Lawrence Summers, President Barack Obama's closest economic adviser, broke a long public silence Friday, asserting that today's economic problems stem from an unsustainable financial model and defending heavy deficit spending as a necessary evil to restore the economy. ...more

March 14, 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

Every time a piece of weak economic news coincides with a new high in oil and gold prices, we read the next day the Federal Reserve has an "inflation problem," limiting its option of lowering interest rates to resuscitate the economy. ...more

January 8, 2008

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that heavy saving by oil producers and Asian nations has helped depress interest rates by keeping financial markets flush with cash. But he warned against banking on this effect - one that probably helped create the current financial crisis - for the long term. ...more

September 12, 2007