AP - More banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages and other consumer and business loans as a deepening credit crisis exerts a heavier toll on the economy.
AP - The efficiency of America's workers grew at a slightly slower pace in the spring as companies sought to produce more with leaner work forces. Workers' compensation growth slowed, too.
AP - Consumers — fortified by the government's rebate checks — boosted their borrowing in June at the fastest pace in seven months. -- read full article
AP - The nation's jobs market sent a fresh cry of distress as the number of newly laid off people unexpectedly hit the highest level in more than six years, a Labor Department report showed Thursday.
AP - Venezuela's annual inflation climbed to 33.7 percent in July in metropolitan Caracas, but slowed its pace as price controls on food were eased and supply increased, the Central Bank said Thursday. -- read full article
AP - Government data due out Thursday is expected to show that the number of newly laid off people filing claims for jobless benefits went down last week after spiking to a five-year high. -- read full article
AP - The outlook for the back-to-school shopping season looked grim Thursday, as retailers' July sales reports showed an increasing shift toward buying necessities like food and household supplies at discounters and away from discretionary splurges on clothing.
AP - The European Central Bank and the Bank of England left their benchmark interest rates unchanged Thursday under conflicting pressure from higher inflation and mounting concern about growth. -- read full article
AP - The nation's jobs market sent a fresh cry of distress as the number of newly laid off people unexpectedly hit the highest level in more than six years, a Labor Department report showed Thursday.
AP - South Korea's central bank said Thursday it raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to cope with spiraling inflation. -- read full article
AP - A key barometer of corporate capital spending fell for the first time in three months in June, indicating Japanese businesses are feeling the pinch of a sputtering global economy. -- read full article
AP - The European Central Bank and Bank of England will likely leave interest rates unchanged Thursday, as both banks consider how to steer their economies away from mounting inflation and slowing growth. -- read full article
