UNEMPLOYMENT

Aiming to spark job growth in California, Governor Jerry Brown unveiled proposals for tax breaks for businesses, including tax relief for companies that buy new manufacturing equipment.

Shares of major gold mining companies fell Friday in midday trading, after the head of the U.S. central bank used a closely-watched speech to indicate that the Federal Reserve had no immediate plans to stimulate the lagging economy with another round of bond buying.

Stocks rose Friday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke used a closely-followed speech to express optimism about the U.S. economic recovery but offer no hint that the central bank would intervene, as it did after his last such talk.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech Friday at a closely watched meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo.,

The U.S. economy grew at a worse-than-expected 1.0 percent rate in the second quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Friday, in its second estimate for the quarter, as lower export growth and a slowdown in inventory build-up braked the world's largest economy to near-stall speed.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's strategy for dealing with rival contender Rick Perry is: do more of the same and bank on a misstep by the Texas governor.

Texas Governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry was endorsed Thursday by Kinky Friedman, who garnered media buzz when he ran as an independent against Perry in 2006.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's much-anticipated speech Friday will likely disappoint investors and policy makers hoping for signs the central bank will try to rev up the weak economy, but the speech is likely to relieve gold investors who have booked big profits from that same economic malaise.

The Obama administration is considering plans to allow millions of homeowners with government-backed mortgages to refinance at current interest rates.

U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose by 5,000 to 417,000 last week -- a total skewed higher by an irregular event, the Verizon strike. However, if claims remain above the 400,000 level in the weeks ahead, that would be another sign that the U.S. economic recovery continues to slow -- exactly what policy makers do not want.

A new study has revealed a stronger evidence for the climate-conflict link, with data showing that tropical countries affected by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation are twice as likely to suffer internal unrest compared to the phenomenon's cooler, wetter counterpart, La Niña.

German consumer sentiment fell slightly going into September, a survey showed on Thursday, hitting a 10-month low as the euro zone debt crisis and fears of another recession in Europe and the United States weighed on consumer expectations.

President Barack Obama is finalizing a jobs package that could include a program to refurbish school buildings nationwide and tax breaks to encourage firms to hire workers.

President Barack Obama is finalizing a jobs package that could include a program to refurbish school buildings nationwide and tax breaks to encourage firms to hire workers.

Hotter, drier weather brought about by the El Niño climate pattern has been linked to civil conflicts within poor tropical countries, according to a new study.

Civil wars are twice as likely to break out in countries that see severe weather fluctuations because of El Niño, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.

Central bankers and economists from around the globe will once again flock to the Federal Reserve's annual gathering in Wyoming this week, and once again will meet against the backdrop of volatile markets and the prospect of further Fed support for a struggling U.S. economy.

Bachmann ramped up her criticism of the vacationing president on Wednesday by circulating a “One-Term Obama” petition among her supporters in order to showcase his handling of the economy.

The much-maligned U.S. debt deal is not inconsequential, according to latest budget deficit and economic analysis report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) -- it slices next year's deficit to $973 billion from $1.28 trillion this year, and it will also lower interest rates.

You can’t blame investors for feeling slightly queasy about the U.S. stock market these days. One day of relatively positive data points is followed by a day with enough bad news to keep a stock investor up at night. But based on a condensed, cross-methodological analysis, in which direction is the Dow likely to head in the next six months?

UBS announced cuts of 3,500 employees on Tuesday, mostly in its investment banking division, as the layoff trend continues in the banking industry.