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Patrice Hill

Patrice Hill was a staff writer for The Washington Times.

Articles by Patrice Hill

Ships bringing oil drilling equipment to Alaska pass through Seattle's Elliott Bay. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican and the presumed next chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, has been the leading proponent in Congress for ending the ban on the sale of U.S. oil to foreign buyers. Ms. Murkowski argues that a sea change in the way oil and gas prices are determined in global markets has made the ban — a relic of the 1970s fuel scarcity — something that is increasingly harming the outlook for the nation's booming shale oil industry. (Associated Press)

Oil export ban repeal would lower gas prices, studies show

The U.S. government has banned oil exports since the energy crisis of the 1970s, but that could change next year as Republicans take control of Congress and are backed by new studies showing that repeal of the ban would actually lower gasoline prices and be a surprising boon to consumers. Published November 16, 2014

Customers shop at the Century 21 department store in Philadelphia. Retailers are enjoying increased pre-holiday sales. (Associated Press)

Solid start to Christmas shopping season

The Christmas shopping season started on an upbeat note, with retail sales growing by a solid 0.3 percent last month, the Census Bureau reported Friday. Published November 14, 2014

** FILE ** Job seekers at a recent Los Angeles career fair were less likely than before the recession to find full-time work. Starting Jan. 1, larger employers must provide health care benefits to those who put in at least 30 hours a week. (Associated Press)

Happier consumers remain disgruntled voters

U.S. consumers are feeling more confident than they have since the Great Recession, but that does not provide much advantage to President Obama or the incumbent legislators on the ballot Tuesday, according to recent economic surveys. The severe job and financial difficulties many Americans experienced during and after the recession convinced most that the economy has permanently changed for the worse, and they blame current political leaders in Washington for failing to do much about it. Published November 3, 2014

In this photo taken on Sept. 17, 2014, Elaine Timms, an employee of Phoenix of Anderson, sorts fabrics inside the company's warehouse in Williamston. S.C. The Commerce Department releases third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Anderson Independent Mail, Nathan Gray)

U.S. economy surges ahead 3.5 percent in third quarter

U.S. economic growth barreled ahead at a brisk 3.5 percent rate this summer, exhibiting the best momentum in more than a decade and suggesting it has finally broken out of the doldrums after five years of sluggish recovery. Published October 30, 2014

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2014 file photo, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaks during a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the Federal Reserve in Washington.  Ending a two-day discussion Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014, the Fed is expected to announce the end of its monthly bond buying program. It's also expected to signal that it remains in no hurry to raise its key short-term interest rate. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Fed ends extraordinary stimulus as economy mends

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday put to rest the extraordinary measures it has deployed in the more than five years since it first used them to spur economic growth and recovery from the Great Recession. Published October 29, 2014

Association Press
Coal River Mountain (left) forms the backdrop for a mountaintop coal-mining site at Kayford Mountain, W.Va.

Developing world drives strong demand for coal

Coal is more popular than ever as the cheapest fuel for generating electricity in the developing world, despite efforts by the Obama administration and environmentalists to limit its use. Published October 27, 2014

Russian President, Vladimir Putin pumping gas.

New Cold War clashes lead to plunging global gasoline prices

Consumers are enjoying a break from high gas prices, which have fallen below $3 a gallon in many areas, but the drop has precipitated a cold war among oil producers that has all the intrigue, suspense and looming destruction of a Tom Clancy novel. Published October 22, 2014

Tecruiter Christina O, with New Western Acquisitions, left, take Raheem Shaw's resume during a job fair. Ms. Shaw is seeking a second job. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, has fallen 10 percent since the first week of January. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (Associated Press)

U.S. economy again drives global growth as top rivals falter

After a long, slow convalescence from the Great Recession, the U.S. economy has emerged this year as a major force for global growth for the first time in a decade, even as some of its top rivals struggle. Published October 19, 2014

