An estimated $449.64 billion was donated to charities in the United States in 2019, “placing it among the highest years ever for charitable giving,” according to Giving USA 2020: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2019. read more >
Two decades into the 21st century, it’s clear Arkansas’ national economic ranking has changed in a fundamental way. read more >
Retail sales rose strongly in September, the fifth straight month of growth, as Americans spent more on clothing, cars and sporting goods. read more >
The International Monetary Fund foresees a steep fall in international growth this year — the worst annual plunge since the Great Depression of the 1930s. read more >
The phenomenon of women being bulldozed by men is universal. I suspect it’s even more common than the #metoo experience of being sexually harassed (or much worse) in the workplace. read more >
The unemployment rate in Arkansas moved up slightly in August, to 7.4%, as it did in six of the state’s eight metro areas. Only Fort Smith and Texarkana posted declines between July and August. read more >
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to a still-high 840,000, evidence that job cuts remain elevated seven months into the pandemic recession. read more >
Strong financial support from the government and the Federal Reserve have spurred a solid recovery from the pandemic recession, but the rebound may falter without further aid, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warns. read more >
So much is going on that it’s hard to keep up. I avoid making predictions because I’m almost always wrong, so I’m going to comment on some things that have been sloshing around in my brain. read more >
A case could be made for retailers to think differently about "place" — channel and distribution, how their product is presented and delivered. read more >
The United States spent about $11,100 per person on health care in 2019, almost twice the $5,500 average of other developed countries, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation noted recently. read more >
State finance officials says September tax collections came in above 2 percent below the same month last year but 12% above forecast, with all major collection categories coming in ahead of expectations. read more >
The economy continues to improve in nine Midwest and Plains states, but business remains slower than before the coronavirus pandemic began, according to a monthly survey of business leaders released Thursday. read more >
U.S. construction spending increased 1.4% in August, led by a surge in single-family homes. read more >
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. read more >
More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in August, suggesting the hot U.S. housing market will continue to churn well into fall. read more >
The U.S. economy plunged at a record rate in the spring but is poised to swing to a record increase in the quarter that is just ending. read more >
U.S. consumer confidence rebounded more quickly in September than most economists had expected though they remain far from levels that were the norm before the pandemic struck. read more >
The solid growth that the United States enjoyed before the viral pandemic paralyzed the economy this spring failed to reduce racial disparities in Americans' income and wealth from 2016 through 2019, a Federal Reserve report says. read more >
In 2019, renewable energy consumption in the United States surpassed coal for the first time in more than 130 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. read more >
