Government spending is growing at an astounding pace. Congress and the president have thrown hundreds of billions into stimulus packages, domestic programs, military spending and other initiatives. Total federal spending is growing at a 13.8 percent annual rate. ...more

November 1, 2008

Investors agonizing over a faltering economy sent the stock market plunging all over again Wednesday after two disheartening reports convinced Wall Street that a recession, if not already here, is inevitable. The market's despair - fed by a stream of disheartening economic data - propelled the Dow Jones industrials down 733.08 points to 8,577.91 in its second-largest point loss ever. The major indexes all lost at least 7 percent. ...more

October 16, 2008

Investors agonizing over a faltering economy sent the stock market plunging all over again today after two disheartening reports convinced Wall Street that a recession, if not already here, is inevitable. The Dow Jones industrials dropped as much as 572 points, more than half their huge 936-point advance from Monday, and all the major indexes fell at least 5 percent. ...more

October 15, 2008

For the past two decades, the nation could count on one thing to keep it going when economic times got tough: Consumers kept spending. ...more

October 4, 2008

When Deb Freitag applied for a credit card so she could replace her roof, her leaky refrigerator and her old dishwasher, she was offered a $1,000 line of credit, not the $5,000 she needed. ...more

September 27, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to their highest level in seven years due to the impact of a slowing economy and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the Labor Department reported Thursday. ...more

September 25, 2008

Jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, the government said Thursday, while companies responded to the slowing economy by producing more with fewer workers. ...more

September 5, 2008

Consumer spending slowed to a crawl and personal incomes plunged in July, reflecting the waning impact of $93 billion in economic stimulus payments. ...more

August 30, 2008

Charlie Crist released his official proposal to transfer $672 million from the stabilization fund to cover the shortfall in general revenue. ...more

August 29, 2008

Once relegated to the dank corners of the basement, freezers are being embraced again by shoppers who are stashing bulk-sized purchases of meats, fruits and vegetables there as they work to combat rising food prices. ...more

August 29, 2008