That’s the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index for the week ended May 12. The index, which is based on Americans’ opinions about the economy, the buying climate and their own finances, fell from minus 29.5 in the prior week. It can...
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Photograph by Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
Customers shop at a Macy's Inc. store in New York.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: -30.2
Photograph by Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Dental work performed at a free health clinic for the uninsured and underinsured at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
Health Care Costs Slow: Inflation Curb
The cost of health care in the U.S. is rising at the slowest pace in four decades, helping curb inflation. The consumer-price index dropped 0.4 percent in April from the prior month, a second consecutive decrease and the biggest since...
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Photograph by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Construction crews work on new homes being built in San Ramon, California, on April 12, 2013.
Building Permits Dwarf Ground-Breaking
Applications to build homes climbed in April to the highest level since June 2008, helping alleviate concern that a slump the same month in construction starts on new houses would mean less support for the economy in the second half...
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Photograph by Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
A customer browses shoes at a Coach Inc. store in New York.
Payroll Tax Cut Most Paychecks: Survey
The outlook for consumer spending may hinge on what 55 percent of American households do next. That’s the share of respondents who noticed their paychecks had gotten smaller at the start of the year when the payroll tax reverted to...
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Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Barack Obama walks across the South Lawn while departing the White House on May 13, 2013.
Obama’s U.S. Debt: $1 Million-Plus in Treasury Notes, Disclosure Shows
For all the talk about averting any default on U.S. debt, this is personal for the president. President Barack Obama holds between $1 million and $5 million in Treasury notes, according to his personal financial disclosure released by the White...
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Photograph by Martin Soeby/Gallery Stock
It is becoming more common for wives to be paid more than their husbands.
Higher-Paid Women Less-Married, More-Divorced
Women who have come out on top in the job market may not find similar success in the marriage market. As the struggle for equal pay for equal work gains ground, there may still be psychological factors undermining the link...
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Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
New homes are under construction at a housing development on March 6, 2013 in Gilbert, Arizona.
Real-Estate Agent Earnings Point to Home-Price Jump
While prices for most commodities are falling, real-estate values are surging. The Labor Department’s report on producer prices today showed wholesale costs dropped 0.7 percent in April from the prior month, the biggest decline in three years, Bloomberg’s Alex Kowalski...
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Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Copies of the Obama Administration's proposed FY 2014 federal budget at the Government Printing Office Book Store on April 10, 2013 in Washington, DC.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: $642 Bln
That’s the projected budget deficit for fiscal 2013, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That projection is about $200 billion below the $845 billion estimate that CBO released in February. The decrease is “mostly as a result of higher-than-expected revenues...
Read more »Americans Can’t Get No Satisfaction
Just 24 percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going, down from 30 percent in April, according to the Gallup Poll. The rate of satisfaction has average 25 percent so far this year. Most Americans surveyed were...
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Photograph by Ronda Churchill/Bloomberg
The Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Staycations Yield to Vegas, Margaritaville: Sure Rebound Signs
DJ Steve Aoki sprayed champagne on attendees before selecting some to surf the crowd on an inflatable raft during opening week of the Hakkasan night club in Las Vegas last month. The five-story, $100 million-plus addition to the MGM Grand...
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Contributors
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Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
