Comptroller: NY economic recovery slow and uneven

New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the state's economic recovery has been slow and uneven.

DiNapoli in a new report says that while private-sector employment is up, public-sector employment is down. And while home values in upstate New York's largest metropolitan areas spiked in the fourth quarter of 2010, values have begun to decline in the New York City region.

Bernanke Says High Unemployment, Housing Restrain U.S. Economic Recovery

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said high levels of joblessness and home foreclosures are restraining the U.S. recovery and putting many people and communities at risk of being “left behind.”

“The broader economy is in a moderate recovery, and we have recently seen some welcome, if gradual, improvement in the labor market,” Bernanke said in a speech today in Arlington, Virginia. “But our economy is far from where we would like it to be, and many people and neighborhoods are in danger of being left behind.

GDP: Economic recovery stumbles

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Economic growth slowed to a crawl in the first three months of the year as a spike in gasoline, higher overall inflation and continued weakness in the housing market all took a toll on the recovery.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, rose at an annual rate of 1.8%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That's a significant slowdown from the 3.1% growth rate in the final quarter of 2010.

Small business slow to feel the recovery

We’re hearing that there are signs the recession is winding down and the economy may be on the way to recovery.

But what about small local businesses?

India Rupee Gains on Optimism Global Economic Recovery on Track

India’s rupee advanced, snapping a three-day decline, as increases in U.S. corporate profits fueled optimism the global economic recovery is on track, boosting demand for emerging-market assets.

The rupee strengthened the most in a week as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index of regional shares advanced 0.2 percent. Overseas investors bought $1.8 billion more Indian shares than they sold this month as U.S. companies, including Apple Inc. and Ford Motor Co., reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.

Oil prices threat to economic recovery

During the past few months, the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East has created a great deal of uncertainty. And even though the supply of oil has not been reduced, the price of oil has risen rapidly.

Asset prices are partially a function of risk, and oil is no exception. The spreading unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has increased the risk that oil supplies will be interrupted, meaning the risk premium on oil has risen and this has driven both oil prices and oil price volatility higher.

Recovery prompts US divorce rebound

In a perverse sign of the economic recovery, the US divorce rate, which dipped in the recession, has bounced back, lawyers and matrimonial experts say.

A stronger economy, lower unemployment and a housing market that – while still weak – is no longer in free fall are all contributing to a rebound in divorce filings.

The conversation: One year since the BP oil spill, but still a long way from recovery

It's been one year since BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded. Eleven workers were killed. Some of those who make a living off the sea and the land went into financial ruin. And it devastated the environment and the delicate ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico. Today's theme: Just because you can't see the oil doesn't mean it isn't there; and just because the media have shifted their attention to other critical issues doesn't mean the disaster has vanished into thin air.

Lothian 'powerhouse' to boost Scottish recovery

EDINBURGH and the Lothians were today hailed as an "economic powerhouse" which will play a key role in Scotland's economic recovery.

Scottish Labour finance spokesman Andy Kerr told a business breakfast organised by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce that his party's single most important goal is growing the economy to create jobs and prosperity.

But he claimed the SNP's "obsession" with independence showed it had the wrong priorities and would damage Scotland's prospects of success.

Eurozone PMI points to sustained recovery

The eurozone is on track for a sustained economic recovery according to a closely watched industry survey – but at the cost of a widening gulf between the German-led core and the struggling periphery.

The Markit purchasing managers’ index for the eurozone rose to 57.8 in April from 57.6 in March, well above the 50 mark that indicates economic expansion.

‘Surging oil prices may jeopardise global economic recovery’

India has warned that surging oil prices could jeopardise recovery of the global economy which is already vulnerable to a variety of risks, including political and social turmoil in parts of the world combined with natural disasters.

“The global recovery may be jeopardised by a sustained rise in oil prices,” RBI Governor, Dr Duvvuri Subbarao, told the Spring Meeting of the IMF here last evening.

Geithner: G-7 Intervention in Yen Contained Risk of Damaging Recovery

The coordinated intervention by the Group of Seven major industrialized economies contained the risk that a strengthening yen after Japan’s devastating earthquake would damage the economic recovery, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday after a bilateral meeting with the Japanese finance minister.

Speaking through an interpreter, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the G-7 intervention was “very significant and effective.”

Tokyo Says Economic Recovery Is Stalled

The Japanese economy is no longer on a recovery path because of the impact of the devastating earthquake on March 11, but the economy minister held out optimism it will pick up by the end of the year.

"Although the Japanese economy was picking up, it has shown weakness recently due to the influence of the Great East Japan Earthquake," the Cabinet Office said in its report for April, released Wednesday, marking the first downgrade of its economic assessment in six months.

Companies still pessimistic about economic recovery

The UK's large companies are pessimistic about economic recovery, yet risk appetite is at its strongest.

Accounting consultancy firm Deloitte released the results of their quarterly survey of finance chiefs at 137 of the UK's major firms. Most of the respondents to the Deloitte CFO Survey expect profits to fall in 2011, by an average of 7%. Finance directors also attached a 29% probability to the chance of a double dip in the economy - up from last year's 27%.

Construction sector figures 'not helping economic recovery'

Recent data on the construction industry has shown that there have not been enough property development projects undertaken to help boost the country's economic recovery.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that £7.609 billion was spent on building initiatives last month.

Biomass industry ‘can lead Scottish economic recovery’

The biomass industry will play a key role in driving Scotland out of recession.

This is the view of first minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond, who told STV that low carbon industries could create 130,000 jobs by 2020.

Japan bank to help economic recovery

The Bank of Japan has announced new measures to help the economy recover from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

The Central Bank has unveiled a lending scheme to help banks in quake-hit areas.

It has also left its key rate unchanged and downgraded its view of the economy due to the disasters.

Wall Street Poised For Higher Open On Optimism About Economic Recovery

(RTTNews) - U.S. stock futures point to a higher open Wednesday morning following two successive days of mixed closing, with the S&P struggling to breakthrough the crucial resistance, amid relatively thin volumes. Traders might ponder on the plan unveiled by the Securities Exchange Commission to protect the market from extreme volatility and avoid flash crashes, on a day of light economic data. Increasing optimism about the sustainability of the economic recovery and expectations for a possible change in monetary policy stance later in the year might also be in traders' radar.

Uneven global economic recovery still underway: IMF chief

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Against the backdrop of the uneven and fragile global economic recovery, new approaches to tackle the global challenges and global cooperation are badly needed in the post-crisis era, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said here on Monday.

The global economy continues to revive, but in a way that is unbalanced among various economies, the IMF chief said Monday in a speech at George Washington University adjacent to the Washington- based organization.

Slow going for global economic recovery

We expect the markets to become more circumspect than they have been. 2010 was characterised by the stockmarkets lurching between 'risk on' and 'risk off'.

We think this year will be more of a 'sideways grind' as the world slowly, and occasionally painfully, rebalances.

Economic recovery should move along

The week ahead should bring further signs of a deepening economic recovery as job creation is likely to return to a healthy clip and business confidence is expected to rise.

On Monday, the Bank of Canada's first-quarter Business Outlook Survey is expected to show growing optimism among business leaders, with the balance of opinion for future sales rising to 27 from the previous quarter's 22.

Dudley Says ‘We Don’t Want to Overstate’ Strength of Economic Recovery

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley comments on the U.S. economy. He spoke to reporters following a speech today in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His remarks came after the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.8 percent in March and employers added 216,000 jobs, more than economists estimated.