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Business/Economy

  • Congress flips dimmer switch on light bulb law

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in Congress are flipping the dimmer switch on a law that sets new energy-savings standards for light bulbs.

    They've reached a deal to delay until October enforcement of standards that some fear will bring about the end of old-style 100-watt bulbs. GOP lawmakers say they're trying to head off more government interference in people's lives.

    But environmentalists and the light bulb industry say the move is not too bright.

    Language postponing enforcement of the light bulb law — it was set to take effect Jan. 1 — was included in a massive spending bill that funds the government through September. The House passed the measure on Friday, with approval expected Saturday in the Senate.

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  • VIDEO: Dip in Euro Makes Travel Cheaper... or Not

    With the Euro hovering at an 11-month low, tourists on both sides of the Atlantic are watching their buying power fluctuate.

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  • Los Alamos tops pay scale study

    Los Alamos County continues to compile records as one of the wealthiest places in the state and the country.

    The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released a study that said the total compensation in Los Alamos County is the highest in the Southwestern United States.

    Los Alamos County, with the help of the lab, ranked first among 379 counties in the region with a total average annual compensation of $86,465.

    Foard County, Texas had the lowest average compensation at $29,117.

    Total compensation is the sum of wage and salary disbursements, and wage and salary supplements.

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  • Census shows 1 in 2 Americans are poor or low-income

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

    The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have impacted millions of families.

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  • VIDEO: Fedex Expects 17 Million Shipments

    FedEx says it expects to have its busiest day ever Monday with a projected 17 million shipments globally, almost double the usual daily amount.

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  • Postal cuts to slow delivery of first-class mail--video extra

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and, for the first time in 40 years, eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.

    The estimated $3 billion in reductions, to be announced in broader detail on Monday, are part of a wide-ranging effort by the cash-strapped Postal Service to quickly trim costs, seeing no immediate help from Congress.

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  • Unemployment rate dips as hundreds of thousands abandon job hunt

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years.

    The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6 percent last month, down from 9 percent in October. The rate hasn't been that low since March 2009, during the depths of the recession.

    Still, 13.3 million Americans remain unemployed. And a key reason the unemployment rate fell so much was because roughly 315,000 people had given up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed.

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  • On the airwaves

    New County Administrator Harry Burgess discusses his emergency management background during an interview on the monthly Safety and Security Matters program hosted by Carol A. Clark at KRSN.

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  • Unemployment aid applications up 2nd straight week

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose for the second straight week, a sign the hiring market is recovering at a slow and uneven pace.

    Weekly applications for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 402,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Applications had been below 400,000 for three straight weeks.

    The four-week average, a less volatile measure, was mostly unchanged at slightly below 400,000.

    The average fell to a seven-month low two weeks ago. Weekly applications had been declining for two months.

    The recent increases aren't enough to suggest things are getting worse, economists said.

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  • Hallmark Store goes up for sale

    Hope that a buyer will surface to keep Brownell’s Hallmark Shop operating remains high for owner Steve Brownell.

    “I’m turning 70 on Dec. 22 and it’s time to retire,” Brownell said Tuesday. “We’re hopeful for the community’s sake that we’re able to find a buyer. If we can’t find a buyer then it will be bittersweet – another store closing is not good.”

    Brownell listed his business for sale late last summer, he said, adding that he can’t discuss the asking price,

    “That’s something we’d have to talk about with the buyer.”

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