Patrice Hill

Bernanke out of moves, critics say

With interest rates near zero and the Federal Reserve already owning a large share of the mortgage and Treasury securities markets, many investors fear the central bank may be out of ammunition should the economy take a serious turn for the worse.

September 2, 2010

Banks post strong quarter, but woes persist

A lull in loan defaults this spring enabled the nation's banks to post their biggest quarterly industry profit in nearly three years, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported Tuesday.

August 31, 2010

Obama, GOP debate small-business tax

This year's debate over extending President George W. Bush's tax cuts has turned into a brawl over which party is doing more for small businesses, with assertions that the health of the economy and thousands of future jobs are at stake.

August 30, 2010

SEC backs labor on corporate board votes

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday handed labor and social-activist groups a big victory by approving rules making it easier for them to put allies on corporate boards throughout the country.

August 25, 2010

Sales of existing homes plunge

Sales of existing homes plummeted 27.2 percent to a 15-year low last month despite record-low mortgage rates, shocking markets and heightening worries that housing's steep slide will drag the rest of the economy back into recession.

August 24, 2010

Debate on taxes affects the savers

The nation's highest income groups predictably did better during the recession and socked away their money, new government figures show, but wealthier Americans' newfound penchant for savings is already driving Democratic calls to raise taxes on them this fall.

August 17, 2010

Economic outlook divides Fed

The dramatic economic slowdown this summer has provoked an increasingly contentious debate among analysts, including an unusually public split among members of the Federal Reserve Board, over the U.S. economy's long-term outlook and the possibility of a Japan-like "lost decade."

August 11, 2010

Ailing public sector leads in layoffs

State and local governments this summer gained the dubious distinction of being the nation's biggest source of job losses — a trend that likely helped to break a stalemate in Congress last week over providing states with additional aid.

August 8, 2010

More private jobs in July, but economy overall lost 131,000

Businesses took on another 71,000 new workers in July, continuing the trend of creating a trickle of new jobs since the beginning of the year, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

August 6, 2010

Consumers find thrift, but lose fast recovery

The deep recession and widespread joblessness appear to have taught Americans an important lesson about living within their means and setting aside more money for economic emergencies.

August 1, 2010

Growth slowed to 2.4% in spring quarter

The nation's economic recovery lost speed in the spring quarter, growing at a 2.4 percent annual rate after surging by 3.7 percent in the winter, the Commerce Department reported Friday morning.

July 30, 2010

Bank reforms to pinch consumer credit

Call it the law of unintended consequences. That's what many finance experts are saying will be the result of Congress' latest attempt to micromanage the world of consumer credit through the financial-reform measure President Obama signed into law last week.

July 28, 2010

Heavy liability could sink small oil drillers

One of the biggest of the big oil companies may be responsible for the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, but Washington's response to the BP PLC spill would give an advantage to such major oil companies while threatening to put their small competitors out of business.

July 25, 2010

Economic future ‘unusually uncertain’

With the outlook for the economy "unusually uncertain," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke advised Congress on Wednesday not to precipitously cut stimulus spending in a drive to rein in the deficit.

July 21, 2010

Senate appears set to approve more benefits for jobless

A political logjam over extending long-term jobless benefits appeared to be breaking Monday as senators reacted to signs that a recent loss of momentum in the economic recovery could snowball into a more serious economic reversal.

July 19, 2010

Senate passes financial-reform bill

The Senate on Thursday approved and sent to President Obama a landmark bill to rein in unregulated Wall Street markets for the first time while covering America's financial landscape with an intricate thicket of new regulations.

July 15, 2010

Senate passes landmark financial overhaul

The Senate on Thursday approved and sent to President Obama a landmark bill to rein in unregulated Wall Street markets for the first time and cover the financial landscape with an intricate new thicket of regulation.

July 15, 2010

Finance bill favors interests of unions, activists

The financial reform bill expected to clear Congress this week is chock-full of provisions that have little to do with the financial crisis but cater to the long-standing agendas of labor unions and other Democratic interest groups.

July 14, 2010

Both parties mull raising retirement age

In a rare departure from this year's intense political posturing over the soaring budget deficit, House leaders of both parties recently signaled that they are prepared to tackle a leading long-term liability — Social Security — by raising the retirement age.

July 13, 2010

U.S. trade deficit goes up by 5 percent

The U.S. trade deficit with the rest of the world surged to $42.3 billion in May, a nearly 5 percent increase over April's numbers that reflects strong growth in imports of cars, computers and clothing, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday morning.