FEDERAL RESERVE

Arguing that former U.S. presidents often make millions on the lecture circuit, three congressmen have introduced legislation they claim could save about $3 million in fiscal 2013.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke played killjoy Wednesday morning, delivering a somewhat pessimistic assessment of the nation's economic condition in a semi-annual address to the House of Representatives.

Mexico economic growth has been strong in the wake of the Great Recession, thanks in large part to its fiscal and monetary discipline, said Dallas Federal Reserve Bank chief Richard Fischer in a speech in New Mexico.

The Nasdaq Composite Index briefly crossed the 3,000 mark Wednesday for the first time in 12 years, boosted by the European Central Bank's action to increase liquidity in the euro zone financial system and a better-than-expected revision to the U.S. quarterly economic growth.

Factory activity in the Midwest accelerated in February after falling for two consecutive months, fostering hopes that the world's largest economy has gained momentum.

The U.S. economy would have to strengthen to ensure that the unacceptably high jobless rate keeps dropping, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday, suggesting the option of further Fed bond buying remains on the table.

The U.S. economy would have to strengthen to ensure that the unacceptably high jobless rate keeps dropping, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday, suggesting the option of further Fed bond buying remains on the table.

The uneven U.S. economic recovery will have to pick up in order to quickly bring down an unacceptably high jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.

The U.S. economy grew a bit faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter on slightly firmer consumer and business spending, which could help to allay fears of a sharp slowdown in growth in early 2012.

Former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, who lent his name to historic restrictions on banks' financial market trading, says regulators should not back down in imposing the curbs and that additional reforms to markets are necessary.

The Richmond Fed said Tuesday that manufacturing in the central Atlantic area increased in February for the third consecutive month.

The U.S. banking industry continues to recover from the economic downturn and the 2007-2009 financial crisis, with profits rising over the past year, but the improvement can only continue if lending picks up, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said.

U.S. households continued to shave debt in the fourth quarter as mortgage balances declined, while there were tentative signs Americans are increasingly willing to spend, according to a report released on Monday by the New York Federal Reserve.

U.S. households continued to shave debt in the fourth quarter as mortgage balances declined, while there were tentative signs Americans are increasingly willing to spend, according to a report released on Monday by the New York Federal Reserve.

U.S. households continued to shave debt in the fourth quarter as mortgage balances declined, while there were tentative signs Americans are increasingly willing to spend, according to a report released on Monday by the New York Federal Reserve.

Business conditions in Texas-area manufacturing continued to expand at a solid pace in February, according to a report released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said on Saturday policy makers are closely watching the impact of looser monetary policy on crude-oil prices. Along with the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan is taking unconventional steps to boost the economy.

Anyone looking for more evidence of a strengthening U.S. economic recovery needs only to consider conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, where businesses ranging from railroads and electric utilities to furniture and candy stores are racking up record profits.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams defends the Fed's aggressive monetary policy, citing continuing reverberations from the housing crash.

No matter which direction investors faced Friday, whether it was the recent past or the immediate future, all the signals were positive. Investors responded by boosting prices for stocks, bonds and commodities.

Top Federal Reserve officials said on Friday the U.S. central bank's ultra-easy monetary policy is appropriate for a sluggish economy but one policymaker said further easing would only be warranted if conditions worsen.