WASHINGTON (AP) — Fears that the economic recovery is fizzling grew Thursday after the government and private sector issued weak reports on a number of fronts. Unemployment claims are up, home sales are plunging without government incentives and manufacturing growth is slowing. Meanwhile, 1.3 million people are without federal jobless benefits now that Congress adjourned […]

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Data from Maine-chartered banks and credit unions shows another increase in the number of people losing their homes to completed foreclosures. But the first quarter numbers released this week by Bureau of Financial Institutions Superintendent Lloyd LaFountain also contain some good news: The inventory of mortgage loans in foreclosure declined and […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped last week after three straight declines, another sign that the pace of layoffs has not slowed. Initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the highest level in a […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Home construction plunged last month and building permits also fell, the latest signs that the construction industry won’t fuel the economic recovery. Builders are scaling back now that government incentives have expired. The biggest evidence of that trend: single-family homes fell 17 percent, the largest monthly drop since January 1991. The struggle […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economic recovery gained strength on the biggest rise in construction spending in nearly a decade and the 10th straight month of expansion for the manufacturing sector. Temporary government incentives fueled most of the construction spending increases in April. Industry spending rose 2.7 percent with gains in all major sectors, the Commerce […]