Business
Retail Sales Slid In March
WASHINGTON (UPI) — Retail and food service sales dropped 0.4 percent to $418.3 billion February to March, the U.S. Census Bureau said Friday. Sales for the month were 2.8 percent higher than March 2012. But economists were surprised by the month-to-month drop. The consensus forecast called for sales to break even after they rose 1 […]
Producer Prices Slipped In March
WASHINGTON (UPI) — The U.S. Producer Price Index for finished goods dropped 0.6 percent in March, coming in lower than expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had expected a drop of 0.2 percent for the prices producers receive for finished goods. The decline, which comes after a 0.7 percent gain in February, […]
Small Business Poll: Tax Loopholes Should Go
WASHINGTON (UPI) — A large majority of U.S. small business owners oppose the loophole-oriented tax rules that give big breaks to the biggest firms, a poll indicated Friday. The poll sponsored by The Main Street Alliance and the American Sustainable Business Council found more than four out of five respondents indicated they were opposed to […]
U.S. Housing Market Showing Signs Of Bubbles
LOS ANGELES (UPI) — Online real estate firm Redfin.com said the U.S. housing market shows signs of bubbles in certain locations due to prices climbing faster than incomes. In Los Angeles, for example, the home prices to incomes ratio is now 26 percent higher than it was thirteen years ago. In addition, “so many people […]
Researchers Say Wearing Bra ‘False Necessity’
BESANCON, France (UPI) — French researchers say bras do little to support women’s breasts and may actually cause more harm than going braless. Professor Jean-Denis Rouillon of Besancon University and a team of researchers studied the anatomy of 330 women during a 15-year period and have come to the conclusion bras are not necessary, The […]
Study: Music Heard For The First Time ‘Lights Up’ Brain Reward Center
MONTREAL (UPI) — Listening to music that’s new to the listener is rewarding for the brain, a team of Canadian researcher says. MRI scans of volunteers in experiments showed the reward center of their brains became activated when they heard a song for the first time. The more the volunteers said they enjoyed the music […]
McDonald’s Says Service Needs Fixing
OAK BROOK, Ill., (UPI) — McDonald’s Corp. executives said they would focus on improving the service at restaurants where complaints about unfriendly staff have been on the rise. In a recent webcast for executives and franchise owners, the fast-food giant said one out of every five customer complaints is about the service, and that ratio […]
First-Time Jobless Claims Drop By 42,000
WASHINGTON, (UPI) — The U.S. Labor Department said first-time jobless benefits claims dropped by 42,000 to 346,000 in the week that ended last Saturday. The drop erases much of the gains of the past three weeks when claims rose by 49,000. The department revised last week’s initial claims figure from 385,000 to 388,000. The four-week […]
Foreclosure Starts Rose In March
IRVINE, Calif., (UPI) — U.S. foreclosure starts rose in March for the second consecutive month, but bank repossessions dropped, online real estate tracking firm RealtyTrac said. Foreclosure starts in March rose in 23 states and were higher on a 12-month basis in a dozen states, led by New York, where starts rose 200 percent on […]
Bosses Are OK, Despite Odd Requests
CHICAGO, (UPI) — U.S. bosses make some odd requests but most workers give them top marks anyway, a survey released Thursday by CareerBuilder indicated. Bosses are prone to asking employees to perform tasks that are not in job descriptions, the survey found. Among the off-the-page requests, employees said they were asked to be ready to […]
You can opt-out at any time. We protect your information like a mother hen. We will not sell or rent your email address to anyone for any reason.
