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ALBANY, N.Y. – New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said today the financial crisis gripping Wall Street and the world economy could cost the state and New York City 225,000 private sector jobs over the next two years.
DiNapoli said instability in the financial sector could also cost the state and city $6.5 billion in […]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Most financial experts advise avoiding so-called penny stocks, typically shares of small companies with low stock prices that are not actively traded or followed closely by analysts.
First, a little clarification: The term “penny stock” refers to those companies with share prices of less than $5, not less than $1. (So maybe […]

The Justice Department has approved a $52 billion beer merger between Belgian brewer InBev and Anheuser-Busch.
But InBev’s buzz comes with a slight hiccup: it must sell subsidiary Labatt USA before regulators let the Belgian company buy out St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc (BUD, Fortune 500)
That’s because Anheuser-Busch brews Budweiser and Bud Light compete directly […]

What’s going well for small businesses? Not much, according to The National Federation of Independent Business’ monthly Small Business Optimism Index, which fell 5.4 points in October and landed at the third-lowest reading in the history of the survey.
"We’re mired in a recession," said the NFIB’s chief economist, Bill Dunkelberg.
Weak sales demand was the […]

There is no doubt that China’s near-$600 billion economic stimulus package is gigantic but, like so much in the opaque country, it is shrouded in ambiguities that complicate any assessment of its likely impact.
First and foremost, the size of the stimulus may be smaller than advertised.
Announcing the package on Sunday night, the government billed […]

Oil prices rose moderately Friday as traders largely overlooked a grim report on the labor market to focus on rising stock prices and a weaker dollar.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose a modest 27 cents to settle at $61.04 a barrel in New York. Oil had traded near $63 a barrel earlier […]

The French tradedeficit widened to a record in September as a global economic slowdown curbed exports.
The trade gap expanded to 6.25 billion euros ($8 billion) from a revised 5.37 billion euros in August, the Trade Ministry said in Paris today. Economists forecast a trade deficit of 5 billion euros in September, according to […]

The private sector jobs market deteriorated rapidly in October while the service sector contracted sharply as the worst financial crisis in 80 years hammered the world’s largest economy.
Privately released reports on Wednesday highlighted the economic challenges facing Barack Obama a day after he won the race for the White House and foreshadowed weakness in […]

Swiss inflation slowed in October as the price of oil dropped.
Consumer prices rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier after increasing 2.9 percent in September, the Federal Statistics Office in Neuchatel said today. Economists forecast the rate to drop to 2.5 percent, according to the median of 18 estimates in a Bloomberg News […]

Spending by U.S. consumers probably dropped in September, capping its weakest quarter in three decades and signaling the economy will continue to slump in coming months, economists said before a report today.
Purchases fell 0.2 percent after no change in August, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 73 economists. […]