Economy | featured news

Japan's devastating earthquake and deepening nuclear crisis could result in losses of up to $200 billion for the world's third largest economy but the global impact remains hard to gauge five days after a massive tsunami battered the northeast coast.

U.S. retail sales climbed at the fastest rate in four months during February, increasing by 1.0% from the previous month to $387.12 billion.

Stocks tumbled Thursday, hit first by new worries about global growth and then by reports that Saudi police had fired on protesters.

As the economy slowly rebounds, some couples are stuck living together long after they have made the decision to divorce. Employment and housing issues can make it hard to break up.

Oil prices tumbled 3 percent Thursday, as economists warned that the recent surge in fuel prices will eventually hurt the fragile economic recovery....

China is on course for another five years of robust growth, but inflation threatens social stability and must be tamed, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Saturday. In China's version of a "State of the Union" address to the annual parliamentary session, Wen said the top priority this year was to curb price rises that are hurting ordinary people in the world's second-largest economy.

The economy grew slower than initially estimated in the fourth quarter as government investment contracted more sharply and consumer spending was less robust, a government report showed on Friday.

Consumer confidence rose in February to its highest point in three years as Americans feel more optimistic about their income prospects and the direction the economy is headed.

Martin Foil's company sells yarn that winds up in clothes from the Gap, Ralph Lauren and American Apparel, and business is growing. He's buying new machines and hopes to hire as many as 200 workers this year....

Economic uncertainty in recent years is reflected in changes to The Princeton Review's 100 Best Value Colleges, published online by USA TODA ...