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January 16, 2013 Consumer prices rose just 1.7 percent in 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That's about half the pace of 2011 — when prices went up 3 percent. A sharp slowing in the increase of gas prices was a major factor. The news means interest rates will likely stay low.

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January 15, 2013 Consumers were still in a spending mood in December, even as lawmakers battled over the budget. Meanwhile, wholesale prices fell slightly. Those are both good signs for the economy.

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January 4, 2013 Growth was in line with expectations and adds to the evidence that the nation continues to add jobs at a modest pace.

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January 4, 2013 The December employment report is due. Economists expect to hear that the jobless rate remained at 7.7 percent and that about 150,000 jobs were added to payrolls. If there is a surprise, some analysts say, it's likely to be better-than-expected news.

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December 27, 2012 There were 350,000 first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week. That's the lowest level since March 2008. But because of the Christmas holiday, some states had to do more estimating than usual.

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December 26, 2012 Prices in 20 major cities were up 4.3 percent in October, vs. October 2011. Combined with other recent reports on construction and sales, that's another sign the housing sector is on the mend.

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December 21, 2012 The increases add to signs that the economy continues to rebound from the 2007-09 recession and the slow recovery that followed.

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December 20, 2012 The housing sector continues to recover. Sales rose 5.9 percent last month. It's the second new piece of positive news about the economy. Earlier, gross domestic product growth for the third quarter was revised upward.

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December 14, 2012 The inflation rate, which spiked in August and September when gas prices rose sharply, now appears to have slowed again. That should let the Federal Reserve keep up its efforts to give the economy a boost.

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December 13, 2012 The pace of applications for unemployment insurance had accelerated after Superstorm Sandy, which threw many out of work. Now, the trend is back to a rate that signals a slowly improving labor market.

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December 6, 2012 The pace of claims for unemployment insurance has settled back into its pre-Superstorm Sandy range. But on Friday, economists expect to hear that relatively few jobs were added to payrolls in November.

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November 30, 2012 Many in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic couldn't get to stores and were out of work for at least a short time because of the destruction Sandy wrought. That dampened spending and cut into incomes.

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November 29, 2012 Gross domestic product grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate, the government says. Not only is that a sharp upward revision from the previous estimate, it's also growth at twice the rate of the second quarter.

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