Stalling budgets is nothing new for Congress. In fact, avoiding a budget battle and passing an appropriation bill on time is the exception rather than the rule. A new study carried out at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the National Bureau of Economic Research demonstrated that delaying bills at the beginning […]

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co, known outside the USA and Canada as MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme), will cut its workforce by a further 8,500, revamp its research and development, and reduce marketing and administrative costs. Merck says it aims to cut costs by $2.5 billion by 2015. On announcing the further 8,500 job cuts, […]

One would expect people demanding government policy solutions to rapidly accelerating unemployment and widespread income insecurity during a recession. That is how the American population reacted during the Great Depression eighty years ago. However, a study carried out at Indiana University and published in the American Sociological Review, reported declining public support for government efforts […]

After the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever gave a profit warning, shares dropped 4.44% to 2,335p in the London Stock Exchange. Unilever said the slowdown in emerging markets, especially in India, Brazil and Indonesia, was partly to blame for the fall in sales growth. Approximately 60% of Unilever’s sales come from emerging markets. During the second quarter […]

The manufacturing sector expanded in September, the fourth consecutive month, to its highest point since April 2011, according to a new Purchasing Managers Index report issued by the Institute for Supply Management. The report – “Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®” – added that the U.S. economy grew for the 52nd consecutive month. Eleven of 18 […]

While Ford reported a nearly 6% gain in vehicle sales in September compared to the same month in 2012, General Motors’ sales fell 11%, much more than analysts had expected. The Chrysler group managed a modest 1% rise. September this year had fewer selling days than in 2012, the automobile makers all emphasized. None of […]

In Europe today the German government announced a slight increase in unemployment and Eurostat, the European statistical agency of the European Union, reported no change in August unemployment figures compared to July for the Euro zone. German unemployment increased 25,000 in September, to the surprise of many analysts who had expected a moderate 5,000 fall. […]

The U.S. government starts shutdown after the House of Representatives refused to approve a budget for the coming year. Despite a last-minute appeal by President Barack Obama, the midnight deadline passed amid a seemingly never-ending deadlock. Almost 800,000 civil servants now face the prospect of unpaid leave, with no guarantee that they will get any […]

If the Western U.S. installed more solar and wind power plants, it could gain in two ways: 1. Save money. 2. Reduce pollution. That is what an analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says. According to the study – ”Western Wind and Solar Integration Study” – if Western USA obtained 25% of its […]

The percentage of U.S. workers living from paycheck to paycheck has declined from 46% at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, to 36% today, CareerBuilder LLC reports. The figure for 2013 was four percentage points lower than in 2012 (40%). The survey, carried out by Harris Interactive, involved nearly 3,000 full-time, private sector […]