UNEMPLOYMENT

Hopefully, retailers liked 2011, because 2012 is looking like it will offer more of the same.

Slain civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic “March on Washington” in 1963 was, in fact, the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” And King would want the nation today to focus on policies that create jobs for all seeking employment.

Iran said on Sunday it had received a letter from the U.S. government about the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial oil shipping lane that Tehran has threatened to close if sanctions prevent it exporting oil.

European leaders promised on Saturday to speed up plans to strengthen spending rules and get a permanent bailout fund up and running as soon as possible, a day after U.S. agency S&P cut the ratings of several euro zone countries' creditworthiness.

Tunisians Saturday marked the first anniversary of the revolution that started the Arab Spring with celebrations that were true to the spirit of the revolt: raucous, unscripted and driven by the energy of ordinary people.

House Speaker John Boehner, hoping to spare fellow Republicans a second embarrassing defeat over payroll tax cuts, is prepared to navigate around rebellious Tea Party-aligned lawmakers to get a deal, according to congressional aides.

For all the hand-wringing about Mitt Romney being insufficiently conservative, the last few days have demonstrated how a Romney candidacy would give voters a clear alternative to the progressive vision articulated by President Barack Obama.

A new word has become more common the Obama administration's lexicon: veto. After three years spent cultivating the image of a middle ground-seeking compromiser-in-chief, the White House appears to have made a 180-degree turn. Three veto threats have been floated against major pieces of legislation. President Barack Obama suddenly refuses take any gruff from Congressional Republicans.

U.S. retail sales rose at the weakest pace in seven months in December and first-time claims for jobless benefits moved higher last week, signs the economic recovery is shaky despite a recent pick-up in growth.

The number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits rose in the latest week, reversing a recent decline and suggesting the labor market remains brittle.

U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates fell to a new record low of 3.89 percent in the week ending Jan. 12, according to Freddie Mac.

Nobody, not the EU, the IMF nor the markets had any concerns about the Irish fiscal position prior to 2008.

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in six weeks after a downtick in the week ended Dec. 31. The figure nearly surpassed a key threshold for gauging the job market, raising concerns about the U.S. employment situation without the help of holiday hiring.

The number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits rose on Thursday, reversing a recent decline and suggesting the labor market remains brittle.

Top Federal Reserve officials disagreed on Wednesday over how aggressive the central bank should be to spur faster growth and bring a lofty jobless rate down more quickly.

President Barack Obama plans to introduce a series of incentives to bring outsourced jobs back to America and increase domestic investment.

The U.S. Federal Reserve should stick to its super-easy monetary policy to fight unemployment and spur a painstakingly slow economic recovery, even if doing so pushes inflation temporarily higher, a top Fed official said on Wednesday.

Detroit's economy wasn't exactly in great standing before the housing bubble burst, before the automotive manufacturing that supports the community burst. It was already a case of haves, and have-nots. But when it all came crumbling down, with automakers slashing jobs and two filing for bankrtuptcy -- General Motors and Chrysler -- the shaky pedestal gave way.

Romney won a significant victory in New Hampshire Tuesday, carrying the open primary and becoming the first Republican to win both New Hampshire and Iowa in the primaries since 1976. But more remarkable than Romney's 2012 win is whose votes gave him the victory: Romney supporters crossed every demographic, from age brackets to ideological concerns.

One woman was killed on Tuesday when prospective students waiting outside the University of Johannesburg in South Africa stampeded to get into the school's admissions office.

Consumer credit surged in November by the most since October 2001, rising 10.0 percent on higher credit card debt and more student loans doled out by the government, a Federal Reserve report showed on Monday.