Patrice Hill

Unemployment rate stays at 9.7%; 36K jobs cut

UPDATED: The nation's unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.7 percent last month as employers shed another 36,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

March 5, 2010

American reliance on government at all-time high

The so-called "Great Recession" has left Americans depending on the government dole like never before.

March 1, 2010

Bernanke delivers blunt warning on U.S. debt

With uncharacteristic bluntness, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned Congress on Wednesday that the United States could soon face a debt crisis like the one in Greece.

February 25, 2010

Induced inflation feared as way to cut debt

Fears are growing that the United States will once again resort to printing money and ginning up inflation to resolve its debt problem.

February 19, 2010

Greek woes hit markets around the world

World financial markets have been whipsawed in recent days by the European debt crisis, with stock and bond investors thousands of miles from Greece feeling the effects of that nation's budget woes.

February 12, 2010

Census hiring set to boost job gains

While Washington legislators debate what role the government should play in job creation this year, the government itself is poised to go on a major hiring spree this spring.

February 8, 2010

January unemployment dropped to 9.7%

The nation's unemployment rate fell out of the double-digit range last month and landed at 9.7 percent as businesses laid off fewer workers than they did throughout most of last year, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

February 5, 2010

Deficit imperils nation’s top credit rating

The United States is drawing closer to the kind of debt crisis plaguing some European countries, where a financial emergency forces political leaders to make draconian spending cuts and tax increases to maintain the confidence of international investors.

February 4, 2010

Growth spurt expected to slow this year

After the best quarterly growth in six years at the end of 2009, the economy is expected to settle down in 2010 to a more subdued state that reflects underlying difficulties with jobs and credit still weighing on consumers.

February 1, 2010

Economic growth soared by 5.7%

The economy grew at a breath-taking 5.7 percent pace in the final quarter of last year as it zoomed out of recession, the fastest growth in more than six years, the Commerce Department reported Friday morning.

January 29, 2010

Bernanke wins 2nd term as Fed chief

The Senate on Thursday handed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke a second term after a week of contentious and sometimes suspenseful debate.

January 29, 2010

Senate, in 70-30 vote, approves Bernanke’s second term

The Senate on Thursday afternoon handed Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke a second term after a week of contentious debate.

January 28, 2010

Fed nods to Hill’s economy concerns

The Federal Reserve acknowledged concerns on Capitol Hill about consumers who are out of jobs and short on credit, saying Wednesday that it may continue programs to support mortgages, small businesses and consumers loans this year if financial conditions don't improve.

January 28, 2010

Bernanke’s 2nd term in peril in Senate

The populist political storm aimed at Wall Street has taken a turn toward Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke in recent days, threatening to stall his appointment to a second term and raising the risk of intense turmoil in the financial markets in coming days.

January 25, 2010

Obama’s bank tax spurs fairness queries

President Obama tailored his proposed tax on banks to tap into public anger at Wall Street, yet the $117 billion raised would be used mostly to pay for the bailouts of Detroit, AIG and a social program to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

January 21, 2010

Hearing urged on bailout for Fannie, Freddie

Six Republican senators are demanding a hearing by the Senate banking committee on the Treasury's little-noticed move to remove caps on the amount of taxpayer aid given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the next three years.

January 21, 2010

Feds find little fraud at big Wall Street firms

While the American public and Capitol Hill lawmakers appear to blame wrongdoing on Wall Street as the primary cause of the global financial crisis, federal law enforcement agencies have had little success in finding and prosecuting instances of fraud at the nation's major investment firms.

January 19, 2010

CEOs trade blame with Congress over finance crisis

Wall Street clashed with Washington on Wednesday over the causes of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, with political leaders and financial chieftains trying to cast the blame on each other.

January 14, 2010

Taxpayers to pay for Fannie, Freddie aid

A recent move by the Treasury Department to remove $200 billion caps on assistance to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac eliminates any doubt that taxpayers will pay for all their losses for the next three years and appears to be a major step toward formally nationalizing the housing enterprises, analysts say.

January 13, 2010