Joseph Lazzaro

The private sector added 91,000 jobs in September, ADP said -- a total above the consensus estimate of 90,000, but still not large enough to indicate that employers have started hiring en masse.

Ford (F), which did not accept U.S. Government assistance, has rebounded after a restructuring, and is well-positioned to capitalize on U.S. job growth, when it returns with gusto. Is now a good time to consider Ford's shares?

The U.S. Senate is as mad as you-know-what and it's apparently not going to take it anymore: the Senate Tuesday voted overwhelmingly, 79-19, to approve a procedural measure that speeds the way for a bill designed to put pressure on China to allow its currency to appreciate.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has taken the U.S.’s lack of jobs growth in to his own hands, of sorts. Starbucks and the Opportunity Finance Network have started a new fund to make loans to small businesses and other organizations to spur jobs growth. Every $5 donated will result in $35 in loan money made available.

As noted earlier, if Sprint (S) snares Apple’s iPhone 5 this autumn, it could give the cell phone service provider a fighting chance versus AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ). And that would bode well for Sprint's stock.

The news regarding the American public's attitude toward Congress just gets worse: A record-high number of citizens (89%) are greatly dissatisfied by the job Congress is doing, according to a new poll.

Should the United States tolerate slightly higher inflation, in order to have the economy grow at a faster rate and create more jobs?

It's been billed as the mother of all oil battles -- that may be an overstatement, but one thing is certain: the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada's oil sands region to the Gulf of Mexico is a high-stakes fight.

What's the lowdown on gasoline prices for U.S. motorists? By and large the story remains encouraging -- a 7-cent drop in prices in a week, and a roughly 21-cent plunge from a month ago, in early September.

Will microprocessor giant Intel (INTC) benefit from a ripple-effect from the iPhone 5 Wave? Most likely that will be the cases, as millions of new customers in October consider the iPhone 5 and other technology products/gadgets -- and that's good news for Intel's operation.

Nouriel Dr. Doom Roubini, the NYU professor who four years ago accurately predicted the global financial crisis, says tough medicine is needed to end it: another round of massive fiscal stimulus or universal debt restructuring.

To say that the U.S. stock market had a rough quarter would be like saying invading Germany had a rough retreat from Stalingrad in the winter of 1943 -- stocks closed near session lows Friday, a down day that meant all three major averages plummeted more than 10 percent in the third quarter. Where is the Dow headed from here?

Can Congress increase the income tax on the wealthy? It can if the latest Bloomberg Poll is any indicator -- global investors overwhelming support President Barack Obama's proposed tax increase on adults with adjusted gross incomes of $1 million or more annually.

Ford (F) is in discussion with the United Auto Workers (UAW) to add as many as 10,000 jobs in the U.S. negotiations for a new four-year contract, people familiar with the talks said Thursday.

Will the possible release of the iPhone 5 to Sprint (S) in October spark a renaissance in the wireless sector, including for longstanding iPhone carrier, steady-as-she-goes Verizon (VZ)?

Amid a sluggish U.S. economy with inadequate job growth, there has been one unabashed bright spot: home mortgage interest rates, currently about 4.10 percent for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, are the lowest in decades. Is now a good time to take the plunge a purchase a home?

Two economic reports released Thursday may give encouragement to the U.S. stock market's bull, or those who calculate the market is headed higher -- initial jobless claims plunged 37,000 to 391,000 last week and U.S. GDP in second quarter was revised slightly higher, to 1.3 percent from 1.0 percent.

The speculated release of the iPhone 5 smartphone by Apple (AAPL) will likely juice the shares of AT&T's (T) by attracting hundreds of thousands of younger adult subscribers to AT&T's stable. Those extra subscribers should also help T improve its network quicker -- something the company needs to do.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday the United States should take a que from robust emerging market economies and support strong GDP growth through responsible fiscal policy.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke speech Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic 'Ideas for Tomorrow' Series:

Major cities in Iran, India, Pakistan, and Mongolia rank among the worst on the planet for air pollution, while major cities in the United States and Canada are among the cleanest, according to a new World Health Organization survey.

The U.S. Senate will likely take up President Barack Obama's jobs bill in October, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev,. says he has a more important jobs bill to bring to the Senate floor first: one that treats China's fixed yuan as an anti-competitive trade practice.

The speculated release of the iPhone 5 smartphone by Apple (AAPL) will likely juice the shares of AT&T's (T) by attracting hundreds of thousands of younger adult subscribers to AT&T's stable. Those extra subscribers should also help T improve its network quicker -- something the company needs to do.

It's a U.S. economy in which you take the good news where you can get it, and Wednesday the nation received some: President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs plan would help avoid a recession by maintaining GDP growth and lowering unemployment, according to a new survey of economists.

Americans want the nation's two major parties to compromise and find common ground, a new USA Today/Gallup Poll indicates. The segment of the political/ideological spectrum that's least likely to favor compromise? The Tea Party faction of the Republican Party.

Home prices in the 20-city Case Shiller Index rose for the fourth straight month in July, but the operative phrase remains: let the buyer beware. Demand conditions in most major U.S. cities remains soft, and even though home prices are attractive now, price retrenchments are possible.

As noted earlier, if Sprint (S) snares Apple’s iPhone 5 this autumn, it could give the cell phone service provider a fighting chance versus AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ). And that would bode well for Sprint's stock.

U.S. new home sells fell in August to a 295,000-unit annual rate, the fourth straight monthly decline for the beleaguered sector. The slump means that housing is likely to be a drag on U.S. GDP for at least the next two quarters, perhaps for longer. New home prices are attractive, but potential buyers should tread carefully: they may drop in many markets.

Boeing delivered the first 787 Dreamliner to Japan's All Nippon Airways Monday, in what is perhaps Boeing's most anticipated debut since the delivery of the first 747 jumbo jet in 1970.