2009 | featured news

Call it the “Twilight” effect: Names from Stephanie Meyer’s vampire novels and their hit film spin-offs sank their teeth into the list of most popular baby names of 2009, with Jacob and Isabella (the long form of Bella) topping the respective lists for boys and girls, and Cullen rising faster than any other boy’s name.

The transfer, a record sum, was the result of the central bank’s actions to support the fragile housing market.

Fewer passengers boarded planes last year, but those who did were generally treated better than in the past....

Late in 2009 year we witnessed the largest explosion ever recorded: a super giant star two hundred times bigger than the sun utterly obliterated by runaway thermonuclear reactions triggered by gamma ray-driven antimatter production.

Few things are more irritating during tax season than the belated realization that you paid more in taxes than you had to.

China gave up its title to Japan as the largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities in December as foreigners bought U.S. assets at a brisk pace.

Home prices fell in November for the first time in seven months, according to a industry report released Tuesday.

The government said the economy shed 85,000 jobs last month, surprising forecasters, while the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent.

U.S. retailers largely saw a strong finish to the 2009 holiday season even though sales fell at apparel chains and department stores in December, according to MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse.

The 16 percent decline in November was far larger than the 2 percent expected by economists.