Texas Gov. Rick Perry is suddenly vulnerable with the conservative voters he must corral to win the Republican presidential nomination. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has his eye on more mainstream Republicans, and he continues methodically to gain their respect with his emphasis on fixing the broken economy. Those were the key impressions from Monday’s debate at...

Continued high unemployment drove the number of Americans living in poverty to a record high in 2010 and dragged down median household income for the third straight year since the Great Recession first darkened the nation's economy in 2007.More than a year after the economic recovery officially began in June 2009, 46.2 million people had annual earnings below the poverty line last year, up from 4...

The Census Bureau reports the number of Americans in poverty jumped to 15.1 percent in 2010, a 27-year high.About 46.2 million people, or nearly 1 in 6, were in poverty. That's up from 43.6 million, or 14.3 percent, in 2009. It was the highest level since 1983.The number of people lacking health insurance increased to 49.9 million, a new high after revisions were made to 2009 figures. Losses were ...

“What I heard tonight does not give me a lot of hope we’re going to be able to jump-start the economy. Most of the president’s plans to pay for his ideas require taxing job creators at a time we need more jobs. Some of the proposals may have merit, but the general tone of his speech was more campaigning than problem-solving.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca“Tonigh...

President Barack Obama’s jobs plan drew familiar partisan responses Thursday from Congress: Republicans criticized his initiatives while Democrats embraced them.Throughout Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress, Democrats leaped from their seats and applauded the president’s plans, while Republicans sat. The response made it clear his initiatives face a tough road ahea...

Gov. Nikki Haley said today she will not endorse Republican presidential contender Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor.Haley made the comment on “The Laura Ingraham Show.”“Naturally, I’m going to go with someone that philosophically I agree with and Jon Huntsman is not it,” Haley said. “If you talk to him about things he knows about China and the econom...

Companies in July advertised the most jobs in three years, and layoffs declined – a bit of hope for a weak economy. Still, many employers are in no rush to fill openings. The Labor Department said Wednesday that employers increased their postings to 3.23 million from 3.17 million in June. That is the largest number of openings since August 2008. Typically, it takes anywhere from one to three ...

Employers stopped adding jobs in August, an alarming setback for an economy that has struggled to grow and might be at risk of another recession.It was the weakest jobs report since September 2010. The unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent.Stock futures plunged on the news. Dow futures fell nearly 100 points shortly before the market opened.A strike by 45,000 Verizon workers lowered the job to...

Asian stock markets mostly fell Friday after a decline on Wall Street and ahead of the release of closely watched U.S. employment figures.Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Asia's biggest market, fell 1.3 percent to 8,942.08, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.3 percent to 20,313.99.The U.S. Labor Department announces figures for employment and the jobless rate in August later Friday. Employers a...

Asian stock markets mostly fell Friday after a decline on Wall Street and ahead of the release of closely watched U.S. employment figures.Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Asia's biggest market, fell 1.2 percent to 8,955.30, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.3 percent to 20,313.99.The U.S. Labor Department announces figures for employment and the jobless rate in August later Friday. Employers a...

Another sign of the troubled economy.The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports ( http://bit.ly/pyDwCR) that a thief stole $200 from donation boxes at Holy Family Catholic Church.The church has always been open for prayer, but will now be locked after mass. Those who want to enter the chapel will have to check in at the church office.The church's pastor says people have fallen on hard times and are ...

Consumer spending grew in July by 0.8 percent, the largest amount in five months. That followed a decline in June and helped ease fears that the economy is on the verge of another recession. Americans bought more cars and spent more last month to cool their homes during a heat wave. Personal incomes increased 0.3 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. That’s slightly higher than th...

Asian stock markets rose Thursday after a late-day surge on Wall Street, while the resignation of Steve Jobs - the force behind Apple Inc. - sent ripples through the technology sector.Oil prices hovered above $85 a barrel in Asia. The dollar rose against the euro but dropped against the yen.Asian markets got a boost from U.S. data showing a surge in demand for cars and planes in July that offered ...

Energy Secretary Steven Chu stepped briefly into USC’s innovative energy research district Tuesday, touring a portion of the multimillion-dollar development the university hopes will spearhead the way to world leadership in fuel cell technology.Chu voiced his support for fuel cells as an alternative energy, saying critics had misrepresented his position amid budget discussions.Chu’s ...

The number of Americans at risk of foreclosure is rising, reflecting the U.S. economy’s continued struggles. The Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday that 8.44 percent of homeowners missed at least one mortgage payment in the April-June quarter. That figure, which is adjusted for seasonal factors, rose 0.12 percentage point from the January-March period. In a normal market, the percent...

