Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday said the United States and Germany agreed that a breakthrough in Doha round of trade talks would help control food inflation around the world.

Reuters - U.S. private-sector employers slashed 79,000 jobs in June, the largest drop since November 2002, according to a report by ADP Employer Services released on Wednesday that may spell bad news for the government's labor market report later this week.

Reuters - A weaker dollar cannot be blamed for soaring oil prices as policymakers around the world tussle with the twin specters of rising inflation and slowing growth, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Thursday.

AP - Between surging oil prices, food inflation and a credit crunch that's depressed global growth, leaders from the Group of Eight economic powers face the gravest combination of economic woes in at least a decade when they gather next week.

AP - For years, Chris Mauro took a 10-mile detour on his way to work each morning to check out the swells at his favorite surf break and plot the best location for his afterwork wave-riding.

The Christian Science Monitor - Members of Congress are used to working in an institution that gets no respect, but a recent plunge to the bottom of confidence ratings ? and a week back home with constituents riled over gas prices ? is raising alarms even on thick-skinned Capitol Hill.

AP - For three decades, small-town retailers suffered amid tough competition from big discounters and malls that drew shoppers from a hundred-mile radius. But some retailers in rural areas are now seeing a boost as shoppers clobbered by high gas prices shop more locally.

AFP - The dollar climbed against leading currencies on Thursday amid investor caution after a Wall Street slump and ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, dealers said.

AP - This Chesapeake Bay city of idled crab processing plants and costly vacation homes has had a not-too-distant history of racial strife. But when Cambridge elected its first black mayor this week, residents said their worries about joblessness and the economy were foremost on their minds — not the race or gender of the winning candidate.

Reuters - The bears have Wall Street cornered and they just won't let go.

Reuters - U.S. retail sales excluding cars jumped in June and posted their biggest one-month rise in seven months, as consumers spent some of their government rebate checks, a private report released on Monday showed.

Reuters - Total sales at retailers rose a less-than-expected 0.1 percent in June, as auto sales had their biggest drop in more than two years, a Commerce Department showed on Tuesday.

Reuters - Consumer spending may have slowed and U.S. retail sales are struggling, but the environment has not dampened J.C. Penney Co Inc's efforts to celebrate its latest brand launch in style.

BusinessWeek Online - These are tough times for job seekers. The U.S. unemployment rate held steady in June at 5.5%, the highest rate since October 2004. The outlook is especially bleak in residential construction and automobiles, and for workers without a college degree.

AP - For weeks — months — the price of a barrel of oil marches skyward, and gas prices at the pump soar to frustrating heights.

AP - Sometimes, I guess, timing is everything. When DaimlerChrysler AG announced in 2006 that it planned to bring the Smart fortwo micro car to the United States after nearly a decade in Europe, gas prices had reached about $2.80 a gallon. Now, Americans are paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump, SUV sales are plummeting and consumers are hungry for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Reuters - The economy will need months to recover from a growth slowdown caused by a home mortgage crisis, turmoil in financial markets and high energy prices, Treasure Secretary Henry Paulson said on Sunday.

Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's Ken Wilson will temporarily leave the firm to advise U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on how to resolve the country's banking crisis, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Tuesday financial markets will remain under stress until the U.S. housing market's slide ends and called the health of mortgage finance enterprises vital to the recovery of the U.S. economy.

AFP - Factories in the 15 nations sharing the euro saw demand pull back more sharply than expected in May, official EU data showed on Wednesday.

The Motley Fool - Gas prices and GDP woes may have us Americans tightening our belts, but that doesn't mean we're happy about it.

AFP - The dollar fell against the euro and yen on Friday as the market awaited publication of US housing figures and data on consumer sentiment in the world's biggest, but struggling, economy.

Time.com - Senator John Warner wants to enforce a national speed limit as an answer to soaring gas prices

Reuters - Presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a vote of confidence to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, saying he had made some good decisions in difficult circumstances.

AP - The dollar fell against the 15-nation euro Monday despite a report showing consumer confidence falling to a more-than five-year low in Germany, Europe's largest economy.

AFP - US consumer confidence showed slender gains in July but still reflected a 'grim' assessment of economic conditions, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Reuters - Applications for U.S. home mortgages dropped to their slowest pace since December 2000 as loan rates hovering near one-year highs compounded the housing market's woes, according to data from an industry group on Wednesday.

Time.com - The Treasury Secretary made his reputation as a Wall St. dealmaker, but heading off a recession will be a tougher job