UNEMPLOYMENT

Mitt Romney cemented his front-runner status with his Florida 2012 primary win Tuesday night, coming ahead of Newt Gingrich with almost half of the vote.

Newt Gingrich unloaded on Mitt Romney in his Florida concession speech after he lost to his Republican rival by 14.5 points Tuesday night.

Companies added 170,000 workers to their payrolls in January, boosted again by a surge in service-providing sector employment, according to data released by ADP Employer Services Wednesday.

Such an event would clearly pose a dire threat to Israel and its mandated Jewish identity.

Mitt Romney couldn't have settled for anything less than a blowout victory in Florida's Republican presidential primary that would retain his edge over the GOP rivals in their fight to win the party's nomination to face incumbent President Barack Obama.

Portugal seeks to sell 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in treasury bills on Wednesday, in a test of its ability to raise short-term funds after a recent surge in its long-term bond rates have raised fears it may be forced to follow Greece and seek a new bailout.

Mitt Romney cruises to victory in Florida with 47 percent of the votes to Gingrich's 32 percent in largest Republican presidential nominating contest.

Mitt Romney cruised to a blowout victory in Florida's Republican U.S. presidential primary on Tuesday that put him back in front in the fight for his party's nomination to face President Barack Obama and left chief rival Newt Gingrich reeling but vowing to fight on.

The federal budget deficit will dip to the still substantial sum of $1.1 trillion in 2012 as the economy continues to grow slowly, according to a projection by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Spain has the highest jobless rate in the euro zone (22.9 percent), while Austria has the lowest (4.1 percent).

According to The Telegraph, Michelle Obama purchased $50,000 worth of lingerie from Agent Provocateur. She and the Queen of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah, closed off part of Madison Avenue for a shopping spree at the luxury lingerie boutique.

House Republicans will propose legislation Tuesday calling for $260 billion in spending on transportation infrastructure for up to five years, an election-year proposal touted as a job creator.

Portugal's slide towards becoming the next Greece - needing a second bailout to avoid bankruptcy - accelerated on Monday as untrusting underwriters hiked the cost of insuring Lisbon's bonds to new highs and insisted it be paid up front.

On Monday, NPR and ProPublica published a report revealing that Freddie Mac, the government-owned mortgage giant, had purchased $3.4 billion in mortgage securities that became more profitable if homeowners were unable to refinance at lower rates.for homeowners to pay off their mortgages. It's the latest public blow to a firm that has been blamed for its role in the housing crisis, even as it continues to deal with the fallout of the toxic mortgages that it continues to hold

Two terror suspects in Norway were convicted of plotting to bomb a Danish newspaper by an Oslo court on Monday.

Consumer spending was flat in December as households took advantage of the largest rise in income in nine months to boost their savings, setting the tone for a slowdown in demand early in 2012.

In a remarkable statement to CNBC this morning, one of the most important dissenting voices within the Federal Reserve said the U.S. central bank's assesment of the economy is too pessimistic, and will likely change as the year progresses. Even more notably, he stated the Fed will likely begin raising benchmark interbank lending rates before mid-2013 -- a direct contradiction on a statement by the Fed last Wednesday.

Margaret Thatcher: The One and Only

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has invoking the name of Saul Alinsky often to describe the danger a second term for President Barack Obama could bring to America. Twice, at his victory speech at South Carolina and in a Florida debate, Gingrich has accused Obama of shaping America to reflect the ideals of Alinsky. Who, however, is Saul Alinsky? Is he evil personified, as Gingrich suggests? And why is he unwilling to throw any light on this person? He says nothing ...

Consumer spending was flat in December as households took advantage of the largest rise in income in nine months to boost their savings, setting the tone for a slowdown in demand early in 2012.

Delivery trucks wear out, computers break down, software becomes outdated -- and finally businesses have to start investing in new equipment. Companies that want to remain competitive have to start spending again as an economy slowly recovers.