Report: Blackwater Created Shell Companies[ Sep 03, 2010 23:04 ]

The report Friday night on the newspaper's website says Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has asked the Justice Department to see whether Blackwater misled the government when using the subsidiaries to gain government contracts.

Texas Opens Inquiry Into Google Search Rankings[ Sep 03, 2010 22:50 ]

The antitrust inquiry disclosed by Google late Friday is just the latest sign of the intensifying scrutiny facing the company as it enters its adolescence. The review appears to be focused on whether Google is manipulating its search results to stifle competition.

Obama To Offer Plan To Spur Job Growth[ Sep 03, 2010 15:00 ]

As summer comes to an end this weekend, "Recovery Summer" too sputters to an end. The Obama administration's hopes that the spring's jobs growth would continue were not realized. On Friday, the president said he'd be proposing new plans to give the economy a bit more juice.

Economic Recovery Still A Long Way Off[ Sep 03, 2010 15:00 ]

The unemployment rate grew in August from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent. But that's mostly because 114,000 temporary Census jobs ended. The job decline is less than most economists expected as the private sector added 67,000 new jobs last month.

Allowance Economics: Candy, Taxes And Potty Training[ Sep 03, 2010 14:45 ]

It's hard to get incentives right -- even if you're a professional economist, and you just want to give your kid an allowance.

Union Or Not, Government Workers Squeezed[ Sep 03, 2010 14:45 ]

Unions representing state and local government employees have long been able to protect benefits that are the envy of private-sector workers. With the economy in trouble, though, public employee unions are suddenly losing a lot of battles.

Jobs Report Eases Some Fears About Double Dip[ Sep 03, 2010 11:10 ]

The jobless rate climbed for the first time in four months in August as the economy added fewer private jobs. Overall, non-farm payrolls fell 54,000, the Labor Department said Friday.

Obama: Economy's Moving In Right Direction, But Not Fast Enough[ Sep 03, 2010 10:24 ]

The president pushed again for action on legislation aimed at giving small businesses more incentives to hire.

Jobless Rate 9.6 Percent In August; Private Payrolls Up By 67,000[ Sep 03, 2010 08:34 ]

With the economy atop most Americans' list of concerns, the news is sure to be closely scrutinized.

Foreign Policy: Second Explosion Exposes Oil Industry[ Sep 03, 2010 08:10 ]

The Obama administration's moratorium on deep water drilling has been opposed by the oil industry and by conservative politicians, but a second rig explosion has called the opposition into question. Eric Lukas of Foreign Policy argues that the industry must improve on its safety safety record.

Brace Yourself: August Jobs Report Due Shortly[ Sep 03, 2010 07:54 ]

Most economists expect the Bureau of Labor Statistics will say that the employment picture didn't get any better last month.

Gulf Coast Communities Investigate Oily Sea Mist[ Sep 03, 2010 10:45 ]

With so many unanswered questions about the lingering effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, coastal communities are turning to independent scientists for answers. In Orange Beach, Ala., officials are having the air, water and soil tested to check for toxins from the BP spill.

August Jobs Report A Bit Better Than Expected[ Sep 03, 2010 09:42 ]

The Labor Department released its latest jobs report Friday morning, and the losses aren't as bad as had been expected. The unemployment rate for August creeped up to 9.6 percent, a tenth of a percent increase from the previous month. Private employers added jobs, but the government lost some.

'Recovery Summer' Ends With Economic Pothole[ Sep 03, 2010 09:01 ]

This was supposed to be the season the economy heated up, thanks to a wave of public works projects funded by the government's stimulus program. But summer is coming to an end and the recovery has not taken root. Forecasters are expecting another gloomy employment report on Friday.

Investigators Probe Gulf Oil Platform Fire[ Sep 03, 2010 04:00 ]

Investigators still don't know what caused an oil platform to catch fire Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast. All 13 crew members were rescued. It was an eerie reminder of the BP oil well explosion that gushed crude into the Gulf for more than three months.