Economy

Organized labor is urging support for legislation authored by Senate Democrats designed to stave off billions in automatic spending cuts. 

The AFL-CIO, which has argued for a repeal of the remaining $85 billion in scheduled sequester cuts, sent a letter to the Senate on Thursday calling for support of the Democrats' bill because "although it would not repeal sequestration, it would minimize harm to the economy and would not cut Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare benefits."

"The greatest economic challenge facing America today is the jobs crisis, not the deficit or the debt," wrote Bill Samuel, the government affairs director at the AFL-CIO, in the letter. 

Democrats, Republicans learning to live with the sequester.

Sequester might not deliver all the savings it promised.

Corporate America lines up behind gay marriage.

EU to limit bankers' bonuses.

Officials make progress on how to tax offshore corporate income.

Applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week as employers are hanging on to workers amid budget gridlock in Washington. 

First-time jobless claims fell by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted rate of 344,000, the lowest level since June 2008, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. 

The four-week moving average, which better reflects the direction of the labor market, fell to 355,000 from 361,750.

The nation's economy grew at an anemic rate during the final three months of last year, revised up slightly from the first estimate that showed contraction. 

Gross domestic product (GDP) was revised up to reflect 0.1 percent growth for the October-December period, a slight increase from last month's surprise estimate that the economy shrank 0.1 percent, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. 

"A positive quarter feels better than a negative one, but it doesn’t mean much," Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, told The Hill. 

The Senate will vote Thursday on both a Democratic and Republican plan, but neither plan is expected to pass.

The wealth gap between black and white families practically tripled over a quarter-century, a new study found.

The Institute on Assets and Social Policy found that the difference in wealth between white and black families grew from $85,000 in 1984 to $236,500 in 2009. 

That gap, the institute found, was driven mostly by structural issues like education levels, how long a family owned a home, pre-existing wealth and unemployment. 

In a 71-26 vote, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jack Lew to serve as the next Treasury secretary.

House Republicans mounted significant pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday, criticizing his leadership of the agency.

The Senate Finance Committee cleared his nomination for Treasury secretary Tuesday in a 19-5 vote.

Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) may have retired from Congress, but that isn't stopping him from airing grievances about the Federal Reserve.

On Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared before the House Financial Services Committee to deliver regular testimony. Paul previously used such events to harangue Bernanke on Fed policy, and in his retirement sought to do the next best thing. Minutes after the hearing began, Paul sent out a statement blasting Bernanke, detailing exactly how he would have grilled the policymaker if he were still in public office.

"While I certainly don't miss Congress, where politicians are constantly trying to limit Americans' freedom, during my time there I always enjoyed the opportunity to question the Federal Reserve Chairman about the damage the Fed’s policies do to the American economy," he said. "Today, unfortunately for the American people, Chairman Bernanke presented more failed policies that will only worsen our economic crisis at the expense of the vulnerable, while enriching entrenched allies and politicians."