Patrice Hill

60-year-low tax revenues contribute to deficit growth

Washington's spendthrift ways have taken much of the blame for sending the budget deficit more than $1.5 trillion during the recession, but equal blame should go to a collapse in federal revenues to 60-year lows, budget analysts say. Published April 17, 2011

War-weary Iraq sees economic rebound

Wracked in recent years by sectarian violence and economic collapse, Iraq has been enjoying a quiet resurgence this year even as its neighbors in the Middle East are striving to stave off economic meltdowns in the face of political unrest. Published April 10, 2011

Wages not keeping up with pace of inflation

American workers are getting squeezed, not able to get ahead because anemic growth in their wages is not keeping up with the fast rise in prices for food, fuel and other necessities. Published April 5, 2011

Unemployment falls to 2-year low of 8.8%

The U.S. job market maintained solid growth in the face of global turmoil last month, with enough jobs created to draw the unemployment rate down to a two-year low of 8.8 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday morning. Published April 1, 2011

Bonds to finance Japanese rebuilding

Fears that Japan might start dumping some of its vast holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds to pay for earthquake reconstruction have eased in financial markets. Published March 30, 2011

Administration proposes that banks spend $20 billion to help strapped borrowers

Congressional Republicans are moving to shut down President Obama's $30 billion program to help struggling homeowners pay their mortgages, but the White House appears to have already found a substitute plan. Published March 28, 2011

‘Worst report’ on housing renews fears of recession

Within the space of a week, the nation has witnessed worst performances on record of new-home sales, home prices and building — evidence that the housing market has sunk into a double-dip recession that poses a significant drag on the overall economy. Published March 23, 2011

Unions at crossroads in states’ budget wars

Public employee unions, the last bastion of an American labor movement in decline, are facing the fight of their lives this year as strapped state and local governments seek to permanently downsize their pensions, pay, benefits and bargaining rights. Published March 22, 2011

G-7 moves to prop up U.S. dollar

The Group of Seven industrialized countries moved Thursday night to prop up the U.S. dollar, which had fallen to record lows against the Japanese yen this week in the wake of Japan's devastating earthquake. Published March 17, 2011

Japanese crisis renews debate in U.S., Europe on nuclear’s renaissance

The nuclear crisis and fears of spreading radiation in Japan created a panic in world markets Tuesday while throwing a dark cloud over the nuclear industry and plans in the U.S. and Europe to start a nuclear renaissance. Published March 15, 2011

Quake unlikely to threaten U.S. economy

The disaster in Japan poses major economic challenges for the Asian giant and is interrupting key trade ties with the U.S. and the rest of the world, but it does not threaten to derail the U.S. and global economic expansions, analysts said. Published March 14, 2011

Public-sector unions claim outsized share of U.S. pension assets

More than a third of the nation's $9.3 trillion in pension assets belong to state and local government employees, even though they make up only 15 percent of the U.S. work force, a study shows. Published March 10, 2011

Tipping point for oil seen at $150 per barrel

A top Federal Reserve official on Monday said the central bank should react if oil prices soar as high as $150 a barrel because prices that high could throw the economy back into recession. Published March 7, 2011

Job gains push unemployment down to 8.9%; 192K added

The job market improved significantly last month as employers created 192,000 new jobs, drawing down the nation's unemployment rate to 8.9 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday morning. Published March 4, 2011

Stocks surge with positive jobs outlook, despite oil spike

Signs of a strengthening job market sent Wall Street stocks soaring Thursday, inspiring hopes that the U.S. economy will see robust growth this year despite surging oil prices. Published March 3, 2011

Bernanke goes head-to-head with tea party Republicans

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke sparred with tea party Republicans on Capitol Hill on Tuesday while downplaying the likelihood that soaring oil prices will hurt the economy or cause a surge in inflation. Published March 1, 2011

Jobs in peril as U.S. startups decline

The New York Stock Exchange's plan to merge with Deutsche Borse, while promising more efficiency for investors in global stocks, may hurt small U.S. enterprises that are finding it increasingly difficult to tap into the stock market so they can grow and create jobs. Published February 27, 2011

Officials try to ease oil worries

The White House on Thursday downplayed the danger to the economy from rapidly rising oil prices, which are flirting with $100 a barrel amid rising unrest in the Middle East, but many private economists worried that it might stifle this year's much-anticipated revival of growth and jobs. Published February 24, 2011

Oil prices surge on fear of Libyan unrest

Oil prices soared and global stocks plunged Monday on signs that Libya, a major exporter, will cut oil production amid spreading violence and unrest. Published February 21, 2011