Massachusetts retailers have gotten some unexpected post-Christmas good cheer: Holiday season shopping was locally very strong, according to new data. It’s another sign that the Bay State economy is recovering rather well, with the exception being the housing market.

News flash: Boston is listed as one of the least miserable cities in the U.S. when it comes to economic performance. But you do have to question the validity of any survey that lists Buffalo, N.Y. ahead of most other American cities, whether they’e miserable or non-miserbable. Here’s the most miserable list. File under: Les [...]

Now here’s good news: The state’s unemployment rate last month fell to 7 percent, down from 7.3 percent and far below the national average of 8.6 percent. The number of jobs created last month wasn’t spectacular. Only 5,000 new jobs were added to local payrolls. There’s also a lot of flux in the total labor-market [...]

The next time you get down about the sometimes dysfunctional ways of Massachusetts, always remember: There are even more dysfunctional states in America. It’s simply hard to beat Illinois and California in this category. Not to mention Rhode Island and Louisiana.

Some good news on the U.S. jobs front: The unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent, its lowest level since early 2009, and employers added about 120,000 new jobs to payrolls. But … wait … it’s all doom and gloom according to the NYT article linked above. Okay, the numbers aren’t spectacular. The economy needs about [...]

One has to wonder how the U.S. economy — and housing market — would be faring if it wasn’t for the financial crisis in Europe. The Dow got killed today. Of course, the European financial crisis was a direct consequence of our financial crisis. So we can’t whine too much. File under: Be careful of [...]

The more things change, the more they stay the same: The bank mania… is raising up a moneyed aristocracy in our country which has already set the government at defiance, and although forced at length to yield a little on this first essay of their strength, their principles are unyielded and unyielding. These have taken [...]

This is one of those infuriating economic reports that drive people crazy. Ready? Here goes: The state’s jobless rate fell to 7.3 percent last month, from 7.4 percent in August. The national average is 9.1 percent. So far, so good. We like good news. But a separate “payroll survey” of companies shows Massachusetts lost 2,300 [...]

Boston Real Estate Blog has taken a few shots in the past at the government’s decision to sue large banks over the subprime-mortgage debacle. The obvious criticism: The government bailed out banks three years ago — and now it’s suing them in the middle of a recession when credit is already tight? But Paul McMorrow [...]

Really? Do you think so? And we thought it had a soothing and calming effect on homebuyers. Silly us. There’s some good quotes in the story by Wellesley College’s Karl Case about the housing market. Otherwise, the headline and story could have applied to just about anyone. … Plumbers Spooked by Stock Volatility. … King [...]