recovery
Fed chief Bernanke urges spending to help recovery
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAYFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, wading into a bitterly partisan debate, said Wednesday that Congress should increase spending now to jump-start a sputtering economy and take steps to reduce the ballooning federal deficit in a couple of years.
“At the current moment, some fiscal support for the economy is an appropriate and constructive thing,” Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee in his semiannual report › Continue reading
Bailout loans hurt small banks, hamper recovery
By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAYSmall banks that took federal bailout money are struggling to repay the government, and “a growing number could default on their obligations to taxpayers” or go out of business, a congressional watchdog warns.
The Congressional Oversight Panel reports today that fewer than 10% of small banks that participated in the bailout have repaid Uncle Sam and that one in seven have missed making dividend payments.
When › Continue reading
Factory activity fueling modest economic recovery
By Tali Arbel And Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Business WritersNEW YORK — Hopes that America’s factories will help drive the economic recovery gained support Monday from news that manufacturing activity grew in January to its strongest point since 2004.
Other reports Monday offered a reminder that the recovery remains fragile. Construction spending sank in December to its lowest level in more than six years. And gains in personal income and › Continue reading