US Economy

Bailed out insurance giant AIG plans $198 million in new bonuses

By Andre Damon, October 17, 2009

American International Group, which has received nearly $200 billion in bailout funds from the federal government, is slated to pay out $198 million in bonuses.

Obama and the fiscal crisis of the states

By Tom Eley, October 17, 2009

State governments in the US, facing the indifference of the Obama administration in spite of record budget deficits, are slashing social spending and laying off workers.


Dow climbs to 10,000 as jobless rate nears 10 percent

By Bill Van Auken, October 16, 2009

Wall Street’s breaking the Dow’s 10,000 mark Wednesday was hailed as a further sign of the recession’s end, even as foreclosures rose to an all-time record and the official unemployment rate con...

Citigroup spins off subsidiary to pay trader $100 million

By Andre Damon, October 14, 2009

Citigroup announced Friday plans to sell its energy-trading subsidiary Phibro to Occidental Petroleum, the fourth largest US energy company. The $250 million sale is largely designed to fulfill Citigr...

White House defends inaction on jobs crisis as unemployment grows

By Jerry White, October 13, 2009

President Obama’s leading economic advisor said Monday that the US was well on the way to recovery, while acknowledging that higher levels of unemployment may become a permanent feature even after e...

Ten thousand unemployed apply for 90 jobs in Louisville, Kentucky

By Hiram Lee, October 10, 2009

Ten thousand workers rushed this week to apply for 90 job opening at a Louisville, Kentucky General Electric plant.

The socialist answer to unemployment and poverty

By Jerry White, October 9, 2009

Wednesday’s lineup of tens of thousands of people seeking housing assistance in Detroit is one of those events that suddenly reveals the social reality in America that is ignored and concealed by th...

US: Pennsylvania enters fourth month without a budget

By Samuel Davidson, October 9, 2009

Pennsylvania began its fourth month without a budget as schools, social service agencies, childcare providers and other social services were forced to close or make deep cuts for lack of funds.

Obama offers no relief to growing army of jobless workers

By Jerry White, October 7, 2009

In the face of the mounting unemployment crisis, the Obama administration has no plans to offer serious relief to the 15 million workers out of work and the millions more facing job losses and economi...

US: Watchdog says Treasury misled public about cost of bank bailout

By Andre Damon, October 6, 2009

The top government watchdog of the US bank bailout published an audit Monday claiming that Bush administration officials misled the public about the financial condition of the firms receiving funds.

As US jobless toll tops 15 million

Unemployment crisis shows the failure of capitalism

By Patrick Martin, October 5, 2009

The staggering figures released Friday on the US labor market demonstrate that what has developed since the Wall Street crash one year ago is not a conjunctural downturn, but an historic assault on wo...

One year since the US bank bailout

By Barry Grey, October 3, 2009

One year ago today, the United States Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, establishing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and authorizing the use of $700 billion in...