Martin Crutsinger

Chamber, Wall Street lobbyists seek to alter Senate financial regulation bill. Financial institutions and their allies mobilized lobbyists and fueled their media campaigns Tuesday in a swift response to a Democratic plan to rein in Wall Street and protect consumers in their banking and borrowing transactions.

Fed holds rates at record lows to foster recovery; view of economy slightly more upbeat. The Federal Reserve on Tuesday repeated its pledge to hold interest rates at record lows to foster the economic recovery and ease high unemployment.

Administration calls for limits on size of financial institutions, pushes consumer protections. The Obama administration waded into negotiations over Wall Street regulations Wednesday, calling for limits on the size of financial institutions and insisting that consumer protections remain a central objective of legislative attempts to rein in the industry.

Wal-Mart's 4Q profit rises 22 pct; company's US namesake stores see sales fall for first time. After nearly 50 years of hammering competitors with discounts, Wal-Mart is getting a taste of its own medicine.

Finance officials meeting in Arctic consider whether the G-7 is out in the cold. A meeting of finance officials from the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries in this tiny Arctic outpost certainly lived up to host Canada's billing as a gathering with a difference.

G-7 NOTEBOOK: Iqaluit delivers message on domestic violence and seals. Finance officials are taking a break in talks about the world's economic woes to listen to a different tune.

G-7 NOTEBOOK: Geithner and Bernanke are no-shows but handful of ministers try dogsledding. How do you say "mush" in Italian?

Canada brings finance chiefs to deep-frozen Arctic town to talk about global meltdown. This Canadian Arctic capital has no stop lights and didn't start naming its streets until a decade ago. Blizzards can last a week or more, and they tend to come very suddenly. So when the financial chiefs of the seven big industrial democracies meet here Friday and Saturday, they'd better have a quick way out.

Obama's multitrillion-dollar budget would deepen record pool of red ink, urge jobless help. Spelling out painful priorities, President Barack Obama urged Congress on Monday to quickly approve a huge new shot of spending for recession relief and job creation, part of a record $3.8 trillion budget that would boost the deficit beyond any in the nation's history while only slowly beginning to put Americans back to work.

4th quarter's fast economic pace likely to fade as joblessness holds back consumer spending. The economy boomed at the end of 2009, growing at the fastest rate in more than six years. Now if only it could keep it up.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac receive unlimited future funds from taxpayers to stay afloat. The government has handed its ATM card to beleaguered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The economy is weak enough to keep inflation in check but strong enough to increase the pace of home construction and raise hopes for a sustained recovery.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo to exit government's financial bailout program, repay combined $45B. The last two major national banks are returning $45 billion in aid to taxpayers, marking the latest step toward recovery for the U.S. financial system.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo exit government's financial bailout program. Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. said Monday they would repay their government bailout loans, freeing them from close regulatory scrutiny and marking the latest step toward recovery for the U.S. financial system.

Obama eyes bank bailout money to fund jobs bill to build highways, make homes energy-efficient. President Barack Obama is promoting help for highways and small businesses, bridges and energy-efficient homes in a broad pitch to get Americans back to work and roll back the double-digit unemployment that's approaching a quarter-century high, an administration official said Tuesday.

Bank of America's repayment of $45 billion in TARP funds will eliminate exec pay restrictions. Bank of America Corp. has been having a tough time finding a new CEO willing to accept the restrictions that came as a condition of bailout funds. But recruitment is sure to be easier now that the bank plans to pay back its $45 billion in aid in just a few days to free itself from government oversight and pay restraints.

Good economic news allays fears economy will tip into `double-dip' recession. A flurry of good news this week ? including falling jobless claims, stronger consumer spending and higher new-home sales ? suggests the economic rebound, modest though it is, might just be here to stay.

As interest rates fall back near zero, there aren't many happy returns. The U.S. is finally becoming a nation of savers. Now if only we could get something for our money.

Geithner: Efforts to fix global financial flaws, avoid new crises will fail if US drops ball. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress on Tuesday that efforts to strengthen the global financial system to prevent another deep crisis will falter if the United States drops the ball on overhauling regulation of its own banking system.

House Dems: government didn't force Bank of America to take over Merrill, GOP claims cover-up. A senior House Democrat says the government didn't force Bank of America to take over Merrill Lynch, but a bank board member said much pressure was applied and Republicans charged that a committee inquiry was covering up the role of an Obama administration official.