Fiscal Cliff

Federal deficit shrinks at surprising rate

2013-05-14 18:56:00

WASHINGTON — The federal deficit is shrinking more quickly than expected, and the government's long-term debt has largely stabilized for the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday in a report that could strengthen the Obama...

Consumer spending and personal income climb in March

2013-04-29 06:36:00

WASHINGTON -- Consumers spent more in March even as their income rose less than analysts had projected, a mixed economic message to start a week that will end with the latest government unemployment report. Consumer spending was up 0.2% last month, down...

Boehner: Bondholders should be paid first if debt limit breached

2013-05-08 07:24:00

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John A. Boehner said holders of U.S. government bonds should be paid first if the nation's debt limit is breached, even if that means that China would get preference over the salaries of U.S. troops. Boehner (R-Ohio) defended...

U.S. might not hit debt limit until October, new study says

2013-04-26 08:35:00

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. might not hit its debt limit until October because of improved economic growth and higher tax revenue this year, according to a new estimate released Friday. The projection by the Bipartisan Policy Center would give Congress and...

Stock spotlight: Mattel toys with ways to sell more products

2013-04-29 00:00:00

Barbie is vacating her pink Malibu mansion and hunting for international digs. Thomas the Tank Engine is being revamped as an even livelier locomotive. Max Steel, the new kid on the block, is marketed as a "modern day tech superhero." The toy brands,...

IMF lowers global growth forecast, warns of risks to economic recovery

2013-04-16 07:36:00

WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered its forecast for global economic growth this year from projections made three months ago, and warned policymakers that they could not relax their efforts as risks to the recovery remain....

Jobs report paints a dreary picture

2013-04-06 07:00:00

Poor job growth and a large exodus of unemployed workers last month stifled weeks of upbeat economic data and marked a sobering reality check, signaling that hiring was likely to remain weak in the coming months. Employers added a paltry 88,000 net...

S&P 500 sets all-time closing high [video chat]

2013-03-28 15:36:00

NEW YORK -- The broad Standard & Poor's 500 index broke a half-decade-old record, another sign of stocks' continuing rally this year. The S&P 500 added 6.34 points, or 0.41%, to 1,569.19 Thursday, the last trading day of the first quarter. The S&P 500...

No debt agreement, no break

2013-03-25 00:00:00

With no deal in sight to curb our growing national debt, America is going broke. So what do our representatives in Congress plan to do about it? Take a two-week break. Are they trying to see whether their abysmal 13% approval rating can sink any lower?...

Top CEOs more optimistic on economy but don't plan more hiring

2013-03-13 07:40:00

WASHINGTON -- Despite higher taxes and looming federal budget cuts, top U.S. chief executives were more optimistic about the economy in the first three months of this year than they were at the end of 2012. The CEOs surveyed by the Business Roundtable...

How to close our National Schmoozing Deficit

2013-03-06 15:28:00

In my Wednesday column, I wrote that President Obama and most leading members of Congress know what a solution to the fiscal crisis looks like; they just can’t get there from here because they don’t trust one another much. Obama is trying to...

Oil revenue fuels intense fighting among Alaska lawmakers

2013-03-30 21:51:00

JUNEAU, Alaska — Over most of the last several decades, Alaska's North Slope was America's energy powerhouse. The legendary oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk gushed 2 million barrels a day out of the frozen tundra and down the Trans-Alaska...

Brian OliverSmith, chief executive of Urban Planet Mobile in Durham, N.C., said he was concerned about the effects of the deal in Congress to resolve the "fiscal cliff" would have on his small business payroll.

2013-03-12 06:30:54

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the U.S. gross domestic product shrank by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2012, after growing 3.1% in the third quarter. Above: Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) is joined by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.

2013-01-30 17:15:00

A hard-fought 'fiscal cliff' deal was finally reached on Jan. 1 that narrowly averted devastating tax increases and spending cuts. The agreement, approved late on Jan. 1 by the Republican-led House of Representatives and signed by President Obama on Jan.

2013-01-22 11:45:00