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Unexpected tax revenue to shrink U.S. budget deficit By MarketWatch Last Update: 3:35 PM ET Jul 8, 2006 NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- An unexpected spike in revenue from corporate taxes, individual stock market profits and executive bonuses is curbing the projected budget deficit this year, according to a media report. The White House on Tuesday is expected to say that tax receipts are about $250 billion higher than they were a year ago, rising twice as fast as the administration forecast, the New York Times reported Saturday. As a result, the budget deficit will be about $100 billion less than...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy grew at its hottest pace in 2 1/2 years in the opening quarter of 2006 but signs suggest it has cooled since then. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that economic activity expanded at a 5.6 percent annual rate in the January-to-March period. The revised reading on gross domestic product was an even stronger showing than the 5.3 percent pace estimated for the quarter a month ago. The new estimate -- based on more complete information -- matched economists' forecasts. The stronger GDP figure mostly reflected an improvement in the country's trade deficit, which was much...

Economy Zips Ahead at a 5.6 Percent Pace Jun 29 8:45 AM US/Eastern Email this story By JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON The economy sprang out of a year-end rut and zipped ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.6 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years and even stronger than previously thought. The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading _ based on more complete information _ matched economists' forecasts. The stronger GDP...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - News) fell below the psychologically key 11,000 level for the first time in three months as U.S. stocks extended their fall amid worries that the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates. Investors fear that higher rates would slow the economy and hurt corporate profits. A break below 11,000, which was a key near-term support level, could trigger additional weakness in the index, according to technical analysts. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI - News) was down 49.22 points, or 0.45 percent, at 10,999.50. The Standard & Poor's 500...

On August 1, 2003, Nancy Pelosi asked a question: “Where are the jobs Mr. President?”. Of course you have to have had selective amnesia to make such a statement. The Market Crash of 2000, The Clinton Recession, The 9-11 Attacks, and the Cost of Waging a War on Terror all affected the job market. Nancy Pelosi Press Release on August 1, 2003. Where Are the Jobs, Mr. President? Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' announcement that 470,000 people abandoned their job searches in July and that 3.2...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy shot forward at an upwardly revised 5.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the fastest growth in 2-1/2 years, as companies built up inventories and exports strengthened, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed. First-quarter growth in gross domestic product was more than triple the 1.7 percent annual rate recorded in last year's fourth quarter, though still slightly below Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 5.7 percent pace.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Emerging from a year-end rut, the economy dashed ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.3 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years. The new snapshot showed gross domestic product was even stronger during the January-to-March period than the 4.8 percent annual rate first estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the country's economic fitness. The upgraded reading on GDP, based on more complete information, mostly reflected stronger...

Consumers, spurred by a late Easter and warmer than usual weather, pushed retail sales up by a solid amount in April although soaring gasoline prices kept the increase below expectations. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in April following a 0.6 percent advance in March. The slight slowdown was seen as an indication that the big jump in gasoline prices since early March was depressing demand for other consumer products. Wall Street analysts had been forecasting a more robust 0.8 percent advance in retail sales, a forecast that was based on reports of strong demand during...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A surge in consumer spending helped corporate America achieve its 16th straight quarter of double digit earnings growth, and even the return of $3-per-gallon gasoline hasn't deterred companies from issuing upbeat forecasts for future quarters. As of Friday morning, with 423 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index reporting earnings for the first quarter, 285, or 67 percent, beat Wall Street forecasts. Another 66 companies, or 16 percent, matched expectations, while 72 companies, or 17 percent, failed to meet analysts' estimates. The results extended a corporate winning streak: Over the past eight quarters, 66 percent...

