May 23 2013 11:53 AM

If you want an objective view of energy, ask an economist, who can tell you what to expect to pay at the pump in the coming years, and why, as well as what to expect from medium- and long-term economic growth and what the real drivers will be. These are questions that are crucial to a pending decision by the US government over natural gas exports, and while we know where big oil stands versus its manufacturing rivals—it's the economist who can set things straight. Mark Thoma is a macroeconomist and time-series econometrician at the University of Oregon. His research focuses on how monetary policy affects the economy, and he has also worked on political business cycle models. Mark is currently a fellow at The Century Foundation, a columnist at The Fiscal Times, an analyst at CBS MoneyWatch, and he blogs daily at Economist's View.

May 23 2013 8:22 AM

Struggling diversified technology company Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ [FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) released its fiscal second-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. Over the last five years, the company's share price has been more than halved as a secular decline in the PC business and a failure to innovate have weighed on sales and income.

May 23 2013 7:57 AM

The euro slipped to $1.2838 on Thursday morning following Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress and the release of the bank's latest policy meeting minutes. Bernanke told Congress that the Fed would consider easing back on its bond buying stimulus if the country's economic improvement continued. His comments boosted the dollar and sent the euro downward as a result.

May 22 2013 10:47 AM

Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS [FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) is down on Wednesday after coming up short on first-quarter earnings and revenue. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based firm's EPS declined over seven percent to $0.26, just missing the $0.27 analysts wanted to see. Revenue dropped three percent year-over-year to $5.8 billion, missing the $5.91 billion Wall Street consensus.

May 22 2013 10:38 AM

The euro traded steadily at $1.2931 on Wednesday morning as investors kept their attention turned to the US, where Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will address Congress and release the Federal Open Market Committee's policy meeting minutes. The greenback fell against the euro for three consecutive days as investors speculated that the Fed would start to taper off its aggressive bond buying stimulus efforts.