Economy News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped last month to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years, but a fall in an economic activity gauge was a reminder recovery from recession would be patchy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday it was reviewing options to spur economic activity and job creation, but stressed any action would be taken in the context of the fiscal challenges facing the country.

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa. - New Jersey's governor-elect and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell met for the first time since the election on Monday and seemed optimistic about working together.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers struggling to make ends meet during the recession are clamoring for change in how lawmakers in the state capital Albany conduct business, according to a survey released on Monday.

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Monday:

DETROIT - The U.S. auto industry will recover only a little next year, weighed down by high unemployment and other troubles that will continue to limit economic growth, a top industry analyst said Monday.

NEW YORK - The safe-haven dollar began the week lower as a Federal Reserve official urged the continuation of stimulus programs and as home sales in October greatly exceeded market expectations, revving up traders' taste for higher-yielding assets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in October at a faster-than-expected pace to the highest in more than 2-1/2 years as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit, a survey showed on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday urged Americans to show patience over the economy and argued that his just-concluded Asia trip was critical for U.S. exports, countering criticism he had returned empty-handed.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The worst of US job losses are expected to be over by March 2010 as the economic grows after a long recession, a poll of business economists showed Monday.

New York (Reuters) - Sales of existing U.S. homes likely rose for a second consecutive month in October, reaching their highest since July 2007, according to a Reuters poll, as buyers scrambled to take advantage of greater affordability and a first-time home buyer tax credit.

ALBANY, N.Y. - The recession may be easing, but the urgent need to feed New York's hungry is still sharp.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said on Monday its gauge of the national economy fell further into negative territory in October, in a report that suggested the economic recovery could be in trouble.

HONOLULU - A joint panel of the Hawaii Legislature will examine the use of federal economic stimulus money in the state departments of health and human services.

LONDON - The international economy is still fragile and vulnerable to shocks despite recent improvements in financial markets, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund said Monday.

LONDON (Reuters) - The global economy is in a holding pattern and vulnerable to more upheaval, and a lasting recovery will depend on policymakers taking the proper steps in coming months, the head of the IMF said on Monday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Gov. Don Carcieri's administration has failed for months to spend $20 million meant to insulate poor people's homes against the winter chill and put unemployed people to work during one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression.

LONDON (AFP) - The dollar slid against the euro on Monday on concerns that the Federal Reserve may keep emergency stimulus measures in place for a while longer, helping push gold prices to a record high level.

PARIS (Reuters) - Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans expects U.S. unemployment to peak at around 10.5 percent next spring and hopefully easing to about 9.5 percent by end-2010, according to comments published on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. business economists boosted their forecast for economic growth over the next year, but said the jobless rate will remain stubbornly high, a survey released on Monday showed.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Leading Indian outsourcers such as Tata Consultancy , Infosys and Wipro stand to gain contracts worth about $1 billion in the next one or two years as U.S. banks emerge from the troubled asset relief program, the Economic Times reported on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior Federal Reserve official said on Sunday the central bank should keep alive its mortgage-related assets purchase program beyond a planned end-date to give policy-makers more flexibility as they help the economy recover from a painful recession.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks could sputter this week as volumes dry up in holiday-shortened trading and with a slew of economic reports likely to illustrate the recovery is still fragile.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has voiced confidence that the US economy will make a strong recovery and poured cold water on talk of dropping the dollar as the key global currency.

WASHINGTON - As if small businesses needed another reason not to hire, consider their latest financial burden: The cost of rising unemployment itself.

DETROIT - The U.S. government resettled Mazen Alsaqa in Massachusetts in February. Within a month, the Iraqi refugee moved to Michigan.

WASHINGTON - A leading Democratic senator says the proposed health care overhaul must pass the Senate by the end of the year, so that lawmakers can begin to concentrate on the economy and job creation.

CHANTILLY, Virginia (AFP) - Recession-stoked fears of rising crime and tougher gun laws under a Democratic government are sending US gun sales sky high, and big crowds at the Chantilly Gun Show this weekend proved it once again.