U.S. House Committee on Financial Services

Business Highlights. Recovery mixed on strong earnings, weak home sales

Bernanke urges Congress not to slash spending or raise taxes during the economic recovery. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that the fragile economy needs government stimulus spending to strengthen the recovery and help reduce unemployment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve may try to push borrowing costs even lower if the job market continues to languish, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday, offering a hint of what might trigger additional monetary easing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve may try to push borrowing costs even lower if the job market continues to languish, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday, offering a hint of what might trigger additional monetary easing.

WASHINGTON - Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren, whose rise to prominence has been fueled partly by her proposal for a federal consumer protection bureau, now is at the center of a political fight over whether President Obama should nominate her to run the powerful regulatory body. The bureau will be established under financial legislation that Obama signed yesterday. But the president hasn't said whether he will name Warren to run it, and some Democrats worry that she would face a tough confirmation fight in the Senate. That has prompted an uprising among Warren's legion of supporters, many of whom have come to know her from her appearances on newscasts, ``The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,'' and in a Michael Moore documentary about capitalism. The possibility that Warren might be passed over for the job has prompted her backers to launch a lobbying campaign that had gained more than 160,000 online signatures this week. Warren for months has been one of the most visible publi

Major business events and economic events scheduled for Thursday:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is in the midst of more probes stemming from the financial crisis, its chairman said on Tuesday, a week after Goldman Sachs settled fraud charges for a record $550 million.

After a rough start to earnings season, US stocks face a tidal wave of corporate results next week amid growing worries the US economic recovery is slowing.

The US Senate gave final approval to the most sweeping rewrite of Wall Street rules since the Great Depression of the 1930s, handing President Barack Obama a legacy-shaping political victory.

WASHINGTON - The US Senate yesterday passed a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations, getting crucial support from three New England Republicans in a vote that hands President Obama a major legislative victory as his party heads into midterm elections. The bill was approved with support from Republicans Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, who joined 57 Democrats to provide the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. One Democrat, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, said the measure did not go far enough and opposed it. The legislation, ultimately adopted by a 60-39 vote, has already been approved by the House. ``I'm about to sign Wall Street reform into law, to protect consumers and lay the foundation for a stronger and safer financial system, one that is innovative, creative, competitive and far less prone to panic and collapse,'' Obama, who is planning to sign the bill in a ceremony next week, said yesterday. ``Unless your business model depends o

The US Senate gave final approval Thursday to the most sweeping rewrite of Wall Street rules since the Great Depression of the 1930s, handing President Barack Obama a legacy-shaping political victory.

WASHINGTON - Senator Scott Brown yesterday helped put President Obama on the verge of a major political triumph by coming out in support of a massive financial regulation overhaul, probably giving Democrats enough votes to pass the landmark bill as early as this week. Hours after Brown's announcement, Senator Olympia Snowe joined her fellow Maine Republican, Senator Susan Collins, in backing the legislation. Senate Democrats believed the support from the trio of New Englanders puts the measure on track for passage. Following nearly two weeks of closely watched public indecision, Brown ended the suspense by issuing a written statement yesterday pledging support for the legislation. ``It includes safeguards to help prevent another financial meltdown, ensures that consumers are protected, and it is paid for without new taxes,'' Brown said, adding, ``further reforms are still needed to address the government's role in the financial crisis.'' Senate majority leader Harry Reid said he expect

Big changes ahead for financial world from government crackdown more than a year in the making. Big changes are in store for the financial world from a government crackdown more than a year in the making.

WASHINGTON - It can all be traced to a Fish Pier luncheon in South Boston. Representative Barney Frank, the face of liberal Democrats, had once dismissed Senator Scott Brown, the poster candidate of Republicans and the Tea Party movement, by saying, ``Having an old truck and two daughters are not usually policy arguments.'' But now, in March, Frank was meeting Brown for an extended conversation, and the two quietly began laying the groundwork for the most unlikely of political partnerships. In the weeks that followed, the pair would work behind the scenes, on the phone and through aides, to develop a deal that could make or break President Obama's effort to overhaul the nation's financial regulations, affecting nearly every bank, borrower, and consumer in the country. The relationship took on a roller coaster quality, with a deal seemingly solid after the two men agreed on provisions that would help Massachusetts banks one day, but in tatters the next. Now, with Frank having engineered

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two influential Democratic lawmakers warned on Friday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could derail a $150 million clean-energy home-financing program and urged the Obama administration to rectify the problem with new regulatory guidance.

The US unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent in June, despite the economy shedding 125,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.

The US unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent in June, despite the economy shedding 125,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday.

The patchy US economic recovery faces a crucial litmus test Friday when fresh unemployment figures are released, but few expect positive results.

The patchy US economic recovery faces a crucial litmus test Friday when fresh unemployment figures are released, but few expect positive results.

The US House of Representatives extended federal unemployment benefits through November 30, with the Senate now set to take up the controversial measure.