Economy Stalled In 4 th Quarter (1/30)
"The economy nearly stalled in the final quarter of last year with an annual growth rate of just 0.6 percent.” Examine the current annual rate of real GDP growth rate and assess if the economy is slipping into a recession (Rate). What was the U.S. Fed’s forecast for a recession 12 months ago (Forecast)? What steps are taken the by the Fed to minimize the recession risk (Release)?

Tax Rebates Seen As Economic Stimulus (1/18)
"With the economy's prospects growing bleaker seemingly by the day, politicians in both parties have rallied around the three Ts, the mantra that any stimulus package needs to be timely, targeted and temporary.” Examine the Conference Board’s latest announcement on the U.S. leading index measures (Index). Assess the current state of the economy (State)? Discuss if it is prudent for the government to inject stimulus to the economy (Stimulus).

Sprint Nextel To Cut 4,000 Jobs (1/18)
"For the fourth quarter Sprint Nextel reported a net gain of 500,000 subscribers… These gains were offset by net losses of 683,000 post-paid subscribers and 202,000 traditional pre-paid users.” Review the Sprint Nextel news release information on their fourth quarter performance. Discuss why Sprint Nextel is cutting its operating costs by eliminating thousands of jobs (Costs). Examine how Spring Nextel has performed against its competitors during the past few years (See Table 4.1). Assess how Sprint Nextel stock has performed during the same period (See 5Y Chart).

Consumer Inflation Up 4.1% In ‘07 (1/16)
"Higher costs for energy and food pushed inflation up by the largest amount in 17 years in 2007, the fourth quarter Sprint Nextel reported a net gain of 500,000 subscribers…” Survey the recent CPI measures (CPI) and discuss if inflation is a real threat to the economy today. Compare the CPI measures with their “core” measures which exclude energy and food (Core). Discuss why the Federal Reserve pays more attention to core measures. What may happen to the core measures if commodity prices continue to increase in the coming periods (Prices)? Examine how inflation can affect individuals in a different way (Video).

Trade Deficit Surged To The Highest Level In 14 Months (1/11)
"The U.S. trade deficit in November surged to the highest level in 14 months, reflecting record imports of foreign oil.” Examine how the nation’s international goods and services deficit increased in November (Deficit). Discuss how rising crude oil prices may be affecting the U.S. trade deficit (Prices). What about the trade balance with China (Deficit)? Assess the up-to-the-second trade deficit and discuss its potential effects on the economy (Deficit & Analysis)?

The Faltering Economy Is Now Top Concern (1/11)
" The faltering economy has caught the Iraq war as people's top worry, a national poll suggests…” Examine how the faltering economy may be affecting the level of consumer sentiment and confidence (Sentiment & Confidence). How may the current employment condition be affecting the level of confidence (Condition)? Why do leading economists urge the administration and the congress for conduct fiscal stimulus (Stimulus)? Discuss which stimulus – spending vs. tax cut – approach may be more effective in the short run to jump start the economic performance (Analysis).

Job Market Suggests Recession (1/04)
"While still low by historical standards, today's report that the unemployment rate rose to 5.0 percent is disappointing. So now is not the time to raise taxes on workers and employers.” Examine the December Employment Situation Summary update (Summary). Discuss how the employment data may have “renewed fears of a recession” (Analysis). Why do monthly unemployment rates increase during a recession (Rates)? Discuss how a broad set of employment situation indicators in the Employment Situation Summary update suggest the weakening economy (Data).

Economic Reports Give A Mixed Picture (1/03)
"Economic reports presented a mixed picture Thursday, and did little to ease worries about the strength of the economy.” Examine the past week’s unemployment insurance weekly claims data and assess where the economy may be headed in 2008 (Data). What direction is the economy may be headed based on November new orders for manufactured goods (Orders)? Survey quarterly Gross Domestic Product data and discuss why GDP data may not be a reliable leading indicator of the economic performance (Data)? Survey what leading economists are forecasting at this time (Forecast).

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