Economy

The Treasury Department is not ready to provide a detailed timeline for when the debt limit needs to be raised.

Matthew Rutherford, the Treasury's assistant secretary for financial markets, said Wednesday that there are still too many variables at play to determine how long the Treasury could avoid a default on obligations once it reaches its borrowing limit. Rather, he simply said the government would have "a period of time" to avoid default once the debt limit is re-established on May 19.

"There are a number of forecast factors, including the effect of higher tax rates on households earning more than $450,000 a year on estimated income tax payments, a strengthening economy, the impact of sequestration on the timing of outlays, the timing of other sizable cash flows, and other forecasting uncertainty which make it difficult to provide a precise estimate," he said.

Prediction: Fed to cut bond buying in fourth quarter.

Wall Street looks to block regulation on offshore derivative trading.

High-speed traders find a loophole lasting a millisecond.

Following Bangladesh, retailers seek to prevent similar disasters.

Google UK successfully lowers tax bill.

Private-sector employers added 119,000 jobs in April, below expectations and another indication that hiring is slowing through the spring. 

While last month's figure came in weaker than expected, March gains were revised down to 131,000 jobs from 158,000, according to the ADP's National Employment Report released on Wednesday. 

“Job growth appears to be slowing in response to very significant fiscal headwinds," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. 

"Tax increases and government spending cuts are beginning to hit the job market. Job growth has slowed across all industries and most significantly among companies that employ between 20 and 499 workers.”

Almost half the people in the U.S. have gone out of their way to purchase products made in the United States recently, according to a new poll from Gallup.

The 45 percent who did “buy American,” Gallup found, did so more for patriotic reasons than anything else. Fifty-four percent said they had made no extra effort recently to obtain U.S.-made products.

Of those who bought items made in the U.S., around a third each said their purchase was to support the country, or to help the American job market.

A federal court on Tuesday swatted down complaints from financial and tech giants who demanded a regulatory intervention by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on stock market fees.

Consumer confidence rebounded in April on the expectation of better wages and improving economic conditions. 

The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its monthly index increased to 68.1 from an upwardly revised 61.9 in March.

“However, consumers’ confidence has been challenged several times over the past few months by such events as the fiscal cliff, the payroll tax hike and the sequester," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. 

"While expectations appear to have bounced back, it is too soon to tell if confidence is actually on the mend.”

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U.S. home prices continue to surge, as nationwide home values have climbed the most in nearly seven years.

Home prices have climbed 9.3 percent in the 12 months leading up to February, according to the latest data from the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices, released Tuesday. Half of the 20 cities tracked by the index posted double-digit gains in that year, and every city is up at least 5 percent during that time, as the housing market continues to make a comeback.

“Home prices continue to show solid increases across all 20 cities. The 10- and 20-City Composites recorded their highest annual growth rates since May 2006,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Despite some recent mixed economic reports for March, housing continues to be one of the brighter spots in the economy."

As of February, home prices have returned to the levels seen in the fall of 2003. However, when compared to the peak seen in the summer of 2006, home values still linger roughly 30 percent below that high.

The government will pay off $35 billion in debt during the second quarter of 2013.

First lady Michelle Obama on Monday announced a partnership between the military and IT companies to help veterans more easily find jobs in the tech sector.

About 161,000 service members would gain the necessary certifications for 12 high-demand technology professions with the new program, according to the White House.

Obama has made helping veterans one of her signature issues through her Joining Forces program. In addition to announcing the IT Training and Certification Partnership, Monday's event was also designed to explore other areas where the hiring process can be eased for veterans.

Fed likely to stay the course this week on bond buying. Read more...