Specialized search for economics

8+ min ago (885+ words) As punctual as any holiday tradition, all the gurus polish their crystal balls to reveal their glossy business outlooks for the coming year. Their work is curiously detailed, with seemingly exacting projections for numerous economic variables. These estimates look and feel authoritative, whether in fancy printed or digital form, especially when the outlook's data includes multiple decimal places. But for all that effort, the consensus usually goes like this: mild chance of bumpiness and otherwise a modest uptick " with a dash of blame for government on top. Yet no degree in economics, a trusty spreadsheet or a "chief economist" title is required to make projections of future business conditions. The do-it-yourself forecast comes from living a life. Your economic outlook's goal is simple: Can I pay the bills, stash away a bit for the future, grow a nest egg " and…...

8+ min ago (885+ words) As punctual as any holiday tradition, all the gurus polish their crystal balls to reveal their glossy business outlooks for the coming year. Their work is curiously detailed, with seemingly exacting projections for numerous economic variables. These estimates look and feel authoritative, whether in fancy printed or digital form, especially when the outlook's data includes multiple decimal places. But for all that effort, the consensus usually goes like this: mild chance of bumpiness and otherwise a modest uptick " with a dash of blame for government on top. Yet no degree in economics, a trusty spreadsheet or a "chief economist" title is required to make projections of future business conditions. The do-it-yourself forecast comes from living a life. Your economic outlook's goal is simple: Can I pay the bills, stash away a bit for the future, grow a nest egg " and…...

8+ min ago (885+ words) As punctual as any holiday tradition, all the gurus polish their crystal balls to reveal their glossy business outlooks for the coming year. Their work is curiously detailed, with seemingly exacting projections for numerous economic variables. These estimates look and feel authoritative, whether in fancy printed or digital form, especially when the outlook's data includes multiple decimal places. But for all that effort, the consensus usually goes like this: mild chance of bumpiness and otherwise a modest uptick " with a dash of blame for government on top. Yet no degree in economics, a trusty spreadsheet or a "chief economist" title is required to make projections of future business conditions. The do-it-yourself forecast comes from living a life. Your economic outlook's goal is simple: Can I pay the bills, stash away a bit for the future, grow a nest egg " and…...

12+ min ago (966+ words) The'S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) today is down by -0.02%,'the Dow Jones Industrials Index ($DOWI)'(DIA) is down by -0.25%, and the'Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) is up by +0.33%.' December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ25) are down -0.03%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ25) are up +0.30%. M&A activity and positive corporate news are also helping to push stocks higher.' Confluent is up more than +27% after IBM acquired the company for about $11 billion, including debt.' Also, Carvana is up more than +7% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the company will replace LKQ Corp in the S&P 500 before trading begins on Monday, December 22.' Today's Chinese trade report was mixed as China's Nov exports rose +5.9% y/y, stronger than expectations of +4.0% y/y.' However, Nov imports rose by only +1.9% y/y, weaker than expectations of +3.0% y/y. President Trump said last Tuesday that he will announce his…...

14+ min ago (93+ words) Hungary's budget gap continued to widen in November after Fitch Ratings cut the outlook on Hungary's second-lowest investment grade on Prime Minister Viktor Orban's pre-election spending. Hungary's budget gap continued to widen in November after Fitch Ratings cut the outlook on Hungary's second-lowest investment grade on Prime Minister Viktor Orban's pre-election spending. The government racked up a 4.1 trillion forint ($12.4 billion) shortfall year-to-date after a 403 billion forint deficit in November, the Economy Ministry said in a statement on Monday....

17+ min ago (194+ words) Stock futures were pointing to further gains on Monday, with investors still confident that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates on Wednesday, but a little unsure about what the central bank will do next. Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 6 points, effectively trading Updated 13 min ago Stock futures were pointing to further gains on Monday, with investors still confident that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates on Wednesday, but a little unsure about what the central bank will do next. Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 6 points, effectively trading flat. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.1%, with the benchmark index on the brink of setting a new closing high, while contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 0.2%. The biggest story for markets this week is likely to be the Federal Open Market Committee's monetary…...

21+ min ago (571+ words) The U.S. economy is growing, and the stock market is up, so why are so many Americans feeling left behind? "The economy looks better on paper, than in reality for many," says Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. In a recent interview that I conducted with her for my podcast, Swonk said what we are seeing is a K-shaped economy. Here's how it works: Picture the letter K. The top arm goes up, which represents those parts of the economy that are doing well, like tech (specifically those companies with exposure to artificial intelligence) and high earners who own homes and investments. On top of these two distinct groups, many companies that were exposed to the Trump tariffs, tried to front-run them by loading up on inventory in March and July. Those purchases, along with massive AI spending (estimated'to account for 40 percent…...

21+ min ago (576+ words) TOKYO (Reuters): Japan's economy contracted faster than initially estimated in the third quarter of the year, the government reported Monday, as exports suffered from the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and public investments slipped. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank an annualized 2.3% rather than 1.8%, the Cabinet Office said on Monday, the quickest rate since the third quarter of 2023. Economists on average had estimated 2%, saying the contraction was likely to be reversed in the next quarter and that the revised figures would have minimal impact on the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) next interest rate decision. The contraction translates to a 0.6% on-quarter fall, compared with analysts' estimate of 0.5% and an initial reading of 0.4% released last month. Exports dropped 1.2% compared to the previous quarter, unchanged from the preliminary figure, while private residential investment fell 8.2%, slightly less than the 9.4% fall seen in the earlier…...

21+ min ago (524+ words) McDonald's is codifying low prices." The fast-food giant is adding a value provision to its global franchising standards as it seeks to keep operators from raising prices too aggressively. The new standard applies to franchisees in the U.S. and its biggest international markets. The company informed operators of the new franchising standards in system messages on Monday, seen by Restaurant Business." "Delivering value consistently to customers is critical to growing our business and this elevated standard helps achieve our shared focus on closing gaps so that every customer'and every owner/operator'benefits," Mason Smoot, chief restaurant officer for McDonald's USA, said in a message to the U.S. system. In franchises such as McDonald's, franchisees set prices based on local market conditions and their own costs for real estate, labor and food. As such, the cost of a Big Mac can vary from one…...

21+ min ago (342+ words) Gold is holding near $4,200/oz as expectations for a December Fed rate cut and a weaker US Dollar (USD) continue to underpin prices, though soft physical demand may cap further gains. Strong official-sector buying and political noise from Italy's proposal to alter central bank gold ownership add new dynamics to an already firm gold market, HSBC' analysts report. "Gold prices have recently returned to around $4,200 per ounce, underpinned by increased risk aversion and growing expectations of a 25bp rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) at its 9-10 December meeting." EUR/USD posts modest gains above 1.1650 in the European session on Monday. The prospect of a US'Federal Reserve'rate cut at its December meeting on Wednesday keeps the US Dollar undermined across the board, supporting the pair amid strong German Industrial Production data. Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data is next in focus.' GBP…...