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Italy Hopes 'Super Mario' Can Save the Day
Italy’s long-embattled prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, stepped down amid fears that if unaddressed, his country's debt would worsen the European financial crisis. His successor, a respected economist, is meant to show the world that Italy can take charge of its finances and enact legislation to bring down its debt.11.14.11.
Economic Woes Force Youth to Re-evaluate Dreams
With the national unemployment rate stuck at around 9 percent and many economists warning of yet another recession, America’s young people are having a hard time finding meaningful jobs -- and feeling the impact of budget cuts on their schools and communities.10.14.11
NFL Players vs. Owners Battle Could Threaten Season
America’s most popular sport industry, the National Football League, is in the midst of a labor dispute between team owners and players, which if unresolved could result in owners locking out the players and even canceling the upcoming season. 03.11.11.
Budget Fight in Congress Could Lead to Government Shutdown
Imagine your family planned a trip to Yellowstone National Park, but when you got there the gates were closed. That could happen if Democrats and Republicans can't agree on a budget bill: the government will cease to operate as usual, shutting down nationally funded services until a settlement can be reached. 03.04.11.
Deal Making Results in Tax Cut for Most Americans
After lengthy debates and a final compromise worked out between Republicans and President Obama, Congress passed a $858 billion tax deal that includes a two-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, unemployment benefits for 13 months, and other measures designed to lift the U.S. economy. 12.17.10.
Obama Visits India, World’s Second-Fastest Growing Economy
President Barack Obama began his 10-day trip to Asia by stopping first in India, the world’s largest democracy. The president announced his support for India’s quest to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and worked on trade deals to help the U.S. economy. 11.19.10.
Foreclosure Crisis Pushes More Americans Out of Their Homes
Since the economic crisis began in December 2007, millions of Americans have lost their homes to foreclosure, sending families scrambling to find a place to live -- sometimes moving into relatives' houses, settling in homeless shelters or on the streets. 08.22.10
Congress Debates Ending Bush Tax Cuts
The tax cuts implemented during former President George W. Bush's first term in office are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, sparking a debate over whether lower tax rates are a good thing for Americans during a recession or whether they deprive the government of much needed cash. 08.11.10
Financial Reform Law Aims to Prevent Next Economic Crash
Congress has passed a bill to overhaul the rules that control banks and financial regulations, two years after the meltdown of the country's financial system sparked the ongoing recession. 07.16.10
Video: Small Businesses Struggle to Get Loans
As banks recover from the global financial meltdown of 2008, they have become more cautious: keeping more of their cash in the vault and raising the bar for who they will loan money to. While this means fewer risky loans, overall it also means that fewer companies, especially small ones, can get the loans they need to grow. 06.22.10
Video: Small Banks vs. Big Banks
A campaign has been gaining momentum around the country to encourage consumers to move their money from banks deemed "too big to fail" into smaller, community institutions. States and cities are considering legislation to move their dollars into smaller, local banks, and a Web site has popped up that provides a list of reputable small banks for those interested in moving their money. 04.07.10
Video: Unemployment Benefits in Jeopardy
In an economic climate when more people are out of work than at any time since World War II, a record number of workers are also relying on unemployment insurance to see them through the recession. But, many states' ability to process unemployment checks cannot keep up with the demand for benefits. 04.05.10
Video: Is America on the wane?
As part of a continuing series on making sense of today's economic news, NewsHour correspondent Paul Solman talks to Yale historian Paul Kennedy about the rise and fall of great economic powers like the U.S. 03.03.10
Web Tools Take Education to New Limits
From a spare room in his San Francisco Bay Area home, Salman Khan is using the Web to teach math and science to millions with free YouTube videos. 02.22.10
Greece's Financial Problems Rattle Global Confidence
The nation of Greece is facing bankruptcy, raising fears that the global economy is headed for another downturn and questions about whether other countries have hidden financial problems. 02.16.10
Hungry in America: New Food Insecurity Numbers Are A Wake Up Call
A new report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms that almost 50 million Americans had a hard time putting food on the table in 2008 -- one in seven American households, an increase of 13 million people from the year before. 11.24.09
Basic Needs Threatened by Busted State Budgets
States across America face difficult choices as the troubled economy eats away at the tax money they use to pay for important services such as libraries, health care and education. 09.18.09
Finance Reform Still on the Agenda, One Year After Collapse
A year after the collapse of investment giant Lehman Brothers that set off global financial crisis and unprecedented government involvement in the financial system, President Barack Obama gave a speech warning bankers against complacency and called for stronger government oversight of Wall Street. 09.15.09
Higher Unemployment Rates Hamper Economic Recovery
As the national unemployment rate climbs above 9 percent, the highest rate in 26 years, President Barack Obama is urging states and local governments across the country to spend stimulus funds to improve parks, build roads and other projects. 06.09.09
New Grads Increasingly Turning to AmeriCorps, Teach for America
With the nation's unemployment rising to a 25-year high this month and the financial sector in turmoil, many recent graduates are turning to service-oriented job programs like Teach for America and Peace Corps. 03.17.09
Fear of "Zombie Banks" Drives Government to Deal With "Toxic Assets"
America’s largest banks are in serious trouble, and the Obama administration faces difficult choices about how to untangle the modern financial system without making the crisis worse. 03.13.09
Obama Outlines Economic Plan in Address to Congress
While not technically a State of the Union address, President Barack Obama went before the joint houses of Congress and the American public Tuesday to lay out his plans for the nation, saying that the United States is “a nation that has seen promise amid peril and claimed opportunity from ordeal.” 02.25.09
Massive Spending Bill Aims to Create Jobs, Strengthen Economy
President Barack Obama signed a massive economic stimulus bill into law this week, a major piece of legislation aimed at helping America’s economy via hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending. 02.18.09
Obama Orders Review of Fuel Efficiency Policies
President Barack Obama on Monday ordered federal regulators to reexamine two policies that could lead to more fuel-efficient new cars and trucks. 01.27.09
Bush Legacy Lies in 9/11, Iraq, Economy, Education and AIDS Relief
As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office next week, out-going President George W. Bush is leaving behind a controversial legacy shaped by the war in Iraq and a broken economy. 01.13.09
American Automobile Industry Seeks Rescue Plan to Survive
The White House is considering a plea from the “Big Three” U.S. automotive companies, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, for billions of dollars in government loans if they are to survive. 12.12.08
U.S. Economy Officially in a Recession
After months of job losses, tumbling markets and low retail and home sales, the research organization with the authority to declare a recession made it official on December 1: the U.S. economy is in a recession.
