Inequality Quiz

Staff / Truthdig Jun 28, 2011 Think you have the dirt on inequality in America? Jeffrey Rudolph, a college accounting professor in Montreal, has crafted an extensive quiz stocked full of hard facts and figures from a range of authoritative sources that cuts through the myth and lies thrown up by America's leading misinformers. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fed Makes More Hopeful Noises

Staff / Truthdig Mar 16, 2011 The latest economic assessment-slash-prognostication from the Federal Reserve isn't all bad -- in fact, CNN Money goes so far as to characterize it as relatively "bullish," despite mitigating factors such as soaring oil prices and the crisis in Japan. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Thar Be Gold in Them Hills

Staff / Truthdig Mar 4, 2011 You know Fox News is all over this story: The Utah House of Representatives is fixin' to vote on a measure that would make gold and silver coins a viable alternative to the boring -- and inflation-prone -- forms of currency currently in national circulation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Rising Food Prices Spark Protests in India

Staff / Truthdig Feb 24, 2011 We're not even two full months into the new year, and protest has already become a prominent theme for 2011 in multiple nations Add India to that growing list, as climbing food costs, combined with diminished employment opportunities, drove thousands . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The American Empire Is Bankrupt

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Jun 15, 2009 This week marks the end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That’s over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Obama Has Missed His Moment

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Apr 27, 2009 The president had a fleeting moment to challenge the casino capitalism and financial recklessness of our economic and political elite. He could have orchestrated a state socialism that would have provided a safety net for tens of millions of Americans faced with dislocation and misery. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

U.S. Unemployment Hits 7.6 Percent

Staff / Truthdig Feb 6, 2009 With little surprise but incredible effect, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent in January, hitting its highest level since 1992. President Obama used the report to prod Congress to pass his economic stimulus package. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush Oversees Unemployment and Misery

Staff / Truthdig Sep 5, 2008 George W. Bush and his father share more than a last name. Reports show that August's unemployment rate increased past the level initially forecast, rising to 6.1 percent. But even more disturbing is the fact that the misery index -- unemployment aggregated with inflation -- also soared to its highest level since 1991, when George H.W. Bush was in office. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )