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Economic policy

Healthier schools: Goodbye candy and greasy snacks
Goodbye candy bars and sugary cookies. Hello baked chips and diet sodas. The government for the first time is proposing broad new standards to make ...
Ed Koch, New York's feisty mayor, dies at 88
When Ed Koch was mayor, it seemed as if all of New York was being run by a deli counterman. Koch was funny, irritable, opinionated, often rude and ...
Report: US job market looks surprisingly strong
The U.S. job market is proving surprisingly strong and raising hopes that the economy will be resilient enough this year to withstand a budget ...
Nigeria lawmaker charged over alleged bribery
A Nigerian lawmaker who led a probe into the nation's fuel subsidy program that saw billions of dollars lost through fraud has been charged with ...
Dutch state nationalizes SNS Reaal bank
The Netherlands nationalized its fourth-largest bank on Friday, injecting €2.2 billion ($3 billion) to recapitalize SNS Reaal NV and head off any ...
Solid Jan. hiring would boost hopes for US economy
The January employment report is expected to show Friday that job growth remained steady last month even though Americans began receiving smaller ...
Japan industrial production up 2.5 percent in Dec.
Japan's industrial production picked up pace in December from the month before, in a sign the world's third-largest economy may be stabilizing thanks ...
Congress sends bill to Obama averting govt default
Congress sent President Barack Obama drama-free legislation on Thursday raising the debt ceiling, averting a government default and putting off the ...
Dow logs best January in nearly 2 decades
The Dow logged its best start to the year in almost two decades. Stocks rallied in the first week of the year after U.S. lawmakers reached a deal to ...
US consumer spending up slight 0.2 percent
U.S. consumers increased their spending in December at a slower pace, while their income grew by the largest amount in eight years. Income surged ...
Weekly US jobless aid applications rise to 368K
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose sharply last week but remained at a level consistent with moderate hiring. Weekly applications ...
Greek doctors, public transport workers on strike
Greek doctors, port workers and public transport staff in the country's capital walked off the job Thursday in strikes against deeply unpopular ...
Economic jitters compete with Obama agenda
Just as President Barack Obama is pushing new initiatives on gun control and immigration, the gloomy old problem of a sluggish economy is elbowing its ...
GOP lawmakers see automatic cuts as leverage
There's a growing sense of resignation that the country's political leaders will be unable or unwilling to find a way around looming automatic ...
US economy shifted into reverse in late 2012
The U.S. economy shrank unexpectedly late last year, a reminder of the biggest threat it faces in 2013: sharp government spending cuts and prolonged ...
Fed says growth pause temporary, keeps up stimulus
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy "paused" in recent months because of temporary factors and reaffirmed its commitment to try ...
Protesters break into gov't building in Athens
Protesters forced their way into a government building in Greece's latest anti-austerity protests Wednesday, reaching just outside a minister's office ...
Cyprus president: Russia ready to help in bailout
Cyprus' president said Wednesday that Russia is ready to join the European Union in putting together a rescue package for the crisis-hit country.
Futures slide on meager growth figures
Stock futures slid Wednesday after the government revealed that economic growth in the U.S. shrank in the final quarter of 2012, the first time that ...
Private job survey shows stronger job hiring
A private survey shows U.S. businesses increased hiring in January compared with a revised December reading. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that ...
Fed's new voting lineup won't likely alter policy
The cast of voting members on the Federal Reserve's policy committee is changing this year. Their policies probably won't be. Chairman Ben Bernanke ...
Slow US economic growth in Q4 may hide strength
Most economists agree that Wednesday's snapshot of U.S. economic growth is going to look dismal. The consensus forecast from Factset is economic ...
US consumers less optimistic after tax increase
An increase in Social Security taxes is leaving Americans with less take-home pay — and a more negative outlook for the U.S. economy. The Conference ...
Reid: Replace automatic cuts in short increments
The top Democrat in the Senate said Tuesday that lawmakers should redouble their efforts to replace looming across-the-board cuts to the Pentagon and ...