Economy

Cyndy Aafedt (left) owns the El Rancho hotel in Williston, N.D. Jobs in town have been hard to fill. Her employee, Mary Joy Hardt (right), who is from the Philippines, is one of many people with J-1 visas helping to fill retail, hotel and restaurant job o

The Downsides Of Living In An Oil Boomtown

11:18am December 18, 2012

by Meg Luther Lindholm

The population explosion in Williston, N.D., has been a blessing and a curse for many local businesses. Stores and restaurants are struggling to find workers because they can't compete with what most oil jobs pay. Plus, there's now a day care shortage, and housing costs have skyrocketed.

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Economy

Weighing The Child Tax Credit During Hard Times

7:05am December 17, 2012

There's still no budget deal to prevent the automatic spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to go into effect at the end of this year. There are some tax deductions, credits and other breaks lawmakers are weighing in this budget debate.

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Democrats Dig In Their Heels On Entitlement Cuts

1:43pm December 16, 2012

by David Welna

Republicans are insisting on more austere entitlement programs as leaders negotiate a deal to keep the nation from going over the "fiscal cliff" in the new year. But many Democrats are wary of including any far-reaching and long-lasting entitlement reforms in a hastily thrown-together deal.

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Economy

R.J. Reynolds Building Remains Vacant

6:54pm December 14, 2012

The downtown Winston-Salem landmark remains vacant after hotel developer Dennis Quaintance opted agains

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Economy

SEC Chairman Schapiro's Exit Interview

7:51am December 14, 2012

In an interview with David Greene, outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro reflects on her tenure at the agency, and the disappointment that she wasn't able to overhaul money market funds. She leaves the job on Friday.

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'Fiscal Cliff' Message Repeats Itself

6:35am December 14, 2012

As the negotiations drag on, the lack of progress means the key players have necessarily taken to repeating themselves. Sometimes, word-for-word, as they describe how they have worked for a solution while their opponents have stonewalled.

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Most Of Congress In The Dark On 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks

11:44am December 13, 2012

by Tamara Keith

Of the 535 members of Congress, not many are in the loop about negotiations to avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases in the new year. Lawmakers are waiting to see what President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner come up with — and some are nervous about having to quickly vote on a bill despite misgivings.

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Erin Kulick can see the animal clinic where she once worked from her balcony in Queens, N.Y. Six weeks after Hurricane Sandy, the clinic is still closed.

Post-Sandy, Newly Unemployed Struggle To Stay Afloat

7:19pm December 12, 2012

by Margot Adler

While the storm did not influence the nation's jobless figures as much as expected, there are still thousands of people who are unemployed in Sandy's wake. Many businesses on the East Coast are still making repairs or have closed entirely, leaving many families in limbo.

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Spain's Civil Servants Draw Grumbles, And Envy

4:54pm December 12, 2012

by Lauren Frayer

Spain's economic crisis has helped drive the nation's unemployment rate above 25 percent. Many of the jobless resent the relatively high pay and job security public sector workers enjoy.

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Economy

Do Unions Still Have Clout In Michigan?

7:27am December 12, 2012

The contentious fight over labor rights has been unfolding throughout the Midwest in the last couple years. Michigan becoming a right-to-work state is only the latest example. Over the past two years in Wisconsin and Ohio, Republican governors took on labor unions.

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