Paulson. Merrill Lynch. Lehman. Bernanke. Names are what investors start talking about at moments like this. Names, the faith is, will rescue Wall Street and, by extension, the U.S. economy. When a market crash is big enough, people are too panicked to think about the technicalities of reform. They think about the names they are losing and names who, they hope, will save the day. ...more

September 17, 2008

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed on Saturday afternoon to the Bush administration's plan to rescue them, people briefed on the plan said. ...more

September 7, 2008

"Ben Bernanke's Fed: The Federal Reserve After Greenspan" by Ethan S. Harris, Harvard Business Press, 237 pages ($26.95) ...more

August 31, 2008

The economy pulled out of a dangerous rough patch in the spring, thanks largely to strong exports, but the rebound isn't expected to last. Economic slowdowns overseas could make exports tail off just as Americans are hunkering down after the bracing impact of rebate checks wanes, plunging the country into another rut this year. ...more

August 29, 2008

Thrust into the role of financial firefighter, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has taken unprecedented steps over the past year to battle the nation's worst credit and financial crises in decades. ...more

August 21, 2008

Barack Obama thinks the government should intervene on gas prices to "give families some relief," and he called last week for releasing 70 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. ...more

August 17, 2008

The country slogged through slower economic growth and rising prices during the summer, packing a double whammy to people and businesses alike. ...more

July 24, 2008

As financial storm signals appeared the last 18 months, there were Bush officials who urged drastic reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, according to internal government sources, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson objected because it would look "too political." The Republican administration kept hands off the government-backed mortgage companies that are closely tied to the Democratic establishment. ...more

July 21, 2008

The U.S. housing crisis may accomplish what years of parental hectoring couldn't: Turn Americans from spenders into savers. ...more

July 17, 2008

The nation's leaders are running out of answers to America's economic crisis. ...more

July 16, 2008