Economy

Follow PBS NewsHour’s complete coverage of the Economy, Wall Street and other financial stories.

UPDATED 4:45 p.m. ET| Tonight on the NewsHour, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner explains the thinking behind the president's proposal. He will be followed by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), a member of the House Financial Services Committee. In a…

_pap_embed_custom('news01s3928qd89',482,304,""); With Wall Street banks poised to offer record paydays for employees, Wall Street Journal columnist Dennis Berman explains the latest bank earnings reports and Wall Street's reaction to the Obama administration's proposed tax on big banks.

Question: I have heard and read many times that consumer spending is a major part of our economy. Reading the paper on a recent morning, I read that consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. It is…