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Patrice Hill

Patrice Hill was a staff writer for The Washington Times.

Articles by Patrice Hill

A new town house is under construction at the Crossings adult community in Colonie, N.Y., on Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Home prices jump 8.1 percent in past year

The average home price in the nation's top 20 cities rose smartly by 8.1 percent in the past year — the fastest increase since the peak of the housing bubble in the summer of 2006, according to the S&P Dow Jones index released Tuesday. Published March 26, 2013

The EPA is among the government agencies planning to furlough some of its staffers as a result of the sequester cuts that went into effect March 1. EPA furloughs are planned through September. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Reduced regulations a ‘silver lining’ from sequester slashing

Many businesses and conservatives have made no secret that they like the $85 billion of across-the-board federal spending cuts this year because of their long-standing agenda to "starve the beast" of government. But less understood is how they welcome the sequester cuts because some of the deepest reductions target agencies busy preparing a slew of rules that businesses contend are onerous and will harm the economy. Published March 20, 2013

Department stores saw a gain of 1.0 percent on sales in January, likely helped by consumers redeeming gift cards they received at Christmas. Restaurants and car dealers, however, saw declines. (Associated Press)

Retail sales inch up despite tax bite

U.S. retailers eked out a 0.1 percent gain in sales last month despite a big increase in payroll taxes that hit more than 100 million middle-class consumers during the month, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Published February 13, 2013

A customer shops at a Nordstrom store in Chicago on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Retail sales inch up in Jan. after payroll tax increase

U.S. retailers eked out a 0.1 percent gain in sales last month despite a big increase in payroll taxes that hit more than 100 million middle-class consumers during the month, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday morning. Published February 13, 2013

** FILE ** China is now the world’s biggest and fastest-growing source of air-polluting greenhouse gases as it relies increasingly on coal to generate electricity. (Associated Press)

Emissions pledge seen within reach

Greenhouse-gas emissions have dropped dramatically in the United States since 2005, and the nation now appears on track to achieve the 17 percent reduction sought by President Obama by 2020, thanks to a trend toward increased fuel efficiency for vehicles and a switch by power companies from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas made possible by the shale gas revolution. Published February 11, 2013

** FILE ** President Obama visits the TransCanada Stillwater Pipe Yard in Cushing, Okla., in March 2012. (Associated Press)

Barrel half full: Optimists see U.S. oil self-reliance soon

While most scenarios show the U.S. depending on imports of oil from Canada and a few other neighbors for decades to come, the managing director at Raymond James is one of a growing school of bullish analysts who believe that booming production in the U.S. will put energy independence within reach. Published February 4, 2013

Supertankers, which transport half the world's oil, are increasingly destined toward Asian markets. The U.S. and other nations in the Western Hemisphere are becoming more self-reliant. (U.S. Navy Via Associated Press)

Major changes from oil revolution

For Americans who came of age in an era marked by worries about scarce world oil supplies, dominant international oil cartels and unrest in the Middle East, the times are changing — quickly. Published February 4, 2013

After more than two decades of wars and U.N. embargoes, Iraq is back in the oil market just when demand is poised to surge in a way that threatens to drive up prices to destabilizing levels. (Associated Press)

Iraq’s flood of ‘cheap oil’ could rock world markets

The U.S. is not the only nation experiencing a renaissance in oil production. Sidelined for two decades by war, sanctions and political instability, Iraq passed a critical milestone last year by producing 3 million barrels a day of crude oil for the first time since 1990, before the Persian Gulf War, reaching 3.4 million barrels a day by December. Published February 3, 2013

**FILE** Cargo ships are unloaded in December at the Port of Los Angeles. (Associated Press)

GDP reverses course into negative territory

U.S. economic growth unexpectedly ground to a halt at the end of last year, falling from a healthy 3.1 percent gain in the summer to a 0.1 percent contraction in the final quarter, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Published January 30, 2013

**FILE** A couple descend an escalator while shopping at an H&M store in Atlanta on Dec. 12, 2012. (Associated Press)

Payroll tax saps consumer outlook

It was the tax cut that nobody noticed two years ago. And it was rarely mentioned in the fight between Congress and the White House last year over the expiring Bush-era tax cuts. But this month, the payroll-tax cut suddenly registered on everybody's radar screen — when it went away. Published January 29, 2013