President Barack Obama is expected to roll out a plan today meant to keep struggling families from losing their homes. ...more

February 18, 2009

Racing to reverse the country's economic spiral, President Barack Obama signed the mammoth stimulus package into law Tuesday and readied a new $50 billion foreclosure rescue for legions of Americans who are in danger of losing their homes. ...more

February 17, 2009

The U.S. auto industry needs even more help from the government to survive than originally thought. General Motors on Tuesday said it could need up to $30 billion from the Treasury Department to keep operating. Included in that amount is $13.4 billion the company has already received. Previously, GM had said it could need as much as $18 billion. ...more

February 17, 2009

Sin City is worried that its well-honed style is crimping its business. Born of carefully crafted slogans - "What happens here stays here" - and smiling, sequined showgirls, the image of a 24-hour adult Disneyland with free-flowing booze and casino chips is making the tourist destination seem radioactive to companies keen on not appearing frivolous as they seek government bailouts. ...more

February 15, 2009

I recall when I was a young lad and our family of five children, later to be seven, lived with my grandparents during World War II. ...more

February 13, 2009

Do you remember when snake oil salesman used outlandish techniques to peddle their products in western movies? ...more

February 13, 2009

Nine Florida banks, including one in the Tampa Bay area, have applied for and received $164 million in bailout money under the federal government's $700 billion rescue package of financial institutions, according to the latest data from the U.S. Treasury Department. ...more

February 10, 2009

Bank of Tampa patriarch Jerry Divers began his career in the early 1960s with bankers who survived the Great Depression, when the city lost 24 of its 28 banks. ...more

February 10, 2009

On tap today: Obama will promote $838 billion stimulus plan during a town hall session in Fort Myers. Gov. Charlie Crist will introduce the president. ...more

February 10, 2009

So when the president of the Tampa Banking Co. adds to the refrain that today's banking conditions are the worst since the Depression, industry colleagues are apt to pay attention, as did competitors and others at a gathering of the Tampa Chapter of the Exchange Club this afternoon. Divers shared his thoughts about the economic plight affecting banks and the nation, including a warning that 2009 looks gloomy for Florida banking. ...more

February 9, 2009