Economy News

CHICAGO - Credit the recession for "staycations" and bringing us more game-night parties at home. But also give it a shout for spurring more first dates.

WASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was" but stands by its stimulus package and believes the plan will create more jobs as the pace of its spending picks up.

PARIS (Reuters) - World leaders are bound to express the hope that the worst of the global economic crisis is passing when they meet this week, but they are now under pressure, too, to manage a Chinese challenge to dollar supremacy.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - "Go East" is a message being heeded by many Asian professionals in the United States and Europe who see brighter job prospects in a region that is expected to outperform the rest of the world for economic growth.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, optimistic California can finish its budget negotiations in a few days, is willing to reconsider his proposed cuts to education in hopes of averting a cash crisis, the San Francisco Chronicle said on Saturday.

LIMON, Colo. - For Joe Kiely, the drone of thousands of trucks passing his Colorado plains town signals economic prosperity.

A date doesn't need to break the bank, especially as potential partners are increasingly likely to value substance over style during the recession.

NEW YORK - That old saying "cash is king" certainly rings true these days. Investors can't seem to get enough of it, which ultimately could be bad news for the stock market and the economy.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama urged Americans, who celebrate Independence Day Saturday, to implement broad economic and social reforms, expressing confidence the country will be able to overcome the challenges it is facing.

TORONTO - Canada's finance minister said Friday that the country's economic recovery will likely be modest and job losses will mount into 2010 even after growth has begun.

BEVERLY, Mass. - Her fellow job seekers offer knowing groans as Diane Castro recalls the day she was laid off: The fear of being summoned to the front office. The phones in nearby cubicles going off like grenades. Finally, a ring at her desk.

LONDON, July 3, 2009 (AFP) - The dollar climbed against the euro Friday after eurozone retail figures slipped back into a rut and as fresh worries about the health of the US economy supported the "safe-haven" greenback.

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices fell further on Friday, but losses were less severe than a day earlier when traders had sold heavily on fresh worries about the weakness of the US economy.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Halfway through 2009, the US economy is still struggling in recession amid fragile hopes for recovery by the end of the year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Several states are facing the prospect of government shutdowns and program cuts as they enter the first weekend of the fiscal year and July Fourth holiday without a budget in place.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama said he was confident the US economy would recover, despite new data showing unemployment at a 26-year-high of 9.5 percent, which dampened hopes of a quick rebound.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With Wall Street stuck in a range since May, the start of second-quarter earnings season next week could prove to be a decisive factor for determining how much faith investors should have in an economic recovery.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration on Thursday authorized the seizure of assets belonging to an extremist organization in Iraq and an Iranian backer of insurgents, saying both are responsible for deadly attacks in Iraq.