CNBC and Marketwatch.com report that the DOW was up 38.58 points today at 11,438.86, a new six year closing high. According to historical charts on Yahoo Finance, the previous highest close was 11,489.36, on 1/19/2000. Today's close was within 285 points of the all time closing high of 11,722.98, on 1/14/2000.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activity in both the vast U.S. services sector and at factories accelerated more than expected, according to data on Wednesday that pointed to fresh economic vigor and the possibility of more interest rate hikes. Most economists are expecting economic growth to slow from a torrid first-quarter pace of 4.8 percent, yet the latest figures showed no hints of slowing and appeared likely to keep the Federal Reserve leaning toward further hikes in interest rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week a pause in the rate-hike cycle was possible. The Institute for Supply Management's services...

THE ORDINARY NERVOUSNESS of investors and market watchers has been converted into advanced paranoia by the business media's preference for bad news. Consider this headline in the Wall Street Journal: "Economy's Surge Stirs Questions About When Slowdown May Come".Share prices are driven to a six-year high by rising corporate profits and commentators trot out stories about bubbles and irrational exuberance, the latter a phrase used by then-chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan to describe share prices--after which they doubled. Germany and Japan finally shake off their decades-long economic lethargy and show signs of recovery, and all talk is...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew at its strongest rate in 2-1/2 years during the first three months of this year, snapping back from a lackluster fourth quarter on a surge in spending and investment, a Commerce Department report on Friday showed. Gross domestic product grew at a 4.8 percent annual rate in the January-March first quarter, more than twice the 1.7 percent rate in the fourth quarter and the strongest for any three months since 7.2 percent in the third quarter of 2003. The first-quarter figure was only slightly below the 4.9 percent rate that Wall Street economists...

Without much fanfare, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is closing in on its all-time high, set at the beginning of 2000 before Americans became disenchanted with stocks and turned to real estate. Despite soaring oil prices, the Dow, watched as a barometer of the economy and Main Street, has regained more than 4,000 points that slipped away after the dotcom bust and the 2001 recession. Now, the average is closer than it's ever been to its Jan. 14, 2000, high of 11,723 - a number that brings back memories of taxi drivers talking about their stock portfolios and a book...

This should be a list of who is planning to close their business on Monday, May 1 in response of the Great American Boycott. We should compile it and boycott them ourselves if possible! Remember to go shopping or work overtime on May 1!

Public expects Booming Economy to get even worse The U.S. economy grew at its strongest rate in 2-1/2 years during the first three months of this year, a Commerce Department report on Friday showed. Gross domestic product grew at a 4.8 percent annual rate in the January-March first quarter. Senators Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Friday the economy was too strong for the little guy to catch up. When it comes to public perception regarding the state of the economy, the perception couldn't be much gloomier. So says "right-wing" Fox News Channel, citing its latest...

Growth returned in spades to the U.S. economy last quarter, with the Commerce Department's first reading on gross domestic product showing a 4.8% expansion, roughly matching estimates. The gain was the largest in two years but was largely in line with expectations and shouldn't radically alter perceptions about the future of interest-rate policy. The first-quarter reading follows growth of 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2005. A warm weather-fueled rebound in consumer spending, rebuilding in the hurricane-ravaged South, burgeoning business investment and steady progress on the services side of the economy helped pace the first-quarter pop. On average, economists expected...

Factory Orders Jump 6.1 Percent in March; Sales of New Homes Rise 13.8 Percent in Same Period WASHINGTON (AP) -- A jump in demand for commercial aircraft pushed orders for big-ticket manufactured goods higher in March while sales of new homes shot up at the fastest pace in 13 years, reflecting a rebound from bad weather in February. ADVERTISEMENT click here Both reports depicted an economy continuing to expand at a healthy pace, a view supported by a new survey of business conditions around the country released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve. The Fed's 12 regional banks used words such...

WASHINGTON - Employers feeling upbeat about the economy boosted hiring by 211,000 in a springtime burst that pushed the unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent, matching its lowest point in 4 1/2 years. The employment picture for March, released by the Labor Department on Friday, suggested that a strengthening economic expansion is putting companies in the hiring mood and brightening prospects for job seekers. Hiring gains were fairly widespread. Construction, retailers, financial activities, education and health care, and government were among the sectors posting payroll gains. That helped to blunt job losses in manufacturing and in the transportation industries. "I...