ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region contracted in January, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday. It was the 13th month of contraction in the last 14 months.

The U.S. economy weakened across almost all regions at the end of last year, hurt by a lack of credit and declines in retail sales, the Federal Reserve reported.

Initial jobless claims rose last week by 54,000 claims, to 524,000 for the week ended Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Business inventories fell 0.7% in November, the third consecutive month of decline, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

World trade has declined sharply in the last few months, which will make it harder for countries to pull themselves out of the global recession, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Retail sales plunged more than twice as forecast in December, falling 2.7% from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

If you wanted to shore up a beleaguered industry, would you do it by creating a new threat? Of course not, but that’s exactly what some U.S. policymakers seem ready to do to the already devastated U.S. trucking industry.