Economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers slowed their spending by 0.2% in December, cutting back for a second straight month in a worrisome sign for an economy struggling under the weight of a still out-of-control pandemic. The decline reported Friday by... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in Congress and the White House have rejected a Republican pitch to split President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue plan into smaller chunks, with lawmakers appearing primed to muscle the sweeping economic and virus aid forward without... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — For nearly a year it was the Trump show. Now President Joe Biden is calling up the nation’s top scientists and public health experts to regularly brief the American public about the pandemic that has claimed more than 425,000... Read More

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden’s executive order Monday to boost American manufacturing is receiving a warm welcome from some major industry associations but words of caution from U.S. trade partners. The order requires federal agencies to purchase more of their... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department's 232-year history. Yellen, a former chair... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top aides to President Joe Biden have begun talks with a group of moderate Senate Republicans and Democrats on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as Biden faces increasing headwinds in his effort to win bipartisan backing... Read More

BALTIMORE (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to take executive action Friday to provide a stopgap measure of financial relief to millions of Americans while Congress begins to consider his much larger $1.9 trillion package to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The number of unemployment claims filed last week fell to 900,000, a number that remains historically high and suggests the economy still has a long way to go before it fully recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The Labor... Read More

WASHINGTON — On the first full day of his term, President Joe Biden announced his plan to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic, entitled “National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness.”  Biden’s strategy includes issuing 10 executive orders to... Read More

BALTIMORE (AP) — When Joe Biden entered the White House as vice president, the economy was cratering. Job losses were mounting. Stocks were crashing. Millions of Americans were in the early stages of losing their homes to foreclosure as the... Read More

The Brooking Institution’s How We Rise project last week presented the results from its study on the role of social networks and geography in economic mobility, offering data on this important factor for those attempting to understand or improve opportunities... Read More

New research suggests that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine can protect against a mutation found in two easier-to-spread variants of the coronavirus that erupted in Britain and South Africa. Those variants are causing global concern. They carry multiple mutations but share one... Read More

New York’s governor threatened to fine hospitals if they don't use their allotment of COVID-19 vaccine fast enough. His South Carolina counterpart warned health care workers they have until Jan. 15 to get a shot or move to the back... Read More

LONDON (AP) — Despite growing vaccine access, January is looking grim around the globe as the coronavirus resurges and reshapes itself from Britain to Japan to California, filling hospitals and threatening livelihoods anew as governments lock down businesses and race... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. – This week, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam allocated an additional $20 million in federal CARES Act funding to the Rebuild VA economic recovery fund to meet demand for the program and fulfill pending grant applications.  This new funding... Read More

WASHINGTON – This week, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., introduced the Crisis Housing Act establishing a new automatic housing assistance program to provide emergency rental assistance vouchers to households during natural disasters or economic recessions.  “When responding to an unforeseen disaster... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis would continue its work during the 117th Congressional session with House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., returning as chair of the subcommittee.  Since its... Read More

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed a $900 billion pandemic relief package, ending days of drama over his refusal to accept the bipartisan deal that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump's longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans as he ponders whether to sign a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill. The made-for-TV... Read More

WASHINGTON - The District of Columbia will ban indoor dining as of Wednesday night and is tightening other restrictions to tamp down on a surge of coronavirus cases. According to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, the tightened measures are needed due... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump injected confusion into the outlook for COVID-19 relief on Tuesday night, demanding changes to the bipartisan legislation approved by Congress less than 24 hours earlier. In a surprise video announcement posted on his Twitter account,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Lawmakers tacked... Read More

LANSING, Mich. - Today, the Michigan state legislature passed Senate Bill 748, a bipartisan bill that provides $465 million in COVID-19 economic relief from state and federal tax revenues. The spending plan was passed earlier today in Michigan’s state House... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., released the text of a $2.3 trillion omnibus spending bill Monday afternoon consisting of all 12 fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, $900 billion coronavirus relief, and other authorizations. In addition to... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal advisory panel recommended Sunday that people 75 and older and essential workers like firefighters, teachers and grocery store workers should be next in line for COVID-19 shots, while a second vaccine began rolling out... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Capitol Hill negotiators sealed a deal on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package, finally delivering long-overdue help to businesses and individuals and providing money to deliver vaccines to a nation eager for them. The package,... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House and Senate on Friday evening passed a two-day, stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown and provide negotiators additional time to resolve differences over a longer-term appropriations bill and COVID-19 relief package. The House passed... Read More

A new report from Information Services Group, a leading global technology research and advisory firm, reveals that cloud-based information-technology use increased dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced companies to transition to work-at-home environments. Cloud providers like... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bearing down on a midnight shutdown deadline, top negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package are committed to sealing an agreement Friday as they resolve remaining differences in hopes of passing the legislation... Read More

Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits unexpectedly jumped to the highest level in three months, suggesting the labor market’s recovery is faltering amid the surge in COVID-19 cases and widening business restrictions. Initial jobless claims in regular state programs rose... Read More