Patrice Hill

Obama caps CEO pay at banks

President Obama on Wednesday placed strict limits on the pay of the top executives at big financial firms that stand to benefit from government bailouts, in what analysts said amounts to political cover for a costly new program to assist ailing banks that the administration will announce next week.

February 5, 2009

Economy ‘fell off a cliff’ at end of ‘08

The U.S. economy shrank at a 3.8 percent rate at the end of last year, in its biggest contraction since the deep recession of 1982, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

January 31, 2009

Economy shrinks at 3.8 percent pace

UPDATED: The U.S. economy shrank at a 3.8 percent rate at the end of last year in its biggest drop since the deep recession of 1982, the Commerce Department reported Friday morning.

January 30, 2009

$1 trillion ‘bad bank’ gains favor

The Obama administration is leaning toward setting up a "bad bank" that would buy toxic loan assets from large troubled banks such as Citigroup in a major new program that would be run by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and is likely to cost at least $1 trillion.

January 30, 2009

Premier firms shed 70,000 jobs

In a sign January could the worst month for U.S. job losses in a generation, premier employers including Caterpillar, Sprint, Home Depot and Pfizer announced more than 70,000 job cuts.

January 27, 2009

Obama tempers hope for economy

President Obama's campaign slogan, "Yes we can," is becoming more like "Yes we can, but it will take awhile" when it comes to the economy.

January 23, 2009

‘Bad bank’ could cost trillions

Timothy Geithner, President Obama's pick to head the Treasury Department, said Wednesday that the administration may set up a "bad bank" to buy toxic loans from troubled banks. The move could cost $3 trillion to $4 trillion.

January 22, 2009

Banking distress resists bailout

The Treasury Department moved Friday to quell a renewed crisis among the nation's biggest banks with a third cash infusion for Bank of America amid concerns about whether the bailout program is working.

January 17, 2009

Treasury gives Bank of America $20B

UPDATED: The Treasury Department early Friday morning gave Bank of America a third cash infusion of $20 billion to stave off a collapse from deepening losses on souring loans.

January 16, 2009

Debt burden tests global investments

President-elect Barack Obama will be testing the limits of the global markets' ability to absorb U.S. government debt by piling an $800 billion stimulus plan on top of more than $1 trillion in new obligations already scheduled this year.

January 15, 2009

Fed wants focus on banks

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Tuesday that increasingly unpopular rescues of banks should remain the focus of the Treasury's $700 billion bailout program because banks are still fragile and weighed down by souring loans.

January 14, 2009

U.S. unemployment soars to 7.2 percent

The nation's unemployment rate soared last month to 7.2 percent, the highest in nearly 16 years, as businesses laid off another 524,000 workers in nearly every industry from manufacturing to retailing, the Labor Department reported Friday.

January 10, 2009

Jobless rate surged to 7.2 percent in December

UPDATED: The nation's unemployment rate soared to a 15-year high of 7.2 percent last month as businesses laid off another 524,000 workers, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

January 9, 2009

Recession stole Christmas jobs, sales

December, already one of the worst months in history for retailers, is shaping up to be just as bad for jobs.

January 9, 2009

Treasury sees more big bank bailouts

The Treasury has quietly opened the door to more bailouts of major banks like Citigroup that the department deems too big to fail, exposing taxpayers to potentially large losses on the banks' souring loan portfolios.

January 8, 2009

Investors regroup after Wall Street rout

Wall Street stocks had their worst year since the Great Depression in 2008, with 34 percent to 41 percent losses in major indexes that cut deeply into the wealth and retirement security of Americans.

January 1, 2009

GM uses bailout to lure car buyers

General Motors Corp. and its finance arm Tuesday quickly deployed their $6 billion taxpayer infusion by offering zero-interest loans to consumers while trying to clear lots full of unsold trucks and sport utility vehicles.

December 31, 2008

Treasury will give GMAC $5 billion

UPDATED: The Treasury Department on Monday night provided General Motors' financing arm with a $5 billion cash infusion to prevent GMAC from nose-diving into bankruptcy.

December 30, 2008

Treasury will give GMAC $5 billion to avert collapse

The Treasury Department on Monday night provided General Motors Corp.'s financing arm, GMAC, with a $5 billion cash infusion to prevent it from nose-diving into bankruptcy.

December 29, 2008

Bailout could cost taxpayers $100 billion

The cost to taxpayers of the bailout for Detroit automakers could rise to more than $100 billion if the companies fail to radically restructure as the Bush administration is demanding in exchange for federal loans, financial analysts say.

December 26, 2008