Patrice Hill

U.S. oil surplus eases prices in global crises

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: Increased U.S. production is helping to create an oil surplus on world markets, driving down prices despite a myriad of threats to oil supplies, and doing more to crush Russia's economy than the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union, said Chris Faulkner, chief executive of Breitling Energy.

Employers add 142K jobs, fewest in 8 months

The nation's unemployment rate ticked down to 6.1 percent in August as hiring slowed at a variety of businesses, which added only 142,000 new jobs during the month, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

Burger King’s tax inversion deal just latest move from world’s highest corporate rates

Despite public outcry over businesses such as Burger King moving their headquarters out of the U.S. to take advantage of lower taxes, look for the trend to pick up unless Congress moves to stop it.

Volkswagen tries to bring Germany’s worker-friendly policies to U.S.

German manufacturers are trying to bring worker-friendly policies, which have helped make Germany into an export powerhouse and could help the U.S. solve its youth joblessness problem, to their U.S. operations, but so far few American businesses have seized on the tips they are offering.

Germany’s apprenticeships could resolve lack of skilled workers in US

If adopted widely by U.S. manufacturers and other businesses, apprenticeships have the potential to help solve a critical U.S. problem with high unemployment among youth and workers who got laid off during the recession, backers say. Despite five years of recovery from the Great Recession, many of these hard-to-employ people still can't find jobs.

Freddie Mac faulted by IG in $2 billion mortgage fraud loss

The federal government's giant housing agencies could have saved taxpayers billions of dollars from mortgage fraud in a celebrated case involving Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean and Whitaker, if they had shared more information with each other and conducted better audits.

Fed’s Yellen: Depressed wages holding back workers

Top Federal Reserve officials have been surprised by the rapid decline in unemployment and improvement in the job market in the last year, but depressed wages are still holding back consumers and preventing a full economic recovery, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said Friday.

Taiwan’s top diplomat seeks U.S. help in emerging from China’s shadow

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The top Taiwanese diplomat in Washington made a passionate plea Monday for U.S. leaders to more vocally support Taiwan's inclusion in key Western-backed institutions on the world stage — especially as the tiny island democracy engages in increasingly complex economic ties with China.

Oil and gas giants sidestep U.S., EU sanctions, keep drilling with Russia

The West's major oil companies have been seamlessly sidestepping sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and European Union, for the most part pressing full speed ahead on joint ventures to drill for oil and gas with sanctioned Russian companies and executives.

Emerging economic powers to challenge U.S., IMF with own aid bank

With Congress balking at reform legislation giving large, emerging economic powers a greater say in the International Monetary Fund, some of the world's top rising economies have decided to establish their own aid bank to compete with the Western-led IMF for clients in the developing world.

Unemployment rose to 6.2 percent in July; 209K jobs added

The U.S. unemployment rate inched up from 6.1 percent to 6.2 percent last month even as employers hired 209,000 more workers, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Economy springs back in nearly every sector

The U.S. economy snapped back this spring from a winter down spell, growing at a robust 4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Energy Department eyes regional gas reserves for emergency use

In another presidential foray into territory once reserved for Congress, President Obama's Department of Energy is exploring setting up sites to store reserves of gasoline in various places around the country to provide backup when major storms and other emergencies cut off access to local fuel supplies.

Economists see signs of another market bubble

Could the Federal Reserve's loose-money policies be fueling another financial market bubble like the one whose abrupt and painful end ushered in the last recession?

Crude oil will head north of the border to Canada

While Congress and the White House have been fighting over whether to build the Keystone XL pipeline so the U.S. can import more oil from Canada, U.S. energy companies have quietly turned that debate on its head and are now exporting growing amounts of oil to Canada.

S&P: Boeing to suffer if Ex-Im Bank killed

A campaign by congressional Republicans to eliminate the U.S. Export-Import Bank clouds the outlook for America's premier exporter, Boeing Co., Standard & Poor's Corp. warned on Tuesday.

U.S. job gains, unemployment dip push markets into record territory

Unemployment falls to 6.1 percent amid U.S. hiring surge

The nation's unemployment rate plunged to 6.1 percent last month as businesses went on a hiring spree, adding 288,000 new jobs, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Baffled by Belgium: Burst of U.S. bond-buying raised questions, eyebrows

The small European country of Belgium this year suddenly became the world's third-largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury bonds — putting it behind only financial giants Japan and China.

Winter wipeout: Economy shrank 2.9 percent in first quarter

The latest report from the Commerce Department revealed a shocking 2.9 percent drop in economic output during the winter quarter that amounted to the biggest loss of economic traction since the first quarter of 2009, when the economy and financial markets were in free fall.