Month: May 2014

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. economy contracted by 1% in the first quarter to mark the biggest decline in three years, hampered by harsh winter weather that disrupted business operations and construction on residential and commercial properties, according to newly revised government figures.

Washington — The Internal Revenue Service announced the successful start of its new web-based system — IRS Direct Pay — on IRS.gov, which lets taxpayers pay their tax bills or make estimated tax payments directly from checking or savings accounts without any fees or pre-registration.

Americans tend to do most of their shopping during just a couple days of the week — and that’s a big mistake if they want to save money.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million, up from 947,000 in March, the Census Bureau said Friday.

Economists had predicted a rate of 980,000, according to the median forecast in Action Economics’ survey.

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell sharply for the second straight week, touching the lowest level since May 2007, but at least part of the drop probably stemmed from lingering seasonal affects tied to a late Easter holiday. 

The National Association of Realtors published median single-family existing home prices across the major metropolitan areas for the first quarter of 2014. Clicking on the map above will show prices (in thousands of dollars) over the last three years, as well as the first quarter, and the percentage change in prices from last year.

U.S. manufacturing companies expanded in April at the fastest pace since the end of last year, a survey of executives found. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 54.9% last month from 53.7% in March, marking the highest level since December.