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Patrice Hill

Patrice Hill was a staff writer for The Washington Times.

Articles by Patrice Hill

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said an effort was made to hit a balance between the abuses that once made mortgages too easy to get and overly strict standards that hampered borrowers with good credit. (Associated Press)

Lenders feeling at home with new regulations on mortgages

Banks and other lenders gave a strong initial review to new rules released by the Obama administration Thursday that protect them from frivolous lawsuits if they follow strict standards for making mortgages that ensure borrowers have the ability to repay. Published January 10, 2013

The New York headquarters of ratings agency Standard & Poor's is pictured in 2011. (Associated Press)

With U.S. fiscal problems unresolved, treasured AAA rating may fall off cliff

The United States looks increasingly likely to lose its gold-plated AAA credit rating in the next few months amid warnings by Wall Street rating agencies that last week's $650 billion "fiscal cliff" deal did not go far enough to reduce $1 trillion deficits and stabilize the debt. Published January 7, 2013

**FILE** A "help wanted" sign is posted on the front window of a clothing boutique in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 2012. (Associated Press)

Unemployment steady at 7.8 percent in December

The economy continued to grow steadily last month despite Washington's impasse over the fiscal cliff, with unemployment staying at a four-year low of 7.8 percent as businesses created another 155,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday morning. Published January 4, 2013

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Jan. 2, 2013. (Associated Press)

Stocks surge with ‘fiscal cliff’ averted

Wall Street on Wednesday celebrated Congress' vote to prevent sharp tax increases from hitting the economy and causing a recession this year, with the Dow Jones industrial average surging by 308 points. But economic gurus warned that the deal falls short of solving the nation's huge debt problems. Published January 2, 2013

An export revival in the U.S. has been sparked by a dramatic drop in American natural gas prices, thanks to the shale boom fueled by well sites such as this one in Zelienople, Pa. The U.S. is now considered a highly desirable location for manufacturers relying on gas for energy and as a component in many essential materials. (Associated Press)

Trade deficit on course for surplus

While Washington wrestles with the nation's burgeoning budget deficits, some good news has emerged on the other deficit front: The nation's bloated trade deficit appears to be turning the corner, with at least one prominent economist predicting it will disappear altogether within a decade. Published December 25, 2012

“We’re at a point right now where banks are afraid to make a bad loan,” says David H. Stevens, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association. He said additional regulations are likely to worsen the situation, particularly for people with average credit ratings who want to buy their first homes. (J.M. Eddins Jr./The Washington Time)

Mortgage industry insider warns about a stifling regulatory cliff

Lending to homebuyers in the U.S. remains little above the depressed levels hit during the recession because banks are wary about lending amid a slew of regulations coming out next year and proliferation of enforcement actions by state and federal regulators, a top mortgage banking official told The Washington Times. Published December 20, 2012

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks Dec. 12, 2012, during a news conference at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. (Associated Press)

In shift, Fed sets 6.5 percent unemployment goal for easing

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday for the first time announced a new target of 6.5 percent unemployment for the U.S. economy — down from the current 7.7. percent — and started an additional easing program aimed at achieving that goal. Published December 12, 2012

A person fills out an application at the Fort Lauderdale Career Fair in Dania Beach, Fla., on Nov. 30, 2012. (Associated Press)

Unemployment in U.S. falls to 7.7 percent

The nation's unemployment rate dropped from 7.9 percent to 7.7 percent last month — the lowest in nearly four years — as businesses added another 146,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday morning. Published December 7, 2012

Forklift driver Clyde Boyce takes inventory in the warehouse at a Michelin tire manufacturing plant in Greenville, S.C., on Tuesday, July 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

U.S. economy chugging, as rivals face recession

Even with ho-hum growth, the U.S. is starting to look like an outperformer in a world where Britain and the rest of Europe are in a double-dip recession, Japan is falling into what may be a triple-dip downturn, and some formerly robust emerging markets recently have slowed to a near-standstill. Published November 29, 2012

