US new home construction rebounded in April, suggesting that the troubled sector is turning around. Housing starts rose 2.6 per cent over the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000, while March’s figures were revised higher to 699,000,

Andrea Stautberg, 27, and her husband James wanted to buy a house after finishing graduate school in 2009. But in the face of a tough economic climate, uncertain job prospects and $115,000 in student loan payments, the couple instead decided to save

US wholesalers increased their stock at the slowest pace in four months in March as companies ensured that stockpiles stayed in line with demand. Inventories rose 0.3 per cent, according to Department of Commerce data, compared with expectations of

Download or listen to the latest episodes from a selection of regular podcasts from our expert commentators and writers from the Financial Times, from Martin Wolf to the FT Money Show.

US small business owners were the most confident they had been for a year in April, with companies increasing recruitment and spending plans even as concerns remain about the health of the US economy. The National Federation of Independent Business’s

French and Greek elections weighed on the euro on Monday as investors worried about the countries’ ability to implement a series of austerity measures aimed at containing the region’s debt crisis. The single currency touched a three-month low

US jobs data are once more destined to define market sentiment at the end of a week that will also feature monetary policy decisions for the eurozone and by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Friday’s non-farm payroll report from Washington is likely to

The economic debate dominating the 2012 US presidential campaign has drawn two of the profession’s giants into a pointed exchange over Barack Obama’s budget plans. The battle of the economic minds has set Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Business

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell slightly last week but missed analysts’ expectations, while the previous week’s numbers were revised upwards, tempering positive sentiment about the US jobs market. Initial claims for jobless

Like dogs kicked again and again in exactly the same circumstances, watchers of the US economy have become hypersensitive about the spring. Early 2010 and 2011 were both marked by what seemed to be the start of a robust economic recovery. In both