New Zealand’s Trade Deficit Widened in December on Purchase of Boeing Jet - Bloomberg

New Zealand’s trade deficit widened in December, after the delivery of a commercial jet offset an increase in exports to a seven-month high.
The shortfall was NZ$250 million ($192 million) from NZ$186 million in November, Statistics New Zealand said today in Wellington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of nine economists was […]

Economy gains, but not enough to ease jobs crisis

The economy gained strength at the end of last year as Americans spent at the fastest pace in four years and U.S. companies sold more overseas.
The growth is boosting hopes for a stronger 2011. But it remains too weak to ease high unemployment.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that growth rose to an annual rate of […]

Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose Last Week to 454,000 - Bloomberg

More Americans than forecast filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, indicating it will take time for the labor market to mend.
Applications for jobless benefits increased by 51,000 to 454,000 in the week ended Jan. 22, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 405,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a […]

Yields Rise as Igarashi Says Japan’s Debt at Limit - Bloomberg

The biggest quarterly jump in Japanese government bond yields since 2008 may prompt policy makers to seek more foreign buyers for the nation’s debt.
“Japanese government debt is nearing its limit, and we need to find more places to sell government bonds, including overseas,” Vice Finance Minister Fumihiko Igarashi said in an interview in his […]

Verizon challenges FCC Net neutrality rules

Verizon filed a legal appeal on Thursday challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to enforce the new Net neutrality rules it adopted last month.
"We believe this assertion of authority goes well beyond any authority provided by Congress, and creates uncertainty for the communications industry, innovators, investors and consumers," Verizon senior vice president and deputy […]

Existing home sales jump 12%

Sales of existing homes jumped in December, marking the fifth month of gains in the past six months, based on an industry report released Thursday.
Previously-owned home sales climbed 12.3% in December to an annual rate of 5.28 million, from 4.70 million in November, according to the National Association of Realtors.
That puts sales at […]

Single-family home sales are edging up in St. Louis area

The region’s sluggish housing market perked up a bit in December, though not enough to turn around what has been a dismal year.
Sales of single-family houses in the 11-county St. Louis metro area climbed 5 percent compared with the same month the year before, driven largely by gains in St flexcheck cash advance. Charles County […]

American Express to cut 550 jobs in consolidation

American Express plans to close a service center in Greensboro, N.C. and eliminate 550 jobs.
The New York-based credit card company said Wednesday that work now handled in Greensboro will be transferred to other locations in the U.S. A broader consolidation plan also will transfer work from a center in Madrid, Spain, to sites in the […]

Towns in southeast Australia prepare for flooding

Knee-deep water inundated communities in southeastern Australia on Tuesday as electricity companies warned that further cuts there were likely if more power stations were submerged by floodwaters.
The floods reached into the state of Victoria at the weekend following weeks of flooding that ravaged Queensland to the north and swamped a major city.
In Victoria, the city […]

Australians grieve, search for more flood victims

Survivors of devastating Australian floods sought solace Sunday in church services while emergency workers searched through sodden wrecked homes for victims.
Three weeks of flooding across Australia’s northeast have left a vast territory underwater and caused 27 deaths, most of them from a flash flood that hit towns west of Brisbane on Monday. Fourteen people are […]