Patrice Hill

In throes of recession, D.C. stands apart

Throughout the recession, one major city stood out as an oasis for jobs and growth: Washington, D.C.

October 17, 2010

China warned that Congress may enact currency penalty

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus warned a Beijing audience Thursday that the Senate is ready to move on legislation after the midterm elections that would penalize China for manipulating its currency to gain an advantage in trade.

October 14, 2010

Voters not cheered by stocks’ comeback

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is back over 11,000, corporations are flush with $2 trillion in cash, growth has held up for more than a year, and interest rates are at record lows. But none of that does much to cheer the average voter.

October 11, 2010

Unemployment rate stays at 9.6 percent

The nation's businesses created another 64,000 jobs last month -- adding to a string of steady gains this year that has been welcome for job-hunters but not strong enough to draw down the unemployment rate.

October 8, 2010

Global finance chiefs deliver tough talk on currency, China

World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick warned Thursday against the outbreak of a global currency war while his counterpart at the International Monetary Fund said China must quicken its pace of currency reform if it hopes to gain a greater voice in the international organization.

October 7, 2010

Nations see dip of dollar as threat to economies

While the United States has been fussing at China for gaining an advantage in trade by depressing the value of its currency, other nations — while agreeing about China — are increasingly focused on the falling dollar and concern that the U.S. may be doing the same thing.

October 6, 2010

AIG plans asset sale to repay bailout

AIG, the poster child that epitomized everything bad about the nation's financial bailouts, announced a plan Thursday to repay the government — possibly with profits.

September 30, 2010

House passes tariff bill to stop China’s yuan imbalance with U.S.

The House on Wednesday fired a warning shot at China by passing a bill with strong bipartisan support that would raise tariffs on Chinese imports if the Asian giant keeps an artificial lid on its currency.

September 29, 2010

Home prices give up ground

Home prices and consumer confidence took a turn for the worse in recent weeks, economic reports said Tuesday.

September 28, 2010

Fed pledges more economic aid

The Federal Reserve pledged Tuesday to provide more aid to the economy should the sluggish recovery slow even more in coming weeks.

September 21, 2010

Recession over, but recovery not felt

The worst recession since the Great Depression ended more than a year ago, the nation's official scorekeeper declared Monday, but the aftershocks from the once-in-a-century event continue to reverberate through the economy and people's lives.

September 20, 2010

Penalties sought for China over currency practices

Accusing China of stealing U.S. jobs through "egregious" trade practices, legislators demanded action from the Obama administration Thursday and called for bipartisan legislation giving the Treasury ammunition to penalize China for using an artificially low exchange rate to gain an advantage in trade.

September 16, 2010

Geithner: China has moved a little on exchange rate

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told lawmakers Thursday morning that China in recent days has allowed a more rapid rise in its exchange rate, apparently in response to the pressure raised by congressional hearings this week on the matter.

September 16, 2010

Manufacturing powered ahead last month

The nation's factories churned out another increase in production last month, posting a 0.2 percent rise that adds to a nearly uninterrupted string of gains in the last year, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday morning.

September 15, 2010

Obama may face fury over Chinese currency

The Obama administration this week may have to fend off a fight with Democratic allies in Congress who are angry about what they say is China's refusal to end trade-distorting policies and who are threatening reprisals that businesses fear could start a trade war.

September 14, 2010

‘Green’ jobs no longer golden in stimulus

Noticeably absent from President Obama's latest economic-stimulus package are any further attempts to create jobs through "green" energy projects, reflecting a year in which the administration's original, loudly trumpeted efforts proved largely unfruitful.

September 9, 2010

Jobless claims, trade deficit decline

The nation's economic outlook improved Thursday as the government reported big drops in the nation's trade deficit in July and a large decline in claims for unemployment benefits last week.

September 9, 2010

Trade deficit, jobless claims plummet

The economic outlook improved Thursday as the government reported big drops in the nation's trade deficit in July and a large decline in claims for unemployment benefits last week.

September 9, 2010

Economy’s modest gains met with irreverence

Call it the "Rodney Dangerfield Recovery." It gets no respect from any quarter. Republicans pound away at its weakness, Democrats lament it, the media chronicles its troubles, investors fret about it, and many average citizens question whether it even exists.

September 5, 2010

Jobless rate rose to 9.6 percent in Aug.

Growth in jobs last month was not fast enough to prevent the unemployment rate from ticking up to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

September 3, 2010