The stock market is up, unemployment is down, and people are feeling pretty good. According to survey company Gallop, U.S. economic confidence in January reached 41, the highest level since October 2000. Back then, confidence was drifting lower after reaching the mid-50s in the late 1990s. We spent the first years of the 2000s declining
A mere decade ago General Motors was destitute. Company executives cried in Washington that they were going broke because they had high labor expenses and fewer people were buying cars. Congress threw them a lifeline, allowing the company to give investors the finger while maintaining golden pensions for union retirees, and then creating cash-for-clunkers at
The Fair Isaac Company, or FICO, maintains consumer credit scores that lenders rely on when determining if they will extend credit. Borrowers typically have scores between 450 and 850, with 680 being the dividing line between those with good credit (higher) and bad credit (lower). Recently FICO removed tax lien judments and other things from
The big auto brands might get bigger over the next several years as the industry deals with falling sales and tries to migrate to cleaner vehicles, according to European Auto Industry (ACEA) President Mike Manley. Strict emission standards in the face of “dieselgate” cheating by Volkswagen and others will take a bite out of corporate
It might seem counter intuitive, but it’s happening. Even as the major U.S. stock indices reach record levels, U.S. investors are draining money from mutual funds and exchange-traded funds with exposure to the stock market. Investors yanked out $4.5 billion last week, extending the longest streak of withdrawals since the spring of 2016. At the
