By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
To John LaRue, the renaissance in U.S. manufacturing is no dream. It's already here.
The nation's unemployment rate dropped to a four-year low of 7.7 percent last month as job growth accelerated to 236,000, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.
U.S. economic growth unexpectedly ground to a halt at the end of last year, falling from a healthy 3.1 percent gain in the summer to a 0.1 percent contraction in the final quarter, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
It was the tax cut that nobody noticed two years ago. And it was rarely mentioned in the fight between Congress and the White House last year over the expiring Bush-era tax cuts. But this month, the payroll-tax cut suddenly registered on everybody's radar screen — when it went away.
The fiscal cliff put a choke hold on the economy in December, according to a survey of business confidence, and many small companies expect it to get worse in the foreseeable future.
While Washington wrestles with the nation's burgeoning budget deficits, some good news has emerged on the other deficit front: The nation's bloated trade deficit appears to be turning the corner, with at least one prominent economist predicting it will disappear altogether within a decade.
From purchases and prices to builder sentiment and construction, the U.S. housing market is making consistent gains.
Energy industry specialists are warning that Maryland may miss out on the national economic boom generated by the natural-gas drilling process known as fracking if the state approves a new bill to impose a moratorium while its environmental effects are studied.
This month's arrest of a deposed Kyrgyz president's son in London has generated speculation the he could become a bargaining chip in negotiations over a U.S. military base in this Central Asian country.
Last week's arrest of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's son in London has generated speculation the he could become a bargaining chip in negotiations over a U.S. military base in this Central Asian country.
U.S. builders started construction on homes in September at the fastest rate since July 2008 and made plans to build even more homes in the coming months. The gains show the housing recovery is strengthening and could help the economy grow.
The U.S. economy is getting a boost from the awakening of long-slumbering sectors such as housing and local government, even as previously strong sectors such as exports and business investments decline.
A spate of data Thursday painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy: Demand for long-lasting manufactured goods fell and slightly fewer people signed contracts to buy homes. At the same time, the job market looked a little better.
U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs in August, a tepid figure that points to the economy's persistent weakness and slowing prospects for the unemployed.
The Kyrgyz parliament approved a new coalition government this week, choosing a prime minister lawmakers hope will be able to soothe the volatile nation's glaring north-south political divide while holding together the shaky alliances of the new administration.
