UNEMPLOYMENT

Republicans vying for GOP nomination wasted no time in criticizing President Barack Obama's jobs speech, and they weren't bashful.

In statements issued after President Obama's jobs speech on Thursday night, Republican leaders struck a note very different from the uncompromising, line-in-the-sand rhetoric that has been dominating political discourse. Criticisms of Obama and fundamental differences of opinion were still evident, but there were also gestures toward conciliation and compromise.

Obama laid out an ambitious $450 billion package of spending plans and tax cuts designed to stimulate the economy and create badly needed jobs.

President Barack Obama made a savvy play with his jobs speech proposal, if one considers his personal political hide. America's unemployment problem has gone on too long, and the nation is looking to Washington, and the president, to do something about it. So he drew up a economic plan that has a big price tag -- $447 billion -- urging Republicans and Congress to act immediately on it.

The global economic slowdown has brought emerging Asia's rate-hiking cycle to a premature pause and the next step could be easing if the United States slides into a recession or Europe's debt troubles spawn a full-blown financial crisis.

President Barack Obama's jobs package could lift economic growth by one to three percentage points in 2012, add well over one million jobs and lower the unemployment rate by at least half a percentage point, judging by early estimates.

President Barack Obama presented a $447-billion plan for boosting jobs on Thursday before a rare joint session of the Congress and urged the Republicans to take urgent action to pass his plan leaving aside political differences.

President Barack Obama proposed a $447 billion package of tax cuts and spending measures on Thursday aimed at spurring growth and hiring.

Michele Bachmann was the only Republican to give a formal, full-length rebuttal to President Obama's jobs speech Thursday night; House Majority Leader Eric Cantor spoke briefly to Bloomberg TV and House Speaker John Boehner issued a short statement.

When President Obama addressed Congress Thursday night, he wanted to put forward a bold, yet agreeable proposal to help jump-start the economy. Here are five things President Obama would want you to take away from his jobs bill, if nothing else.

Rick Perry's biggest talking point in his young campaign has been the strength of the Texas economy. He frequently notes that his state has created more jobs than any other since the economy soured, and he boasts about Texas's ability to manage its own health care system without federal interference. But the facts are somewhat different.

In a joint-session address Thursday, President Barack Obama said the United States faces a national crisis and pressed Congress to urgently pass a jobs package of tax cuts and government spending he is proposing to revive the stalled U.S. economy.

Gold mining companies rose Thursday in U.S. trading along with the price of the yellow metal on increased purchases of bullion, an unexpectedly downbeat unemployment report and very little evidence that the domestic economy has much energy.

Republican Senator David Vitter and other conservatives planning to boycott President Barack Obama's major jobs speech before Congress Thursday night are out of line.

The energy-thirsty United States is on the hunt for a game-changing energy source or energy usage technology -- and batteries and fuel cells are strong candidates. But their mass use could be 20 years away. Meanwhile, a conventional source may bridge that gap, or provide even more upside: natural gas.

Texas Governor Rick Perry came out swinging in his national debut on Wednesday, all but calling President Barack Obama a liar, describing Social Security as a fraud and attacking his main Republican rival in the presidential race.

New U.S. jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, further evidence of a weak labor market just hours before President Barack Obama delivers a major address to Congress on the issue.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney battled over jobs creation. Each claimed to have the stronger record and each had the statistics to prove it. Numbers sound good, but they don't mean anything out of context.

The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) published by the World Economic Forum, which ranks the world's most competitive economies, has pushed the U.S. down the list to a No. 5 spot. Escalating government debts and declining faith of the public in its administration were cited as the critical factors that contributed to the plunge of the country which was No. 1 in 2008 and No. 4 last year.

A rebound in Asian stocks ran out of steam Thursday as worries over the widening euro zone crisis and the faltering U.S. economy undermined investor confidence.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry came out swinging in his national debut on Wednesday, all but calling President Barack Obama a liar, describing Social Security as a fraud and attacking his main Republican rival in the presidential race.