ECONOMY

A notice in a store window in New York City announces a retail job opening. Now that unemployment has slipped below 6 percent, there's renewed interest in what the Federal Reserve's target for joblessness should be.

Drop In Unemployment Raises Debate On Optimal Rate

6:26pm October 17, 2014

by Jim Zarroli

Now that unemployment has slipped below 6 percent, there's renewed interest in what the Federal Reserve's target for joblessness should be. Some economists worry that inflation will resurface.

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Fiesta settings are displayed at the Homer Laughlin China Co. showroom at the company's headquarters in Newell, W.Va. The line currently has 15 colors.

Economy

W.Va. Pottery Company Keeps Popular Fiesta Line Thriving

11:20am October 17, 2014

by Linda Wertheimer

Homer Laughlin China Co. has been making the brightly colored Fiesta dishes for decades at its factory on the banks of the Ohio River. And it's still going strong.

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Why Has There Been So Much Turmoil In Financial Markets Lately?

8:53am October 17, 2014

To examine the turn global stock markets took this week, Linda Wertheimer talks to David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center at the Brookings Institution and a Wall Street Journal contributor.

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The Most Common Jobs For The Rich, Middle Class And Poor

4:38pm October 16, 2014

by Quoctrung Bui

What do people up and down the income ladder do for work?

Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi, shown in Kuwait last month, has played down the drop in oil prices. The country continues to pump oil at high levels, saying it wants to preserve its market share. But this has also contributed to a 25 percent dr

As Oil Prices Fall, Who Wins And Who Loses?

2:47pm October 16, 2014

by Greg Myre

Prices are down 25 percent since June, unleashing ripples around the globe that range from lower gas prices in the U.S. to budget problems in Russia to political pressures in the Middle East.

Crude Oil Prices Drop As Saudis Refuse To Cut Production

12:32pm October 16, 2014

by Jeff Brady

The price of oil is down and continues to drop. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to thank, in part, for the lower prices at the pump as it fights to keep its place in the market.

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An Amazon.com employee walks down one of the miles of aisles at an Amazon.com Fulfillment Center in Phoenix.

Amazon To Hire 80,000 Holiday Workers

7:44am October 16, 2014

by Doreen McCallister

An increase in customer demand is prompting Amazon to add 14 percent more temporary workers this holiday season than it hired last year at this time.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Stocks took a beating, with key indexes falling more than 2 percent before bouncing back slightly.

Turmoil Continues In Financial Markets As Dow Plunges

7:54pm October 15, 2014

by Jim Zarroli

Stocks took a beating on Wednesday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 falling more than 2 percent before bouncing back slightly. Money flowed into safe haven investments such as U.S. Treasuries.

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School Facilities Strained By Boom In Petroleum Engineering

8:00am October 14, 2014

by Dan Boyce

Students want to cash in on that growing job market. Those high paying jobs are also attracting petroleum engineering professors. So there are fewer professors to teach ballooning classes.

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Economics Nobel Awarded For Work On Regulating Big Businesses

4:58pm October 13, 2014

by Jim Zarroli

French economist Jean Tirole studies oligopolies — markets that are controlled by a handful of powerful, interdependent companies.

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