By: App.com |12:18 PM, Jan. 1, 2012 After an up and down 2011, will 2012 be the year the economy finally breaks out of its funk? Sallee Tee’s Grille reopened Dec. 15, more than three months after the remnants of Hurricane Irene flooded the Monmouth Beach restaurant with at least six inches of water, temporarily closing the business and displacing 70 employees. In hindsight, owner Joe Amiel said, the restaurant’s $500,000 renovation probably was overdue. It now has new floors, walls and equipment. Sixty percent of the staff has returned. And Amiel, looking ahead to 2012, is hopeful. “It was [ Read More ]
By APP.com 9:41 PM, Dec. 21, 2011 WASHINGTON— The U.S. economy is ending 2011 on a roll. The job market is healthier. Americans are spending eagerly on holiday gifts. A long-awaited turnaround for the depressed housing industry appears to be under way. Gas is cheaper. Factories are busier. Not bad for an economy faced with a debt crisis in Europe and, as recently as this summer, scattered predictions of a second recession at home. Instead, the economy has grown faster each quarter this year, and the last three months should be the best. “Things are looking up,” says Chris Rupkey, [ Read More ]
