A US recession began in February in the face of coronavirus

June 8, 2020 3:15 pm Leave a comment

A woman walks into a closing Gordmans store on in St. Charles, Missouri. Stage Stores, which owns Gordmans, is closing all its stores and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The U.S. economy entered a recession in February as the coronavirus struck the nation, a group of economists declared Monday, ending the longest expansion on record.

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Is the US economy nearing a recession?

August 15, 2019 12:23 pm Leave a comment

Cargo containers are staged near cranes at the Port of Tacoma, in Tacoma, Washington, on March 5. Economists are warning that the odds of a recession are rising. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Financial markets are flashing some big warning signs of an approaching recession, and the global economy is weakening as the U.S.-China trade war intensifies.

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Decade since recession: Thriving cities leave others behind

December 14, 2017 9:14 am Leave a comment

Construction cranes seen i a block across from an Amazon building in Seattle on Oct. 11. Seattle is among a handful of cities that have flourished in the 10 years since the Great Recession officially began in December 2007, even while most other large cities, and sizable swaths of rural America, have managed only modest recoveries. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Although the common site of construction cranes in Milwaukee's downtown no doubt lead most observers to conclude the city is well on its way to recovering from the Great Recession, other cities got off to much more of a head start in this regard.

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State’s public loans struggled amid recession (UPDATE)

August 4, 2014 12:07 pm Leave a comment

Wisconsin's local economic development groups began to feel the impact of the Great Recession in 2009, a recent analysis of public records found.

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As US job market strengthens, many don’t feel it

July 31, 2014 9:14 am Leave a comment

construction workers build a commercial complex in Springfield, Ill. The state jobless rate has dropped for four straight months and is at its lowest point since October 2008. Illinois has lagged the country as a whole in its recovery from recession, and the state's unemployment rate has been among the worst in the country for months. Thursday's report provides signs that Illinois may be starting to catch up. Construction companies added 3,500 jobs in June, an increase of 1.8 percent. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

The U.S. unemployment rate has plunged since the start of last year to a five-year low of 6.1 percent. And the July jobs report being released Friday will likely show a sixth straight month of healthy 200,000-plus gains. Yet for Douglas Hunter and millions like him, happy days aren't quite here again.

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Subdivision market shows signs of life

December 13, 2013 4:08 pm Leave a comment

The long night of recession for subdivision development is showing signs of approaching dawn in Wisconsin.

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US companies posting more jobs but filling few

April 10, 2013 11:32 am 2 Comments

Dan Utter, an employee Stevens Construction Corp., Madison, installs blocking between metal studs Monday, April 1, while at the Vantage Point under construction in Madison. Stevens Construction Corp. is overseeing the 95,718-square-foot, 65-unit building, nine-story building with a underground parking level. The project is on track to be complete in August. (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

U.S employers have more job openings than at any other time in nearly five years. Yet they seem in no hurry to fill them.

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Better off 4 years later? A mixed bag of answers

November 4, 2012 10:28 am Leave a comment

Harvey Martin, a pilot, at the Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala. After being laid off in late 2010, Martin was thrilled to return to the cockpit in summer 2012. "Talk about an office with a view," he says. "Things are improving," he says, noting a jobless friend recently found work. "The recession that had been hanging over our heads - hopefully we've learned from that. ... No, things are not as good as they were four years ago when they were really rocking along. But the company is growing. My situation is good. I'm working again. It was just the luck of the draw." (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

It's a staple of every presidential election, a single question that puts the incumbent's record on trial and asks American voters to be the jurors.

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The incredible shrinking inventory

October 26, 2012 2:52 pm Leave a comment

A few years ago I wrote an article, “Demographics, Development and Demand,” in which I predicted a return of the housing market by late 2010. Well, we all make mistakes.

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