Time Warner Cable on Monday opened a new customer service center inside its Midlands’ campus at 3347 Platt Springs Road. The full-service center provides customer service for billing, equipment and service-related matters. It also showcases all of the company’s services, such as digital cable, high-speed Internet, home phone and wireless products. The new center replaces the West Columbi...

Laid-off workers and aging baby boomers are flooding Social Security's disability program with benefit claims, pushing the financially strapped system toward the brink of insolvency.Applications are up nearly 50 percent over a decade ago as people with disabilities lose their jobs and can't find new ones in an economy that has shed nearly 7 million jobs.The stampede for benefits is adding to a gro...

Seeking to jolt the economy, President Barack Obama will propose new ideas to create jobs and help the struggling poor and middle class in a major speech after Labor Day. And then he will try to seize political advantage by spending the fall pressuring Congress to act on his plan.Obama's plan is likely to contain a mix of tax cuts, jobs-boosting construction projects and steps to help the long-ter...

Fitch Ratings said Tuesday it will keep its rating on U.S. debt at the highest grade, AAA, and issued a "stable" outlook, meaning it expects the rating to stay there.That's better than the other two main ratings agencies: Moody's lists the U.S. debt at AAA but says its outlook is negative. And Standard & Poor's set off a maelstrom in the stock market last week after it took its rating on the U.S. ...

As many Midlands students returned to school today, about 50 people gathered outside the state Department of Education building to protest the state’s decision not to pursue $144 million in federal money to pay for education jobs.State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais said he would not apply for the money because it is one-time funding that would disappear after a year. “This (m...

For the dozen lawmakers tasked with producing a deficit-cutting plan, the threatened "doomsday" defense cuts hit close to home.The six Republicans and six Democrats represent states where the biggest military contractors - Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics Corp., Raytheon Co. and Boeing Co. - build missiles, aircraft, jet fighters and tanks while employing tens of thousands of workers.The potentia...

A federal appeals panel struck down the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul Friday, moving the argument over whether Americans can be required to buy health insurance a step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.The divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded Congress overstepped its authority when lawmakers passed the so-called individual ...

As Bank of America Corp.’s stock has tumbled and clawed back in recent days, city leaders, business owners and others with a stake in the company are waiting to see what happens next.The stock market swings have delivered a familiar feeling of anxiety to a city pummeled by the financial crisis. Local leaders and business owners say they aren’t as fearful this time. But they acknowled...

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn criticized Standard & Poor's downgrade of America's debt rating on Tuesday, saying he thinks the decision was based more on politics than economics.The Democrat from South Carolina told reporters he's concerned the decision focused on Washington's fractious political climate rather than America's actual ability to pay its debts."I think this is very unfortunate. I think it ...

U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday, but only after swinging wildly in overnight trading following the worst day for stocks since 2008.The Federal Reserve plans to meet Tuesday on interest-rate policy. The central bank already has kept its key interest rate at a record low of nearly zero since 2008. It has also pledged to keep rates low "for an extended period."European strategists said speculation ab...

Like many people, the South Carolina Transportation Department is having trouble paying all of its bills on time.The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Tuesday contractors are being paid 45 days after they finish projects, rather than the usual one-month lag.The newspaper also reported ( http://bit.ly/nw7b8h) that the agency is taking more than two months to repay loans to the South Carolina ...

U.S. stocks are tumbling amid a rout in global markets after Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time.S&P cut the long-term debt rating for the U.S. by one notch late Friday. The downgrade wasn't unexpected, but it comes when investors are already nervous about a weak U.S. economy, European debt problems and Japan's recovery from its March earthquake.At the opening of...

U.S. investors will have their first chance Monday to react to Standard & Poor's decision to strip the U.S. government of its top credit rating. But the bigger issues facing Wall Street and stock markets worldwide remain debt-ridden countries in Europe and concerns that the global economy is weakening.Friday's first-ever downgrade of U.S. long-term debt from AAA to AA+ wasn't unexpected and may ha...

WASHINGTON — After a spate of bad economic news and a 10-day pounding of stock prices, Friday’s jobs report is likely to play an outsized role in either calming the waters or deepening fears that the U.S. economy is sliding back toward recession. Stocks plummeted Thursday as investors fretted about weakening economic conditions and emergency steps announced by the European Central Bank...

House Speaker John Boehner hastily rewrote his stalled emergency debt-limit bill yet again Friday as Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid signaled he's ready to push ahead with his own version. President Barack Obama declared "we're almost out of time" in a wrenching political standoff that has heightened fears of a market-rattling government default."The power to solve this is in our hands on a da...