12.05.08
Plans Change Dramatically for U.S. Financial Bailout
The U.S. government is shifting the focus of the $700 billion financial rescue plan away from buying up bad mortgage assets, instead trying to help consumers get credit by investing in banks and other financial institutions.
11.14.08
U.S. Economy's Troubles Hurt Alternative Energy Plans
As the economy falters, investment money dries up, demand for gas goes down and oil prices fall, causing advocates for more American alternative energy sources to worry that previous excitement for new energy technology will be lost.
10.24.08
Obama Shatters Fundraising Records, Reigniting Public Finance Debate
Democrat Barack Obama's campaign raised a record-smashing $150 million in the month of September, putting him on track to inject the most money into any election in history, and perhaps making the public financing system irrelevant.
10.21.08
Shifting Away From Free Market Ideals, U.S. Government Buys Big Stakes in Banks
Following the lead of several European nations, the United States decided to use $250 billion in taxpayer money to buy pieces of some of America's largest banks in an effort to help fix a struggling financial system.
10.17.08
Financial Worries, Credit Crisis Are Felt Around the Globe
As the financial crisis continued to have a ripple effect around the globe this week, U.S. stocks plummeted to five-year lows, affecting half of all Americans who have some sort of savings invested in stocks.
10.10.08
Markets Falter After Congress Fails to Agree on Rescue Plan
Stock prices tumbled Monday after the House of Representatives voted against a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring pleas from President Bush and the leaders of both parties.
09.30.08
Financial Crisis Tests Notions of the President's Role in the Economy
As the Bush administration and Congress try to prevent what many fear is the biggest economic meltdown since the Great Depression, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama face a new era in government intervention in the economy.
09.23.08
Big Banks Fail, Signaling More Economic Troubles Ahead
The collapse of one of America's oldest and largest investment banks shook stock markets worldwide as the financial crisis tied to falling home prices continues to shake the economy. 09.16.08
High Gas Prices Changing Habits, Consumer Choices
With gasoline costing a national average of more than $4 a gallon -- over a dollar more than the same time last year -- people all across the United States are changing the way they shop, vacation and even go to school. 07.15.08
Math Madness: Statistics Might Help Choose NCAA Brackets Statisticians have found ways to improve the odds of picking the winners of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, but have not been able to conquer the uncertainties that make it nearly impossible to create the perfect bracket. 03.17.08
Stagflation Threatens U.S. Economy
As the U.S. economy slows in part from a lagging housing market, economic indicators point to the possibility of stagflation -- a slowdown in economic activity combined with rising prices not seen since the 1970s. 02.25.08
Congress and President Debate Ways to Ease Impact of Mortgage Crisis
The government is working on ways to help Americans pay their mortgages and stay in their homes so that a growing housing crisis does not weaken other areas of the economy.
01.14.08
Sliding
U.S. Dollar Affects Worldwide Markets
The U.S. dollar continues to loose
value in the wake of the recent housing crunch. 12.18.07
Facebook,
MySpace Launch New Targeted Ads
MySpace and Facebook developed tools
that allow advertisers to target users based on wall postings and other personal
information. 11.07.07
Central
Bank Attempts to Reboot Economy
The Federal Reserve lowered two key
interest rates to prevent problems in the housing market from causing a recession
the U.S. economy. 09.19.07
Chinese
Toy Recall Impacts U.S. Businesses
Following a massive recall by Mattel,
toymakers and other manufacturers are reexamining how they do business with China.
08.22.07
Bill
Would Make College More Affordable
As college tuition continues to
skyrocket, Democrats in Congress are trying to make good on their promise to make
college more affordable. 08.16.07
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