Patrice Hill

Owning a house no longer part of the American dream?

As Congress and the White House debate how to patch up the housing market after four years of crisis, one clear lesson has emerged: Political leaders for the first time in decades no longer see the American dream of homeownership as the all-consuming goal it once was.

February 15, 2011

White House proposes winding down Fannie, Freddie

The Obama administration Friday morning endorsed a very gradual phasing-down of the enormous role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now play in the housing market, taking a first step by reducing the size of loans they can guarantee.

February 11, 2011

Debt-ceiling debate stirs up speculation

The White House is warning of financial Armageddon this spring if Congress fails to raise the Treasury's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, but many on Wall Street are skeptical that the looming spending clash will produce anything but riveting political theater.

February 10, 2011

Unemployment rate fell to 9% in January

The nation's unemployment rate plunged from 9.4 percent to 9 percent last month apparently as thousands of people decided to sit out snowstorms and suspended their search for work, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

February 4, 2011

GOP plan would let states go bankrupt

Financial markets have been rocked recently by predictions of a rash of municipal bankruptcies this year and talk among Republican leaders of drafting a law allowing states to go bankrupt as well.

February 3, 2011

Lawmakers not likely to evict Fannie, Freddie

Many members of Congress say they want to end the shotgun marriage between the federal government and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which was arranged in the heat of the 2008 financial crisis. But breaking up could be hard to do.

January 31, 2011

With a GDP record, ‘economy is back’

The economy turned an important corner at the end of last year, recouping all the ground lost during the Great Recession and expanding into record territory.

January 30, 2011

Obama tries to unite parties on jobs

Congress and the administration in the past three years already have used many of the standard moves in the playbook for spurring job growth, but President Obama rolled out a couple of new and untried ideas in his State of the Union address Tuesday with hopes of attracting lawmakers from both parties.

January 25, 2011

Turkey leverages economy for global power

While much attention has been focused on China and India, other quickly emerging nations are establishing themselves as powers to contend with in their parts of the world.

January 23, 2011

U.S.-Chinese currency link creates spiral in global food costs

Loose-money policies in the United States have combined with robust growth in China and other emerging nations in recent months to set off a price spiral in food, energy and other basic goods needed to run the economy.

January 13, 2011

Oil panel comes up dry on offshore drilling

A report from a presidential commission Tuesday did little to break the political deadlock over offshore drilling, prompting some observers to warn that the United States is headed toward another gas-price crunch this summer.

January 11, 2011

Bernanke urges Congress to adopt sweeping deficit plan

Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Friday morning urged Congress once again to act to bring down trillion-dollar deficits that threaten the nation's economic future.

January 7, 2011

Unemployment fell to 9.4 percent in Dec.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent last month, the lowest level since May 2009, after a year in which employers created more than a million jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

January 7, 2011

Auto industry’s Big Three look overseas for sales

Now that Detroit's automakers are back to financial health, they increasingly are looking overseas for sales.

January 4, 2011

Markets kick off new year with bang

The economy and markets got off to a strong start in the new year as signs emerged Monday of gains in manufacturing, construction and employment.

January 3, 2011

Dramatic spike in gas prices forecast

Oil and gasoline prices have risen to their highest levels in two years, and analysts say prices could shoot up dramatically this year as the thirst for fuel grows in the U.S. and around the world.

January 2, 2011

Home-price dip casts pall on economy

The slumping housing market struck a sour note Tuesday, somewhat dampening optimism that the economy is getting a big sugar rush from the best Christmas selling season in three years.

December 28, 2010

U.S. free-traders sour on China

Long-simmering trade tensions between the United States and China have broken out into open verbal warfare, with some highly respected and influential voices on trade now advocating an all-out economic war with the Asian giant.

December 12, 2010

Experts split on tax-cut deal

President Obama's tax-cut compromise with Republicans should provide a powerful boost to the economy next year by putting a lot of extra cash in consumers' pockets, and was cheered on Wall Street on Tuesday.

December 7, 2010

Unemployment jumped to 9.8% in November; slow job growth blamed

The nation's unemployment rate crept back up toward double-digit levels last month, rising to 9.8 percent after being stuck around 9.6 percent for much of the year, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

December 3, 2010