AFP - US consumer confidence plunged to a 16-year low in May amid a stuttering economy and as surging oil prices pushed inflation expectations to an all-time high, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
AFP - Sales of new homes in the United States rose an unexpected 3.3 percent in April from the prior month, to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 526,000 homes, a government report showed Tuesday.
Reuters - U.S. stocks were slightly higher on
Tuesday as lower oil prices dragged down shares of energy
companies while lifting airlines and data showed a mixed
picture of the housing sector.
AFP - The dollar held on to early gains against the euro here Tuesday, drawing strength from lower oil prices and as the market shrugged off a weak reading on US consumer confidence.
AP - Sales of new homes rose in April for the first time in six months although the unexpected increase still left activity near the lowest level in 17 years.
AP - Soaring gas prices and weakening job prospects left shoppers gloomier about the economy in May, sending a key barometer of consumer sentiment to its lowest level in almost 16 years.
AP - Wall Street moved higher in uncertain trading Tuesday as investors sifted through a mix of economic data: a government report that showed the first gain in new home sales in six months and a disappointing reading on consumer confidence.
Reuters - Prices of single-family homes
plunged a record 14.4 percent in March from a year earlier,
while consumer confidence slumped to its lowest in 16 years in
May as gasoline prices surged.
Reuters - Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan
Greenspan was quoted on Tuesday as saying the United States was
still more likely than not to have a recession despite relative
stabilization in the economy in recent weeks.
Reuters - The majority of small business owners
think the U.S. economy is getting worse, though sentiment
showed some improvement in May from its recent lows, according
to a survey released on Tuesday.
AFP - A recession in the United States remains a probability, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said in an interview published on Tuesday.
AP - Soaring fuel prices are proving to be a pain for most people in the country, but they may have helped save the jobs of hundreds of workers in North Dakota's oldest town.
AFP - Iran plans to hike domestic gas prices in order to encourage consumers to conserve and to help to free up supplies for export, officials said on Saturday.
