The percentage of people who own a home in the United States is down to levels not seen since the 1960s. Some say the problem is a shortage of first-time buyers. Is owning a home, the so-called American Dream, becoming a thing of the past? Probably not, but it appears …
Read More »Local gas prices drop
Gasoline prices in the Inland Empire remained below $4 a gallon this week but still remained well above where they were one month ago. The average price of a regular gallon of gasoline in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area this week was $3.94, down about 13 cents from the previous …
Read More »Inland manufacturing stays strong
Roy Paulson, owner and president of Paulson Manufacturing Corp. in Temecula, doesn’t hold back when asked how his business is going. “Right now, it’s as good as it can get,” said Paulson, whose company makes protective goggles and facial shields used by engineers and law enforcement. “We’re working 24 hours …
Read More »Filings for jobless benefits are up
The number of U.S. residents who filed for first-time unemployment benefits went up last week. Initial claims for state jobless benefits increased approximately 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 267,000 for last week, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Claims for the previous week – 255,000 …
Read More »Retail outlook no longer so positive
Retail might not perform as well in 2015 as first expected. The National Retail Federation originally predicted sales would grow 4.1 percent this year compared with 2014, but Wednesday it lowered that estimate to 3.5 percent, citing “unexpected” slow economic growth during the first quarter. The federation calculated that sales …
Read More »Back-to-school spending expected to drop slightly
Mom and Dad will apparently scale back their back-to-school spending this year. The average family with children in grades K-12 plans to spend $630 on clothing, electronics and other school needs this year, down from nearly $670 in 2014 according to the National Retail Federation’s Back-to-School Spending Survey for 2015. …
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