Business

Facebook, Apple, Microsoft File With Supreme Court Supporting Gay Marriage

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 02/27/2013 - 15:34

The tech world as well as many large corporations are beginning to flex their muscle in the U.S. Supreme Court in filing amicus curiae or "friend of the court" briefs supporting gay marriage and thus, opposing DOMA.

These and others like eBay and 200 others have jumped onto the band wagon arguing DOMA increases their cost, and forces them to discriminate against portions of their employees, depending on which state they live in, saying it is not equal protection under the law.

Target Pledges To Price Match Year Round

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 01/08/2013 - 13:39

Minneapolis based Target has said it will make its temporary holiday policy of price matching its competitors permanent following disappointing holiday sales.

Target is the nations second largest discount retailer after Wal-Mart, but widely considered a step up in quality of products and customer service.

The new policy is effective immediately and will be valid for prices found at Amazon, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Best Buy and Wal-Mart online websites.

New Unemployment Claims Drop 41,000 Last Week; Superstorm Sandy Kept It From Going Lower

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 11/21/2012 - 09:49

Washington, D.C. -

The U.S. Labor Department reported that new jobless claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week by 41,000 which helps make up the estimated 90,000 claim increase due to Superstorm Sandy which hit October 29.

The total number of workers seeking unemployment stood at a seasonally adjusted 410,000, which was in line with what most were expecting.

Unemployment Spikes Up 78,000 Due To Hurricane Sandy

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Thu, 11/15/2012 - 10:06

Washington, D.C.-

The nation's unemployment rate jumped sharply due to Hurricane Superstorm Sandy, up 78,000 to a seasonally adjusted 439,000. That was well above analyst's expectations of 375,000.

States in the mid-Altantic and Northeast have reported significant new jobless claims following Sandy while the rest of the nation continued on its slow improvement.

This surge in new unemployment claims was the largest once week increase since September 2005.

Economy Adds 171,000 New Jobs In October

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Fri, 11/02/2012 - 11:40

Washington, D.C. -

THe U.S. Economy added 171,000 new jobs for the months of October and the consumer price index rose to its highest level in for years, both good signs that show Americans are ready and willing to start spending again.

The unemployment rate however, rose from 7.8 to 7.9 percent, but economist say that is actually not bad thing, that it shows people who have not been looking for work, and therefore not previously counted in the unemployment rate, are actually out looking now, believing the economy is getting better.

Estimates Top $6.5 Billion In Insured Losses So Far For Hurricane Sandy

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 10/30/2012 - 09:58

New estimated have already started coming in showing upwards of 6.5 billion in insured losses and $10-$20 billion in economic losses resulting from Hurricane Sandy, making it already worse than Hurricane Irene.  The final total could be as high as 25 billion according to some estimates when combining economic and actual physical damages.

>>Read Latest updated on Damage and Recovery<<

FedEx Says It Will Hire 20,000 Workers For Upcoming Holiday Season

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 12:32

FedEx has announced that it plans to hire 20,000 seasonal workers for the holiday period, the same amount as last year.

In a statement, the delivery company said that while the volume of packages it expects to ship will actually increase from last year, 280 million, more consumer will be opting for the slower and cheaper ground transport and SmartPost, a feature the lets consumers send it via FedEx, who then hands it off to the U.S. Postal Service for final delivery to homes and PO Boxes.

Dow Jones Opens Down Sharply As Retail Slows And Manufacturing Drops

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 12:24

New York City -

The Down Jones Industrial Average, DJIA, opened this moring dropping more than 200 points in the first hours as companies report lower earnings and revise lower fourth quater earning expectations.

As of noon, the Dow was down 227.66 points at 13,118.38, or 1.71% of the total value of the stock market.

Bellweather companies like 3M reported lower earnings and DuPont said it plans to cut 1,500 jobs. Retail sales have only been modest and manufacturing was down in several sectors.

New Unemployment Claims Drop 30,000 To Lowest Level In 4 and 1/2 Years - Exports Drop

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Thu, 10/11/2012 - 08:58

Washington, D.C. -

The Labor Dept reported that new jobless claims for state unemployment has dropped another 30,000 last week to 339,000, the lowest its been since Feb 2008.

About 114,000 new jobs are estimated to have been added by private employers in September with about 3.27 million still on unemployment benefits nationwide.

Blunting the good news, the U.S. trade deficit widened to $44.2 billion in August, a 4.1% increase since July.

Exports of U.S. products are down $181.3 billion as a slowing global economy weaken demand for U.S. made goods.