Extraordinary times require extraordinary actions, the experts say. That's why President-elect Barack Obama is pushing for tax cuts and government spending. This runs counter to how most of us think, considering that the last thing any of us would do is dig deeper in debt when debt is what's sinking us in the first place. But many people much smarter than most of us say this is necessary. ...more

January 7, 2009

Bankruptcies Soar U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings jumped nearly 33 percent in 2008 amid a recession that's expected to keep filings rising into the new year. Overall, consumer filings reached 1,064,927 last year, up from 801,840 in 2007, according to data collected by the National Bankruptcy Research Center and published by the American Bankruptcy Institute, an Alexandria, Va.-based research group. ...more

January 6, 2009

Robert W. Wilson of Tarpon Springs says taking money from reserves to make up for a revenue shortfall is not balancing a city budget. ...more

January 3, 2009

Consumer confidence hit an all-time low in December, dropping in the face of layoffs and deteriorating markets for housing, stocks and other investments. ...more

December 31, 2008

As the longest recession in a quarter century intensifies, analysts think the small decline in economic activity in the third quarter has worsened significantly in the current fourth quarter. ...more

December 24, 2008

After consulting with economists from across the political spectrum, President-elect Barack Obama's advisers are contemplating an economic recovery plan that could cost as much as $1 trillion over two years. ...more

December 18, 2008

Consumers cut back on spending at retail stores for a record fifth straight month in November, another sign the recession that is already the longest in a quarter-century will translate into a dismal holiday shopping season. ...more

December 13, 2008

Every year lexicographers publish their annual list of of popular words or phrases they would like to see expunged from our lexicon. I have to admit "connect the dots" is getting a little wearisome for me. ...more

December 13, 2008

Pending U.S. home sales fell slightly in October, despite a spate of bad economic news and turmoil in the stock markets, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. ...more

December 10, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - An alarming half-million American jobs vanished virtually in a flash last month, the worst mass layoffs in over a third of a century, as economic carnage spread ever faster and the U.S. hurtled toward what could be the hardest hard times since the Great Depression. ...more

December 7, 2008