President Obama has been re-elected, at least in part because of his support for small business. Of course, Gov. Romney also claimed to be a champion of small business, and yet the two candidates offered very different economic plans. How do we explain the discrepancy? A lot of it depends on what a politician means […]
economy
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama powers to re-election despite weak economy
WASHINGTON (AP) — His lease renewed in trying economic times, President Barack Obama claimed a second term from an incredibly divided electorate and immediately braced for daunting challenges and progress that comes only in fits and starts. “We have fought our way back and we know in our hearts that for the United States of […]
advertisement
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Exit polls find hint of economic optimism
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama and Mitt Romney made sharply different bets about who would vote this year. It turned out that Americans who cast ballots looked collectively much more like what Obama had envisioned — a diverse tapestry that reflected a changing America — than the whiter, older electorate Romney had banked on. Younger voters and minorities came […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine ranked second-worst state for making a living
LEWISTON — For the second year in a row, Maine is ranked second-worst, after Hawaii, in the country for making a living, according to the finance website MoneyRates.com. Maine also ranked eighth among the 10 worst states in which to retire, according to MoneyRates. The rankings, combined with a Gallup poll released in August […]
Posted inLocal & State
Economist: Cheap, dirty coal key cause of Maine’s energy woes
LEWISTON — A former Maine state economist said late Wednesday that cheap, dirty coal and the federal government’s unwillingness to enact a carbon pollution tax are the primary reasons Mainers pay more for power than most other Americans. Charles Colgan, associate director of the University of Maine’s Center for Business and Economic Research, was responding […]
Posted inBusiness
Meals and lodging sales post big increases in August
AUGUSTA — After a worrying July, August’s taxable sales figures in tourism-related sectors beat projections and capped a strong summer tourism season, according to figures released Friday by Maine Revenue Services. Lodging sales in August were $157 million, up 7.5 percent from the same month last year, while August restaurant sales equaled nearly $270 million, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Remodeling resurgence: Contractors see boost from uptick in housing market
NEW YORK — Glenn Bridges can tell that the market for home remodeling is picking up — when he’s hanging cabinets or laying a floor in a customer’s house, a next-door neighbor is bound to knock on the door and ask if he’s available for another project. They’ll look at his handiwork and then say, […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Holiday sales seen rising 4.1 percent in 2012
The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, said Tuesday that it expects sales during the winter holiday shopping period in November and December to rise 4.1 percent this year. That’s more than a percentage point lower than the growth in each of the past two years, and the smallest increase since 2009 […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Conflicting signals: Why it’s hard to tell if the U.S. economy is on the mend
WASHINGTON — Anyone puzzled by the most recent U.S. economic data has reason for feeling so: The numbers sketch a sometimes contradictory picture of the economy. We’ve learned that: Consumers are more confident but aren’t spending much. Fewer people are losing jobs, but not many are being hired. Home and stock prices are up, but […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Iceland counting on Hollywood magic
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland has won praise from Nobel laureate Paul Krugman and the International Monetary Fund for its ability to dig itself out of financial ruin. Now, the island is turning to Hollywood for the next chapter in its recovery. The North Atlantic island has since last year become a backdrop for some of […]