Urgently shifting course, the Bush administration is abandoning the centerpiece of its massive $700 billion economic rescue plan and exploring new ways to shore up not only banks but also credit-card, auto-loan and other huge nonbank businesses. "The facts changed and the situation worsened," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said at a news briefing, explaining the administration's switch from its original plan to help financial institutions by buying up troubled assets, primarily securities backed by bad home loans. ...more

November 13, 2008

You don't make a fortune teaching art to children, but Tony Capobianco counts himself lucky nonetheless that he was able to break into the business. ...more

November 5, 2008

Just a day after the Federal Reserve dropped its key short-term interest rate to 1 percent - matching the generational low reached in 2003-04 - the betting is intensifying on another cut. ...more

November 2, 2008

The auto industry is preparing to report another month of rapidly slowing sales - possibly the worst in decades - as the same toxic combination of the credit crunch and the careening economy continue to keep consumers away from dealerships. ...more

November 1, 2008

Iraq's government has an unusual money problem as much of the world grapples with a credit crunch - it can't spend its oil riches fast enough. ...more

October 25, 2008

A Largo company that made millions by helping investors cash in on Florida's foreclosure boom is struggling to stay open. ...more

October 17, 2008

After consulting with Barack Obama, Democratic leaders are likely to call Congress back to work after the election in hopes of passing legislation that would include extended jobless benefits, money for food stamps and possibly a tax rebate, officials said Saturday. ...more

October 12, 2008

Florida's real estate crisis means thousands of people with credit sullied by foreclosure are out looking for rental housing. ...more

October 12, 2008

Many of us are nervously watching the wild swings on the stock market for signs of a Wall Street collapse, but it's the obscure credit markets that matter most right now to consumers and businesses alike. ...more

October 7, 2008

It's here: Christmas creep. Halloween is barely on the minds of schoolchildren, but retailers across the Bay area have begun putting up Christmas displays and piling decorations and other inventory onto the shelves. In some shops, prices on Halloween items already have been cut, and the ghosts and goblins play second fiddle to Christmas trees and Santa hats. ...more

October 6, 2008