William Sluis

SPENDING GAUGE Still some buyers While some Americans clip grocery coupons and live in fear of wage cuts or layoffs, many consumers continue to fire up spending. A stream of...

JOB MARKET Labor outlook lags Although the economic backdrop has been brightening as worries about Iraq continue to recede, there is one area that stubbornly continues to lag behind. The...

UNCERTAIN MOOD Slowly improving For months, complaints were rife that the outlook for the future was murky. The operative word was uncertainty. Whenever consumers were asked about their mood, they...

GROWTH WEATHER VANE Mood begins to lift Trying to discern the future is always fraught with uncertainties, but rarely has the outlook been as murky as in recent months. Perhaps...

CONSUMER SPENDING Sales chug along The dual personality of American consumers enables them to tell surveyors their confidence is near recession levels while they rush off to the stores and...

Last year was hardly a great 12 months for corporate profits or stock market returns. But it wasn't all that bad for many chief executives. A number of CEOs in...

FEDERAL RESERVE 4 more years? With much fanfare and considerable concern, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan underwent prostate surgery late last month, as President Bush told the world that the...

JOB MARKET `Cost-cutters rule' As the heavy fog of war continues to lift, speculation is rife about whether the economy, which has been operating at a ho-hum pace, will finally...

POISED FOR GROWTH Negatives fading As war in Iraq fades from the headlines, optimists are saying the economy is poised on the launching pad, ready for liftoff. By midsummer, if...