Patrice Hill

U.S. no longer a leader of fiscal rescue

The U.S. has stayed uncharacteristically distant as European nations struggle with their long-running debt crisis, creating an opening for big emerging nations such as China and Brazil to move to center stage in world economic affairs.

December 15, 2011

Europe’s fiscal agreement falls short for global markets

Despite much fanfare at a summit last week, European leaders failed to convince global investors that they are on their way to solving their massive problems with debt and recession.

December 12, 2011

Future of eurozone looks bleak to some

It still seems unthinkable to most Europeans, but a growing number of outside analysts and investors believe the eurozone is headed toward a breakup as fast-moving market turmoil and a looming recession threaten to overwhelm the slow-motion response of European leaders.

December 8, 2011

France, Germany face S&P downgrade

The long-running debt crisis in Europe intensified and broadened dramatically Monday as a top Wall Street credit agency warned Germany, France and a handful of other previously stable Northern European countries that they are in danger of losing their top ratings as they get drawn ever more deeply into the financial maelstrom.

December 5, 2011

U.S. jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent in Nov.

The nation's unemployment rate plummeted dramatically to 8.6 percent last month, after hovering around 9 percent for much of the year, as the pace of job growth quickened, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

December 2, 2011

Shoppers give retailers early Christmas gift

The Christmas shopping season started with a bang and the consumer mood is brightening at a critical time during the month that brings a quarter of the year's retail sales in the U.S.

November 29, 2011

No budget deal just might be good news for U.S. deficit

The reaction to the supercommittee's epic failure this week to address the spiraling debt has been surprisingly muted on Wall Street and Main Street, in part because astute observers there have concluded that Congress may accomplish more by doing nothing when it comes to the deficit.

November 24, 2011

U.S. pols risk fate of Europe’s leaders in debt mess

Legislators in Washington who are tempted to punt yet again this fall and not take the painful medicine needed to tame the government's spiraling debt might want to consider the fates of European political leaders who did the same thing in years past.

November 17, 2011

Europe’s woes pall U.S. economic rebound

Just as the outlook for the U.S. economy finally brightened in recent weeks, the darkening clouds in Europe threaten to overshadow budding signs of growth.

November 14, 2011

China mocks U.S. political model

Chinese political and business leaders are increasingly triumphant after two decades of rapid economic growth that lifted unprecedented millions of people out of poverty and turned the nation into an economic superpower, saying their success proves its political and economic system is superior to the Western model.

November 9, 2011

Beijing ups R&D competition with U.S.

Stepping up its long-running struggle with the United States over access to technology, China this year embarked on a campaign to target advanced industries such as aerospace, medicine and information technology for its next stage of development.

November 8, 2011

China moves, haltingly, to clean up environmental mess

After two decades of nonstop development that devastated the environment in many areas, Chinese leaders now say they want to clean up and restore the nation's fabled rivers and ancient lands.

November 7, 2011

China’s upwardly mobile face housing squeeze

Cao Sheng, a young professional living in the bustling port city of Ningbo, would like to move to a larger apartment so she and her husband can start a family. But with housing prices skyrocketing across China, she doubts they will be able to afford one any time soon.

November 7, 2011

China explores new paths to prosperity

China's economy is struggling for a second time in four years to avoid being dragged under by a receding tide of ebbing growth and financial crises elsewhere in the world.

November 6, 2011

Unemployment dips to 9 percent in Oct.

The nation's unemployment rate fell slightly to 9 percent last month as businesses added another 80,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

November 4, 2011

Job growth picks up in September

Job growth picked up to 103,000 last month, defying fears of a gathering slowdown in the economy, while the unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

October 7, 2011

Listless consumers put the brakes on August spending

The foundering economy has left Americans consumers listless and frustrated with many unwilling to splurge at the malls and unable to take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates on record to buy a house or improve their finances.

September 14, 2011

U.S. exports are up, but jobs don’t follow

Exports have been a rare strength and engine of growth in the U.S. economic recovery, aided by a big push from the Obama White House — but despite the positive signs, the sector has not proven to be the plentiful source of new jobs that many supporters had hoped.

September 13, 2011

Businesses cite ‘poor sales’ as top reason for lack of hiring

The economy last month offered up no new jobs in celebration of Labor Day and appears in danger of slipping back into recession despite massive efforts by Congress and the Federal Reserve in the past three years to keep it afloat.

September 4, 2011

Job growth, unemployment stall in August

Job growth ground to a halt last month in the strongest evidence to date that businesses were hit as hard as consumers by a sharp loss of confidence during the month spawned by Washington's debt crisis and severe turmoil in the world's financial markets.

September 2, 2011