California’s Pension Debt Cannot Be Ignored

A decade ago, at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s request, I supervised a graduate student team that performed a comprehensive analysis of public pensions in California. The goal was to calculate California’s pension debt, the difference between assets and liab...
Photo of Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell

What the Fed’s Rate Cut Means for You

The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate again, big news for the U.S. economy but something that will likely have a muted impact on Americans' personal finances, experts say. That's because th...
Photo of workers removing a tree

Survey: US Services Sector Expands at Faster Pace in August

WASHINGTON — U.S. services expanded at a stronger pace in August, driven by an uptick in business activity and new orders. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Thursday that its non-manufacturing index rose to 56....
Photo of President Trump

74% of Economists in Survey Expect 2021 Recession

WASHINGTON — A strong majority, 74%, of U.S. business economists appear sufficiently concerned about the risks of some of President Donald Trump’s economic policies that they expect a recession in the U.S. by t...
Photo of trader Brandon Barb working on the floor of the stock market

US Stocks Steady After Plunge, but Caution Reigns

NEW YORK — Stocks around the world remained stuck in the spin cycle Thursday, as worries about a possible recession collided with hopes that the strongest part of the U.S. economy — shoppers spending at stores ...

Is Historically Low Unemployment Near in Fresno County?

Could Fresno County soon see its lowest monthly unemployment rate in more than a generation? In data released Friday by California's Employment Development Department, Fresno County had an unadjusted unemployment rate of 6.4% in May. In state records that d...