Four years after the onset of the financial crisis — in March 2008 Bear Stearns was rescued from failure — we still lack a clear understanding of the underlying causes. Hundreds of studies and books have given us an increasingly detailed picture of what happened without conclusively answering why. Conventional wisdom has advanced competing theories: Wall Street types took too many risks, encouraged by lax government regulation; or pro-homeownership policies eroded mortgage-lending standards and created the housing bubble.
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Long-term understanding of the U.S. economic crisis
March - 19 - 2012
Jobless claims rise but labor market healing
December - 29 - 2011
New claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but the underlying trend continued to point to improving labor market conditions.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 381,000, the Labor Department said. The prior week’s claims data was revised up to 366,000 from the previously reported 364,000.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 375,000. A Labor Department official said that because of a public holiday on Monday, claims from seven states – including California and Virginia – had been estimated.
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U.S. economy may finally be back on track as Dow jumps 490 points
December - 1 - 2011
The dark clouds over the U.S. economy may finally be parting.
It wasn’t just the Dow’s 490-point jump to post its biggest one-day gain since March 2009.
Spend-happy holiday shoppers, an improving job market, and continued manufacturing growth all indicate things are on the right track, economists said.
“The fact that we seem to be gathering some momentum right now, that’s incredibly encouraging,” said Omair Sharif, a U.S. economist at RBS Securities.
Private companies created far more jobs than expected in November, which may bode well for Friday’s more comprehensive jobs report from the government.
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U.S. economy grows 2.5% in third quarter
October - 27 - 2011
The nation’s economy gained some much-needed strength in the third quarter, as the pace of growth nearly doubled compared to the previous three months.
The nation’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of its economic health, grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the quarter after adjusting for inflation. That’s up from the disappointing 1.3 percent growth in the second quarter and the anemic 0.4 percent pace in the first three months of the year.
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