Economy sees its first boost since spring '08
WASHINGTON The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. It s the strongest signal yet that the economy has entered a new, though fragile, pha...
 7.1K - Oct. 29, 2009; scored 169.0 Polarization menaces debt control effort
Suddenly, it s occurred to liberals as well as wonky budget hawks that the nation s fiscal future is unsustainable. But the chances of action are near zero. Blame political polarization. For years, Republicans have complained about runaway entitleme...
3.2K - Oct. 28, 2009; scored 131.0 GMAC seeking more federal aid
NEW YORK (AP) GMAC, the former lending arm of General Motors Co., is in talks with the Treasury Department for a third injection of taxpayer aid, a further sign of the U.S. government s entrenchment in the U.S. auto industry. The Treasury Departmen...
3.7K - Oct. 28, 2009; scored 1000.0 Bailed-out firms must slash pay for top executives
WASHINGTON The Treasury Department is expected today to order seven companies that have not paid back last year s government bailouts to halve their top executives average compensation. The cuts apply to the 25 highest-paid executives at banks and...
6.4K - Oct. 22, 2009; scored 249.0 Bailout watchdog expects much to remain unrefunded
WASHINGTON (AP) The man who watches over the $700 billion in government money given to banks and other institutions to avert a financial collapse said today he thinks it s too early to say how much will be repaid to the taxpayers. Just as the ...
4.7K - Oct. 21, 2009; scored 301.0 Treasury not prepared for AIG bonuses
WASHINGTON (AP) The fierce debate over bonuses for bailed-out executives was revived on Capitol Hill today as a government watchdog explained how some executives nearly brought down the financial system then pocketed millions. Neil Barofsky, the ...
4.0K - Oct. 14, 2009; scored 301.0 Watchdog warns that loan relief needs improvements while Treasury says plan hits goal early
WASHINGTON (AP) The Obama administration s effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure may not achieve its goal of helping 3 million to 4 million borrowers and may simply delay mortgage defaults for many, a government watchdog group says. The Congr...
1.5K - Oct. 9, 2009; scored 169.0 Unemployment creeps up
WASHINGTON Job hunters will face long odds well into next year. As the unemployment rate inches closer to 10 percent, most businesses are nowhere close to hiring again. Uncertain about prospects for recovery the economy s and their own employer...
6.0K - Oct. 3, 2009; scored 131.0 Zoellick wants greater role for U.S. Treasury
WASHINGTON (AP) The president of the World Bank says he opposes giving more authority to the U.S. Federal Reserve, arguing instead that the Treasury Department is better suited to manage financial crises. Robert Zoellick suggested in a speech toda...
0.8K - Sep. 28, 2009; scored 169.0 BofA faces SEC trial, exits loss-sharing deal
WASHINGTON ” Bank of America Corp. now faces a trial with the Securities and Exchange Commission over billions in bonuses paid at Merrill Lynch, after a judge threw out the bank s $33 million settlement and rebuked the agency for ...
4.2K - Sep. 22, 2009; scored 131.0 Crocodiles, wildlife key to Cuba's tourism
BOCA DE GUAMA, Cuba ” Crocodile 0383 is too tiny to be menacing. Three weeks old and barely the length of a candy bar, the gray and brownish-yellow beast already has all 64 jagged teeth, which glint like crushed glass in the tropical sun. ...
5.8K - Sep. 18, 2009; scored 131.0 Money market fund guarantee program to end
WASHINGTON (AP) The Obama administration said today that a program used to guarantee as much as $3 trillion in money market mutual fund assets will end on schedule next week. The program, which will be closed down on Sept. 18, had no direc...
1.9K - Sep. 10, 2009; scored 169.0 Banks fail to meet promises
Is anyone really surprised by the dismal performance of banks that keep promising to help struggling homeowners fix bad mortgages? According to RealtyTrac, home-foreclosures activity jumped 7 percent in July from June and 32 percent from a year earli...
3.0K - Aug. 19, 2009; scored 131.0 Congress feasts on Social Security
On July 13, The World featured an Other View by the Gazette Colorado Springs, Colo., U.S. Has Victimized Social Security, as a partial fabrication cleverly worded to distort Social Security economic stability and longevity. Social Security s actuar...
2.8K - Aug. 18, 2009; scored 169.0 Jobless claims increase
WASHINGTON Retail sales disappointed in July and the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week. The latest government reports reinforced concerns about how quickly consumers will be able t...
5.8K - Aug. 13, 2009; scored 236.0 TARP: Bad assets still threaten banks
WASHINGTON (AP) Despite signs that the financial system has stabilized, banks remain threatened by billions of dollars of bad loans on their balance sheets, and more could fail if the economy worsens, a congressional watchdog reports. In its latest...
4.4K - Aug. 11, 2009; scored 169.0 White House delays its budget update
WASHINGTON The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today s bleak landscape. The administration s annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and unempl...
6.8K - Jul. 20, 2009; scored 131.0 Regulators shut banks in Calif., Ga. and SD
WASHINGTON (AP) Regulators on Friday shut two banks in California and two smaller banks in Georgia and South Dakota, boosting to 57 the number of federally insured banks to fail this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver ...
5.3K - Jul. 18, 2009; scored 131.0 Conservatives attack plan for health insurance czar
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama s congressional allies want to create a powerful insurance commissioner to oversee medical plans nationwide. State regulators say it would duplicate what they do without better protecting consumers. Conservati...
4.0K - Jul. 7, 2009; scored 131.0 FBI takes close look at failed Albany developer
ALBANY - The FBI, one bankruptcy trustee and 88 investors are hot on the money trail behind Albany real estate developer Joe LaCoste, court records show. As CEO and major shareholder of the now-defunct Willamette Development Services, LaCoste amassed...
7.4K - Jun. 30, 2009; scored 131.0 | 