A Wall Street address is carved in the side of a building, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014 in New York. European stocks wallowed Wednesday Oct. 15, 2014 on dour growth prospects while Asian shares were mostly higher as a slump in energy prices promised benefits for the region's major economies.  (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Wild ride on Wall Street leads to another big loss

Global stocks nose-dived Wednesday on fears that the world economy is losing steam, with some analysts blamed the worst string of losses on Wall Street in years in part on spreading panic about the economic impact of the Ebola crisis. Published October 15, 2014

China's finance minister Zhu Guangyao said Congress should move quickly to approve reforms giving China and other emerging economies greater input in the International Monetary Fund to show the U.S. is intent on preserving its leading role in governing the world's economy. (Associated Press)

China presses Congress for action on stalled IMF reforms

Congress should move quickly to approve reforms giving China and other emerging economies a greater say in the International Monetary Fund to show that the U.S. is intent on preserving its leading role in governing the world's economy, Chinese Vice Finance Minister H. E. Guangyao Zhu said Wednesday. Published October 8, 2014

U.S. jobless rate falls to 6-year low of 5.9 percent

The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent last month, the lowest since mid-2008, as job growth continued its best string of monthly gains since the 1990s, the Labor Department reported Friday. Published October 3, 2014

Rosneft opened a field of super-light oil in the Kara Sea, where the deposits reportedly exceed 750 million barrels. Its partnership with Exxon Mobil Corp., however, is put on hold because of U.S. sanctions against Russia over its military aggression in Ukraine. (Rosneft Press Service via Associated Press)

U.S. sanctions against Russia stymie Western oil companies’ Arctic aspirations

The latest U.S. sanctions against Russia over Ukraine are starting to crimp not only the Russian economy but also major Western oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., companies that have invested heavily in helping Russia tap into huge stores of oil buried offshore in remote Arctic waters and under the vast wilderness in eastern Siberia. Published September 30, 2014

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen arrives for a Board of Governors meeting at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. The meeting is to discuss a final rulemaking to implement a quantitative liquidity requirement in the United States as well as a proposed rule on margin requirements for non-cleared swaps of prudentially regulated swap entities. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Fed cuts back bond-buying again as economy strengthens

The Federal Reserve moved another step toward more normal policies on interest rates Wednesday, noting a gradual improvement in the outlook for the economy and cutting back again on its bond-buying program to stimulate the economy. Published September 17, 2014

Family Dollar and other cost-cutter stores are seeing record business as wages remain flat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) — FILE

U.S. incomes flat for second year in a row — Census

The median income of families in the United States edged up slightly to $51,939 last year from $51,759 in 2012, showing no significant growth for the second year in a row, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Published September 16, 2014

Analysts say the latest round of sanctions announced tightens the noose around Russia's energy sector, making it particularly hard to invest in long-term projects to tap into new sources of oil and gas. Such sanctions might tempt Moscow to halt the flow of gas and oil, particularly the large share of gas exported through the Gazprom pipeline that crosses through Ukraine. (Associated Press)

Russia sanctions risk return to recession for Europe’s shaky economy

The tit-for-tat sanctions between Russia and the West that heated up last week are only adding to fears that Europe's economy will fall back into recession or experience "lost decades" comparable to the downturn in Japan that left the Asian giant's economy drifting, deflated and diminished in global influence. Published September 15, 2014

FILE - In this June 6, 2014 file picture persons walk with shopping bags in Hamburg, Germany.  A closely-watched survey shows economic expectations among German consumers have "completely collapsed" over concerns about the conflicts in Iraq, Israel and Ukraine. The GfK institute said Wednesday Aug. 27, 2014  its latest index of economic expectations slid 35.5 points in August to 10.4 — the largest one-month decline since the survey began in 1980. Its headline forward-looking consumer climate indicator also fell to 8.6 for September from 8.9 in August. (AP Photo/dpa, Bodo Marks,file)

Wealthiest Americans power consumer revival as well

The richest one-fifth of Americans not only have enjoyed most of the income gains since the recession, they accounted for nearly half of the increase in consumer spending, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Published September 9, 2014