Lawmaker health insurance costs at a glance (AP)
AP - Lawmakers in many states enjoy free or heavily subsidized health insurance paid for by tax dollars, even as the recession claims the jobs and health benefits of millions of workers who elected them. The disparity is creating a backlash in some states to cut back lawmakers' health benefits. Here is a look at those benefits at a glance.
Federal deficit higher in July, $1.27T this year (AP)
AP - The federal deficit climbed higher into record territory in July, hitting $1.27 trillion with two months remaining in the budget year.
On the Call: Macy's CFO Karen Hoguet (AP)
AP - Like many department store operators, Macy's Inc. has been hit hard by the recession as consumers focus on food and other necessities. The Cincinnati-based department store operator has shored up its profit with a series of cost-cutting moves, including paring its work force, cutting capital spending and consolidating regional divisions.
(AP)
AP - Fed signals end of government debt-buying program; says economy `leveling out.'
Liz Claiborne loss widens; more cost cuts planned (Reuters)
Reuters - Liz Claiborne Inc reported a deeper-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday, sending its shares down 9 percent, as the lingering recession kept many shoppers from buying the company's clothing and accessories.
Fidelity: Workers again putting more into 401(k)s (AP)
AP - Workers are again embracing 401(k) plans after the market meltdown and ongoing recession left many unable or unwilling to set aside some of their paychecks for retirement, according to the nation's largest workplace savings plan provider.
What the Fed is mulling (Reuters)
Reuters - The Federal Reserve is expected to give a nod to signs the U.S. recession is waning but will likely warn that the recovery will be slow and dampen any expectations it will soon start to raise interest rates.
White House seeks new reins on derivatives (AP)
AP - The Obama administration on Tuesday sent Congress legislation seeking to impose broad new oversight on derivatives, the complex financial instruments blamed for hastening the global economic crisis.
The Dow Jones industrials' moves since Lehman fall (AP)
AP - How far the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen or advanced each trading day since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 15. Since Lehman's fall, which touched off a paralysis of the credit markets and deepened the recession, the stock market has gone through an extended period of volatility before kicking into a big rally starting this spring. The numbers are the closing levels for the Dow: