Photo of a for sale sign in front of a house in Londonderry

US Pending Home Sales Trended Higher Before Virus Outbreak

BALTIMORE — Americans signed more contracts in February to buy homes, but the gains are likely relics of a moment before the coronavirus outbreak sent the U.S. economy spiraling into a likely recession. The outlook has deteriorated rapidly over the past month...
Photo of President Donald Trump giving a thumbs up

Trump Says He’ll Sign First-Step China Trade Deal on Jan. 15

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The first phase of a U.S.-China trade agreement will be inked at the White House in mid-January, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, adding that he will visit Beijing at a later date to open another round of talks aimed at resolvi...

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 pe...
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 the reduction doesn't offset the increases of recent...
Photo of cargo ships in Los Angeles

Thanks to Consumers, US Economy Is Rising Steadily if Slowly

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economic landscape would look even bleaker if not for America's consumers. The economy slowed in the spring, and many analysts think the weakness will continue in the months ahead. Yet consumer spending, which drives about 70% of growt...