WASHINGTON — Deeper spending cuts by state and local governments weighed down U.S. economic growth in the final three months of last year. The government’s revised estimate for the October-December quarter illustrates how growing state budget crises could hold back ...

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WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes fell significantly in January, a dismal sign after the worst year for that sector in nearly a half-century. New-home sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 284,000 homes last month, the Commerce Department ...

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WASHINGTON — Americans spent at the fastest pace in three years in 2010, boosted by a strong finish in December. Consumer spending rose 0.7 percent in December, the sixth straight monthly increase, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Households saw their ...

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WASHINGTON — Americans spent at the fastest pace in three years in 2010, boosted by a strong finish in December. Consumer spending rose 0.7 percent in December, the sixth straight monthly increase, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Households saw their ...

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WASHINGTON — Buyers purchased the fewest number of new homes last year on records going back 47 years. Sales for all of 2010 totaled 321,000, a drop of 14.4 percent from the 375,000 homes sold in 2009, the Commerce Department ...

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WASHINGTON — Builders began work last year on the second fewest number of homes in more than half a century, as the weak economy kept people from buying houses. Builders broke ground on a total of 587,600 homes in 2010, ...

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WASHINGTON — Retail sales rose for a sixth consecutive month in December, with big gains in sales of autos and furniture. The increases lifted sales for the year by the largest amount in more than a decade. Sales rose 0.6 ...

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WASHINGTON — Businesses at the wholesale level trimmed their stockpiles in November for the first time in nearly a year, even though sales rose for a fifth consecutive month. The Commerce Department says wholesale inventories dipped 0.2 percent in November, ...

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WASHINGTON — Businesses at the wholesale level trimmed their stockpiles in November for the first time in nearly a year, even though sales rose for a fifth consecutive month. The Commerce Department says wholesale inventories dipped 0.2 percent in November, ...

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WASHINGTON — Construction spending rose for a third straight month in November, helped by another increase in housing and a record level for spending on federal building projects. The Commerce Department says construction spending increased 0.4 percent in November following ...

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