Worries Mount Ahead Of Latest Employment Reports

A lot of eyes are trained on the August employment reports due out Friday from the Labor Department. In recent days, the markets have received signals the forecast is not sunny. According to a private report this week, private employers slashed 10,000 jobs instead of adding jobs as anticipated. Unemployment benefit claims were down, but [...]

Gulf Coast Communities Investigate Oily Sea Mist

In Orange Beach, Ala., it’s Ted Scarritt’s business to know the condition of the beach. “Today’s a good day,” he says. Scarritt owns Perdido Beach Services, a company that rents beach chairs and umbrellas. He’s thrilled that the wind is blowing out of the north on this Labor Day weekend, when local businesses hope to [...]

Tax Breaks; New Poll On NYC Islamic Center; New Attack In Pakistan

Good morning. As we’ve already reported, Hurricane Earl is making its way up the East Coast and looks like it may cause some trouble for folks on Long Island, Nantucket and in Nova Scotia. But as with all hurricanes, if you’re near the projected path, stay alert. Things can change quickly. We’ve also already previewed [...]

Earl Weakens But Packs Punch As It Heads North

Hurricane Earl’s center passed east of Cape Hatteras on North Carolina’s coast early Friday, pounding the Outer Banks with high waves, rain and wind gusts of more than 70 miles per hour. The storm had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph as it neared the coast. It is [...]

Brace Yourself: August Jobs Report Due Shortly

Along with Hurricane Earl and the latest bits of news from the Mideast peace talks, this morning’s August unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is sure to be an attention-getter. After all, the still-soft economy is atop the list of things most Americans are most worried about. A few things to know as [...]

Gulf Communities Investigate Spill’s Oily Residue

In Orange Beach, Ala., it’s Ted Scarritt’s business to know the condition of the beach. “Today’s a good day,” he says. Scarritt owns Perdido Beach Services, a company that rents beach chairs and umbrellas. He’s thrilled that the wind is blowing out of the north on this Labor Day weekend, when local businesses are hoping [...]

Worries Over Jobs Numbers Ahead Of New Data

A lot of eyes are trained on the August employment reports due out Friday from the Labor Department. In recent days, the markets have received signals the forecast is not sunny. According to a private report this week, private employers slashed 10,000 jobs instead of adding jobs as anticipated. Unemployment benefit claims were down, but [...]

Study: Cash For Clunkers Was A Wash

The government’s “cash for clunkers” program boosted auto sales by 360,000 during the two months it was in place, according to a new study. But in the seven months that followed, sales were down by 360,000 compared to what they would have been without the program, the study found. The implication: The program didn’t bring [...]

Weakened Earl Lashes N.C. Coast With Rain, Wind

The last ferry left for the mainland and coastal residents hunkered down at home as Hurricane Earl closed in with 110 mph winds Thursday on North Carolina’s dangerously exposed Outer Banks, the first and potentially most destructive stop on the storm’s projected journey up the Eastern Seaboard. The hurricane’s outer squalls began to lash the [...]

Health Law Myths: Outside The Realm Of Reality

With a law as long and as complex as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it’s natural people are still a little confused about what it does and doesn’t do. But some things being said or circulated on the Internet about the health law are well outside the realm of reality. It turns out, [...]