Workers pull merchandise Monday at the Amazon.com 1.2 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Phoenix. Americans clicked away on their computers and smartphones for deals on so-called Cyber Monday, which was expected to end as the biggest online shopping day in history. Shoppers were expected to spend $1.5 billion, up 20 percent from last year. (Associated Press)

Holiday shopping season starts strong

The holiday shopping season got off to a strong start over the long weekend, with nearly 5 in 6 Americans making an appearance at the malls or visiting retailers online as rising spirits prompted an early hunt for bargains. Published November 26, 2012

Consumer Eva Cevallos with her eleven-month daughter, Quinn, shop for Thanksgiving celebrations at the Pre-Black Friday event at the Walmart Supercenter store in Rosemead, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Neither Sandy nor ‘cliff’ will steal Christmas from shoppers

U.S. consumers are in an upbeat mood and are preparing to spend more this holiday season than last year's, providing a badly needed boost to the economy. But headwinds from the lingering effects of Superstorm Sandy and the year-end political storm brewing in Washington could put a damper on their shopping spree, analysts say. Published November 21, 2012

Protesters march past a closed shop during a union demonstration Wednesday in Thessaloniki, Greece. Officials announced Europe has been in the second leg of a double-dip recession since the fourth quarter of last year. The overall European unemployment rate is at a record-high 11.6 percent, and it is hovering around 25 percent in Greece and Spain. (Associated Press)

Europe confirms double-dip recession

Europe has been in the second leg of a double-dip recession for nearly a year, officials announced Wednesday — a development that hardly comes as a surprise to the millions of workers protesting record-high unemployment in the streets of Athens and Madrid, or to many U.S. corporations with slumping sales on the continent. Published November 15, 2012

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, speaks to reporters after the House Republicans voted for their leadership for the next session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. He is flanked by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., left, and Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., right. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Agencies warn politicians: 
Credit ratings on the line

Wall Street ratings agencies are skeptical of the resolve of political leaders to tame the nation's debts, and are raising the likelihood that at least one of the three top agencies will add to the turmoil in financial markets at the end of the year by further downgrading the U.S. credit rating. Published November 14, 2012

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, the day after President Obama was re-elected. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Stocks dive on fears of federal fiscal cliff

Stocks plummeted Wednesday as the re-election of President Obama reinforced fears that a battle over higher taxes will drive the U.S. economy over the "fiscal cliff." Published November 7, 2012

Nearly a third of U.S. homeowners have been stuck with houses worth less than they paid and ended up over their heads in debt with mortgages that borrowers often could not refinance because they had no equity. Studies show that recessions resulting from major financial collapses, such as the monumental housing bust and banking crisis of October 2008, usually have slow and difficult recoveries.

Slow recovery from
 recession has been 
par for the course

The sluggish recovery, as GOP candidate Mitt Romney repeatedly notes, pales in comparison to previous comebacks in the U.S. economy since World War II, but studies show that recessions resulting from major financial collapses such as the one in October 2008 usually have slow and difficult recoveries. Published November 1, 2012

Appliances are displayed Oct. 25, 2012, at Orville's Home Appliances store in Amherst, N.Y. (Associated Press)

Economic growth picked up in summer

The nation's economic growth accelerated modestly in the summer quarter, rising to a 2 percent annual rate from the sluggish 1.3 percent seen in the spring, the Commerce Department reported Friday morning. Published October 26, 2012

Protesters demonstrate outside parliament as lawmakers in Madrid debate budget spending cuts for 2013. Spain’s economy continued to shrink in the third quarter. Greece also is still reeling. (Associated Press)

White House winner will have to deal with housing, European debt problems

The election is all about the economy this year, but neither presidential candidate has talked much about two major problems that could make or break the economic recovery in the next presidential term: housing and its broken finance system, and the European debt crisis. Published October 24, 2012