US Commerce Department News

Market observers say the deepening slump in demand for traditional IT products, including smartphones and PCs, has contributed to prolonged weak profitability in Samsung's core memory business. 

The US Commerce Department will remove Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp from a trade blacklist after the company admitted to violating sanctions on Iran, the Commerce Department said in a notice made public on Tuesday.

The trade gap widened to $43.9 billion in October from an upwardly revised September reading of $42.5 billion.

The US economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the second quarter, a moderate bounce from the revised 0.6 percent increase in the first quarter.

The US economy picked up sharply in the second quarter, boosted by increased consumer spending and exports after a tepid first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

The US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, the Commerce Department said Friday in a revised GDP estimate.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate last quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its third estimate of GDP. That was unrevised from the forecast last month. 

Together with upward revisions of the previous two months -- 50,000 more jobs than previously reported -- December rounded out the best year for job generation in 15 years, with almost three million net new jobs added.

Private housing starts fell 1.6 percent from October to an annual rate of 1.028 million, the Commerce Department reported.

Consumer spending, the main engine of the US economy, rose 0.5 percent in August after no change in July, revised from a 0.1 percent decline.

The US economy grew at a robust annual rate of 4.6 percent in the second quarter, stronger than previously estimated, the Commerce Department reported on Friday.

The US Commerce Department raised its estimate for US economic growth to 4.2 percent Thursday, confirming the solid rebound from the first quarter`s steep contraction.

The US economy generated 209,000 new jobs in July, down from June but maintaining a solid 200,000-plus monthly streak since February, the Commerce Department said.

The agreement was signed at an event addressed by visiting US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in the financial capital.

Private investment soared 17.0 percent in the second quarter, after shrinking 6.9 percent in the previous period. Investment was strong in both equipment and homes.

In April, the US trade deficit had hit its highest level in two years.

The contraction in the world`s largest economy was the steepest since the 2009 first quarter.