Page 12 - Thomas Simons News Today

Employers across the US are retaining employees during an economic slowdown, rather than resorting to layoffs, unlike previous years. Although economists question whether this strategy, dubbed “labour hoarding,” would be sustainable during a deep recession, some companies, such as railroad company Norfolk Southern, have adopted it as a method of ensuring staff are not lost during downturns and difficulty in rehiring.

Here are some initial reactions from economists and other analysts to the July jobs report that came out Friday.

Faced with the tightest job market in decades, many employers across the United States have become less trigger-happy with layoffs

The number of Americans who applied for jobless benefits rose slightly to 227,000 after falling to a 5-month low, offering more evidence that layoffs are low.

The Taylor Swift Effect has been real. The hugely popular singer-songwriter has boosted the economy in every city she’s stopped in. In my hometown of

Bond yields were mostly a touch lower on Wednesday as traders shrugged off a downgrade to the U.S. government's credit rating.

Questions are being raised about the extent to which foreign and domestic buyers can continue to keep up their demand for U.S. government debt.

Questions are being raised about the extent to which foreign and domestic buyers can continue to keep up their demand for U.S. government debt.

Throughout the Federal Reserve's drive to kill inflation, policymakers have focused on raising the benchmark overnight interest rate high enough to do the job and getting it there fast enough to keep the public from losing faith. The Fed last week raised its policy rate to the 5.25%-5.50% range, the 11th increase in the last 12 meetings.

In a summer where the resilient American consumer has become the dominant story of the US economy, Barbie and Taylor Swift have taken center stage for good reason.