Patrice Hill

Prospect of more battles over budget unnerves economists

The political shootout during this summer's debt standoff ended up wounding the economy, and the threat of more missteps as Congress and the White House resume their budget battles next week looms as one of the biggest risks for an economy already perilously close to recession, economists warn.

September 1, 2011

Zig-zagging market closes up again

A ray of hope for the economy emerged Thursday and helped to snap the stock market out of its deep morass, spawning a 423-point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

August 11, 2011

Stocks plunge again on bank woes

Wall Street stocks took another tumble Wednesday after a brief recovery as worries widened over the health of U.S. and European banks hit hard by debt crises on both sides of the Atlantic.

August 10, 2011

Stocks rebound in late surge of trading

Wall Street stocks staged a convincing comeback after weeks of turmoil Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average first plumbing new lows near 10,500 before surging to end up 430 points in a lightning-fast rebound in the closing 45 minutes of trading.

August 9, 2011

U.S. credit downgrade pummels market

The historic downgrade of the United States engendered by political gridlock in Washington caused one of the worst days ever on Wall Street Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plummeting more than 600 points in its sixth-biggest drop.

August 8, 2011

Dow Jones average plunges 635 points

Wall Street stocks plummeted Monday on the first-ever downgrade of the United States' credit rating, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging 635 points in a panicky day of wild gyrations.

August 8, 2011

Economy adds 117K jobs, a welcomed sign for troubled markets; 9.1% unemployment

Job gains unexpectedly accelerated last month to 117,000, and the unemployment rate declined to 9.1 percent — news that eased recession worries in troubled financial markets.

August 5, 2011

Dow takes worst hit since 2008

Worries that the sudden economic downturn is going global sent Wall Street plummeting Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling more than 500 points in the worst market rout since the 2008 financial crisis.

August 4, 2011

Fears of double-dip recession rise

A report revealing the first decline in consumer spending since the Great Recession shocked Wall Street investors Tuesday and raised fears that the economy could fall into a double-dip recession.

August 2, 2011

Going for broke could break fragile economy

The economy has grown so fragile this year that missteps by the warring factions in Congress could tip it back into recession, economists warn.

July 31, 2011

U.S. growth tepid in spring quarter

The economy inched ahead at a 1.3 percent annual growth rate last spring, held back by soaring gasoline prices and disruptions in manufacturing caused by the March earthquake/tsunami in Japan.

July 29, 2011

‘Wiggle room’ seen on Aug. 2 debt deadline

Global markets recently fixated on the budget fight in Washington, but have remained mostly calm, in part because many investors think the Treasury Department will be able to avoid default for at least a week or two beyond the Aug. 2 "drop dead" deadline touted by the White House.

July 26, 2011

‘Too big to fail’ bank law seen as too weak to work

A year after the enactment of a sweeping Wall Street reform law, evidence is growing that it failed in its main mission of ending taxpayer bailouts of global banks considered "too big to fail."

July 21, 2011

‘Kicking the can’ threatens credit rating

Kicking the can down the road — a great Washington tradition when the two major political parties reach a budget impasse — is not an option this time if the U.S. is to maintain its privileged financial standing in the world.

July 18, 2011

Moody’s reiterates credit-rating threat

Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday moved toward downgrading the Treasury's AAA credit rating, considered the gold standard in world markets for most of the last century, warning that signs of a breakdown in the increasingly acrimonious budget negotiations have raised the likelihood of default.

July 13, 2011

Jobs numbers underscore dilemma over agreement

The economy's sudden downshift in growth and employment in recent weeks has increased the urgency for President Obama and Congress to reach a debt-reduction deal at the same time it has made their task more difficult.

July 10, 2011

Unemployment at 9.2 percent as jobs stall

A second straight month of paltry job growth in June sent the unemployment rate rising to 9.2 percent, showing that the economy remained in a deep pause, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

July 8, 2011

Lagarde promises to push reforms at IMF

Christine Lagarde, at her first news conference as the new head of the International Monetary Fund, vowed Wednesday morning to push ahead with reforms that give a greater say to major emerging countries such as China in managing the world economy.

July 6, 2011

Credit agencies warn about debt-payment delay

With signs multiplying that debt-reduction talks between the White House and Congress are at an impasse, Wall Street credit agencies are stepping up their warnings that even a temporary delay in making payment on the government's $14.3 trillion of debt will result in a significant cut in the nation's perfect credit rating.

July 3, 2011

Economic stimulus measures unconventional

Stuck with a glacial pace of economic recovery and little likelihood that Congress will approve more stimulus, the White House has been resorting to some unconventional measures to try to boost growth.

June 28, 2011