William Sluis

AT RETAIL Spending sputters When the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates to a rock-bottom 1.25 percent, as policy-makers did last week, it is supposed to set off a buying frenzy...

FEDERAL RESERVE In a tough spot Members of the Federal Reserve are faced with a dilemma when they talk about the economy. Never wanting to adopt a tone of gloom,...

EMPLOYMENT Struggling sector When economists weigh the current expansion, which is nearly a year old, they note that the situation remains quite dismal for job seekers, compared with other economic...

HOME SALES Under a million An unexpected spike in mortgage interest rates may soon cast another shadow over one of the residential construction industry's most cherished but elusive goals: single-family...

RETAIL SALES Autos downshift Economists have been quick to shunt aside suggestions that the current rut in the road will deepen, leaving Americans mired in a double-dip recession. For one...

EMPLOYMENT DATA Static conditions As the economy trudges forward in minuscule steps, critics are quick to blame businesses, which are wary of hiring workers, adding new equipment or building factories....

HOMES Still going up The booming market for new homes has kept millions of workers on the move, not to mention thousands of truckloads of lumber, furniture and appliances. Buyers...

RETAIL SALES Consumers weary In the months since the economy began to lose momentum after a euphoric year 2000, the American consumer has carried an enormous load for sectors falling...

EMPLOYMENT DATA Hiring still on hold For more than a month, Americans have been puzzling over reports that the economy hit a wall--or was it a speed bump?--in midsummer. The...

RETAIL SALES Back to shopping? With school bells ringing and campus doors swinging open all over the land, this is the season when Americans rev up their zest for buying....