Americans take stock of their finances
Only 28 percent of Americans think their financial situation will improve in the next year, according to a Marist College poll. Fifty-two percent believe they’ll be in roughly the same shape, and 20 percent fear they’ll be worse off.
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The new hot car color
The new trend in car colors is gray scale. Black, silver, and white cars make up 60 percent of new-car sales, up from 38 percent in the late 1990s.
The Wall Street Journal
Farm income rises
Net farm income in the U.S. was up 27 percent last year and is expected to rise another 20 percent this year, despite the sluggish growth of the economy in general. More-efficient growing techniques and increasing global demand for food have created a quiet boom in U.S. farm country, fueling predictions that farming will be a better path to riches than banking for the next generation.
Time
Small-business owners clock long hours
For 43 percent of small-business owners and managers, the workweek is frequently longer than 40 hours, and for 13 percent of them it’s often twice that long. Almost a third of small-business people work right through holidays, and 15 percent through dinner.
Inc.
China's exports set a record
China’s exports reached a record level of $874 billion in the first half of the year, 20 percent more than the country exported during the same period in 2010. The surge occurred despite the economic woes in its key U.S. and European markets and the dislocations caused by the tsunami in Japan.
The Wall Street Journal
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White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
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Trump BLS nominee floats ending key jobs reportSpeed Read On Fox News, E.J. Antoni suggested scrapping the closely watched monthly jobs report
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The bottom linefeature Sedentary habits keep rising; A new home for Twinkies; Taco Bell's new hit; Companies stretch the workweek; Women's wages still fall short
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The bottom line
feature Where to stash your cash; Facebook's tax refund; The value of old phones; The wealth of America's megabanks; Grateful alumni
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The bottom line
feature High cellphone taxes; Companies shore up pension funds; The bite of high gas prices; More dads stay home; Americans' scarce savings; Clorox sales hit a peak
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The bottom line
feature Taxi drivers with college degrees; Morgan Stanley's revealing nicknames; Sleep deprivation and lost productivity; A retreat for Barnes & Noble; Signs of a stabilizing economy
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The bottom line
feature Companies cut spending because of fiscal cliff; Administrative bloat and tuition costs; Market for new and existing homes improves; Annual federal deficit as share of GDP decreases; Federal rules for contracts get flouted
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The bottom line
feature No-growth small businesses; Swift sales for Taylor's new album; Predicting doctors' costs; Airlines face shortfall in qualified pilots; Will Japan slip into recession?
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The bottom line
feature Apple's corporate tax rate; A housing market still in the tank; Boeing's Dreamliner earns rave reviews; Billions owed in child support; Goldman Sachs trims its ranks
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The bottom line
feature No new jobs in August for small business; Lowest corn harvest in 17 years; Louboutin wins battle over red soles; The growing American lower class; U.S.'s competitive ranking drops; The expanding wealth gap