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Business/Economy

  • Economy gains, but not enough to ease jobs crisis

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy gained strength at the end of last year as Americans spent at the fastest pace in four years and U.S. companies sold more overseas.

    The growth is boosting hopes for a stronger 2011. But it remains too weak to ease high unemployment.

    The Commerce Department reported Friday that growth rose by an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the October-December quarter. That's better than the 2.6 percent growth in the previous quarter. And it was the best quarterly showing since the start of last year.

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  • Co-op Market: A Symbol For Economic Progress

    More than 700 households in Los Alamos and White Rock have invested financially in the soon-to-open Los Alamos Cooperative Market – a project that former County Administrator Tony Mortillaro calls “a symbol of economic development made more significant because it’s all funded through local investment.”
    As of Wednesday, the co-op has raised $1,018,610 from local member loans and local member investment certificates.

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  • Social Security fund will be drained by 2037

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security's finances are getting worse as the economy struggles to recover and millions of baby boomers stand at the brink of retirement.

    New congressional projections show Social Security running deficits every year until its trust funds are eventually drained in about 2037.

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  • Google co-founder Page will be CEO in shake-up

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc. co-founder Larry Page is taking over as CEO in an unexpected shake-up that upstaged the Internet search leader's fourth-quarter earnings.

    Page, 37, is reclaiming the top job from Eric Schmidt, who had been brought in as CEO a decade ago because Google's investors believed the company needed a more mature leader.

    Schmidt, 55, will remain an adviser to Page and Google's other co-founder, Sergey Brin, as Google's executive chairman.

    The changes will be effective April 4.

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  • Fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, adding to evidence that hiring will pick up this year.

    The Labor Department says the number of people seeking benefits fell by 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 404,000 for the week ended Jan. 15.

    The decline suggested that an unexpected rise in applications a week earlier was the result of seasonal factors. Applications often rise in early January after retailers lay off temporary holiday workers.

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  • 2010 ends as 2nd worst year for home construction

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Builders began work last year on the second fewest number of homes in more than half a century, as the weak economy kept people from buying houses.

    Builders broke ground on a total of 587,600 homes in 2010, just barely better than the 554,000 started in 2009. Those are the two worst years on records dating back to 1959.

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  • Apple shares fall 2 pct with Jobs on medical leave

    Shares of Apple Inc. fell modestly Tuesday following the company's disclosure that Steve Jobs, the CEO who transformed the niche computer maker into the most-envied consumer-electronics brand today, is taking another medical leave of absence.

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  • US companies expand goals as China leader arrives

    WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies have long demanded that China let its currency rise to make U.S. exports cheaper. But as President Hu Jintao visits Washington this week, U.S. companies are stressing other goals: Stopping the theft of intellectual property. And getting a fair chance to win government contracts.

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  • Jobless claims rise as employers cut holiday help

    WASHINGTON (AP) — More people applied for unemployment benefits last week after retailers shed temporary holiday employees.

    The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people seeking benefits jumped by 35,000 to a seasonally adjusted 445,000 for the week ending Jan. 8. It was the highest level since late October.

    The increase comes after applications had fallen to their lowest levels in two years over the winter holidays. Applications usually rise in early January once the holiday season ends.

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  • Banks repossess 1 million homes in 2010, peak numbers yet to come

    NEW YORK (AP) — The bleakest year in foreclosure crisis has only just begun.

    Lenders are poised to take back more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages and more will miss payments as they struggle with job losses and loans worth more than their home's value, industry analysts forecast.

    "2011 is going to be the peak," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac Inc.

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