Charlie Herman

The Labor and Commerce departments have released their latest economic reports.

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After three weeks of declines, the Labor Department reported that the number of people filing claims for unemployment benefits jumped by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 472,000. The news has economists worried that employers are not hiring people as much as ...

BP and the Gulf oil crisis are expected to be at the forefront of the news once again this week. President Obama will visit Alabama, Mississippi and Florida today and tomorrow, and address the nation when he gets back to Washington on Tuesday. 

BP's top executives will face Congressional hearings, including BP America chief Lamar McKay. Other oil industry executives – from Exxon, Chevron, Shell, and Conoco – are scheduled to sit before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Tuesday. The other oil companies are expected to try to distance themselves from BP by saying that this incident was preventable and that something like this would never happen on their watch.

BP station in SoHo (Photo by Kate Hinds)

Angry at BP? Thinking of boycotting BP-branded gas stations but worried you might end up only hurting the little guys?

For the second month in a row, the number of homeowners receiving a foreclosure filing fell compared to the previous month.

New York, NY —

For the second month in a row, the number of homeowners receiving a foreclosure filing fell compared to the previous month. According to the online foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings declined 3 percent in May compared to April. Compared to a year ago, foreclosure ...

The Federal Trade Commission announced on Monday that Countrywide Financial, now owned by Bank of America, will pay $108 million to settle charges that it collected excessive fees from homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages. The settlement represents the largest for the FTC in a mortgage servicing case. The money will be used to reimburse homeowners who had their loans serviced by Countrywide prior to Bank of America buying the company in July 2008.

This week is all about "angst," says Takeaway economics editor Charles Hermann. Politically, it's about "watching the women," says Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich. Those are the terms setting the agenda for this week, as we look ahead at news on the economic impact of the oil spill and whether anti-incumbent fever will affect Tuesday's primary elections.

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The Federal Trade Commission announced today that Countrywide Financial, now owned by Bank of America, will pay $108 million to settle charges that it collected excessive fees from homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages. The settlement represents the largest for the FTC in a mortgage ...

The government reported that 431,000 jobs were created in May, but most of those were temporary census employees. While the positive numbers marked the fifth month in a row of jobs created versus lost, the number of private sector jobs fell far below what economists had expected.

The Labor Department released new jobs numbers on Friday that revealed a spike in temporary employment in May, and a lag in private sector hiring

New York, NY —

The U.S. Department of Labor released new jobs numbers on Friday that revealed a spike in temporary employment in May, and a lag in private sector hiring. The government reported 431,000 jobs entered the market last month, but just 41,000 of them were in the ...

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Auto sales in May rose sharply compared to year ago, thanks in large measure to an easy comparison. Recall that a year ago, the economy was in a severe recession and General Motors and Chrysler were days away from filing for bankruptcy, factories were shutting ...

Financial regulatory reform will likely be signed into law this summer, months before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission wraps up its investigation on the causes of the crisis.

Home sales beat expectations in April, in part due to a now-expired homebuyer tax credit and low mortgage rates. Sales of previously owned homes rose 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million, according to a report out this week by the National Association of Realtors. And mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest point so far this year, according to loan giant Freddie Mac. So is the housing market finally recovering?

Let’s see. Yesterday, stock markets traded in positive territory throughout the day. But then, suddenly in the last hour, markets dropped sharply, and the Dow closed below the 10,000 mark for the first time since this February. The Dow has lost 11 percent since April 26, when it hit a high of 11,205. Now, the Dow is definitely in “correction” territory.

But this morning, the markets completely reversed course and shot up at the start of the trading. We’ll have to wait to see if the better mood holds throughout the day.

All this activity begs the question: What’s moving the markets? Before getting to the specifics of the day on Wall Street, check out this report from WNYC’s Lisa Chow, which examines why the markets have been on such a wild ride recently. One reason, she suggests, is that it’s all in your head.

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Let’s see. Yesterday, stock markets traded in positive territory throughout the day. But then, suddenly in the last hour, markets dropped sharply, and the Dow closed below the 10,000 mark for the first time since this February. The Dow has lost 11 percent since April ...

New York, NY —

Stocks

Stock markets rallied in morning trading after reports that new home sales and durable goods orders rose more than expected.

Thanks Europe! Low Mortgage Rates Lead to Surge in Refinancing

Interest rates on Treasury bonds have fallen to the lowest levels this year as investors around the ...

Thanks to a generous tax credit aimed at first-time homebuyers, sales of existing homes in April rose significantly above expectations. But with that same credit expiring at the end of April, analysts worry about a drop in sales in the months ahead.

“The government incentives to buy homes worked,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist with Naroff Economic Advisors, “but who knows where we go from here.”

It's Monday, which means it's time to take a look at the week ahead. Marcus Mabry, associate national editor for The New York Times, and Charles Herman, The Takeaway and WNYC's economics editor look at what almost 200 American officials headed to China for meetings today and tomorrow, can expect.  On the docket will be topics ranging from trade to Iran and North Korea.