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Gas prices are creeping towards $3 a gallon and consumers are getting squeezed. That has many analysts worried that another painful summer driving season will stifle an economic recovery.
Retail gas prices have risen daily since April 29, and are nearly $1 higher since the beginning of 2009, according to motorist group AAA. The […]

The global economy has strengthened enough to cope with oil at $75-$80 a barrel and that level will be hit soon as fuel demand picks up, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Wednesday.
Oil has already climbed from a low of $32.40 last December to six-month highs well above $60 a barrel this week.
"The […]

Last month I wrote about Debbie Dusenberry, owner of Curious Sofa, a home-furnishings boutique in Kansas City, Kans. The store has a reputation for great products and imaginative display, and its revenue had been growing nicely for eight years.
But when Dusenberry sent me her financials, she included this plaintive note: "Our January was […]

Banks lining up to repay bailout funds are easing away from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s debt insurance plan, a program that helped banks through last fall’s financial storm — and has made money for the FDIC to boot.
Since the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, or TLGP, took effect last November, financial firms have […]

The news about global manufacturing is so bad, it might be good.
As factory production collapses around the world, excess inventories that stand in the way of an eventual recovery are disappearing even faster. That may allow manufacturing to stabilize later this year, providing some relief for a global economy that is contracting for […]

The stimulus plan emerging from Congress may jolt the U.S. economy in successive waves: relief to cash-strapped consumers, businesses and states, then a job- creating lift from spending on roads, utilities and public transit.
While the package will take time to have an impact, and unemployment is likely to keep rising for months, it […]

Two old office buildings, the Arcade and Chemical at Eighth and Olive streets downtown, were in the early stages of transformation to luxury condos and apartments when the credit crisis slammed their doors shut.
While the Chemical Building’s owners say their project remains alive, one of the Arcade’s former owners said a renovation plan […]

The 2008 holiday sales season is one of the worst for retailers in decades, as consumers’ concerns about the economy and job losses crushed the typical year-end shopping exuberance.
‘I don’t see any reason for retailers to be rejoicing at all," said Britt Beemer, chairman and founder of America’s Research Group.
Among the early sales tallies, […]

As the clock ticks for U.S. mall owner General Growth Properties Inc GGP.N to renegotiate loans, the possibility that it or other large landlords may seek bankruptcy protection is threatening to complicate turnarounds for retailers who also go bankrupt.
A sharp decline in consumer spending and an inability to access credit markets has hurt both […]

It’s official: For the last year, the U.S. economy has been in recession. And based on the latest economic reports and outlooks, it doesn’t appear that the situation will improve anytime soon.
The evidence of a downturn has been widespread for months: slower production, stagnant wages and hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. But […]