GDP

On Tuesday, the Canadian dollar rallied against its US counterpart, gaining just over 0.3% against the US dollar. The trade may have been fueled more by weakness on the part of the US dollar as opposed to secular Canadian dollar strength. The US dollar index fell just over 0.25% in the early...

On Friday morning, the University of Michigan's consumer confidence figure was released. The figure came in at 67.7, higher than the 65.8 the Street was expecting, and up from the prior reading of 64.1. This represented a six-month high. US equity futures rallied on Friday, as the Dow Jones...

A black swan event, developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book The Black Swan, is a metaphor that explains in logical hindsight the reasoning to an unexpected event which has a major impact on society but should have been foreseen. Developed nations saw a black swan event – the 2007-2008...

Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) reported third quarter earnings last night that absolutely blew out estimates, and shares are motoring along today up more than 7%. The Virginia-based railroad company reported third quarter earnings of $1.59 per share on $2.89 billion in revenues. Wall Street...

The advance look at third quarter GDP was just released, and it came in as expected. Economists expected a reading of 2.5%, and it came in at 2.5%. The reading was sharply higher than the 1.3% in the second quarter. Initial and continuing claims were also released. Initial claims came in at...

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore's gross domestic product rose by 1.3% in the third quarter. Economists were expecting a rise of 0.7% versus the previous three months.

Consider these questions: How long will foreigners be funding our debt? Will the massive debt stifle future growth? How much is too much debt? According to Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff in The 90% Rule (Bloomberg Businessweek, July 18-24, 2011) international research suggests that...

The last time the S&P 500 traded this low was on September 16, 2010.The difference between then and now, is that back then the market was in the middle of a sustained rally - now it is in the middle of a sustained selloff. The S&P 500 (SPX) finished Monday's session down 79.92 points (6....

It's no secret that the four BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China are growing their economies like weeds. When Jim O'Neill first created the group in 2001, much of their growth stories were still unknown. Today, a quick Google search and investors can find hundreds of stories about the...

India's gross domestic product (GDP) increased 7.8% in the January to March quarter from the year ago period. Economists were expecting GDP to rise 8.2% in the recent quarter. Growth for the October to December quarter was revised up to 8.3% versus previous estimate of 8.2%. India's Sensex...

According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland's first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.3% from the fourth quarter and 2.4% year-over-year. Switzerland's private consumption increased 0.2% from the fourth quarter. Consumption spending on food and clothing...

The final revision to fourth quarter GDP was just released and it came in at , versus expectations of 3.0%. This is revised up from the prior reading of 2.8%. After the release of the numbers, futures are modestly higher. Dow futures are up 30 points, S&P futures are up 4 points, and Nasdaq...

What does Warren Buffett think of Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC)? Why did he pull out of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)? Is Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in trouble? Buffett answered these questions and much, much more during his three-hour interview with CNBC this morning. Addressing The Wells Fargo Controversy...

“We have a situation in congress where we have a 10% deficit in terms of GDP,” Buffett told CNBC this morning. “Inflation is the ultimate tax; it taxes people who don't know they're being taxed. It taxes people who believe in paper money. It's not the way the government should behave, but it is the...

The final revision for third quarter GDP was just released, and it was a bit of a disappointment, showing a reading of 2.6% growth, versus expectations of 2.7%. The prior reading was 2.5%, so GDP was revised up, but not as much as economists had expected. The rise was mainly attributed to a rise in...