2011 | featured news

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in October to its lowest point of the year as Americans bought fewer foreign cars and imported less oil. Exports of American-made autos also fell.

China's services sector cooled in November to its weakest growth in three months, an HSBC purchasing managers' index showed on Monday, the latest data portraying an economy slowing quickly and in need of policy support.

The editors at CardRatings.com pick their favorite cash-back and low-interest cards

The Book Review picks the year’s best fiction and nonfiction.

Small businesses in the United States grew more confident in the economy's future for the second straight month during October as their outlook for business conditions improved, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

While the unemployment rate dipped to 9 percent, the improvement was seen as mediocre.

Consumers' confidence in the economy fell in October to the lowest it's been since 2009 when the U.S. was in the middle of a deep recession, according to a report released Tuesday by a private research group.

Consumers paid more for food and gas last month, although inflation outside those volatile categories was tame. The Labor Department says the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in September, below a 0.4 percent rise in August. Excluding food and energy, so-called core prices increased 0.1 percent, the smallest rise since March.

There were plenty of surprises in the the shortlists for the 60th annual National Book Awards, which were announced today Portland, Oregon. The awards, probably the most prestigious book awards in the USA behind the Pulitzer Prize, have previously been given to Jonathan Franzen, Philip Roth, Alice Walker and William Faulkner.

New single-family home sales in the United States fell in August to a 6-month low but the supply of homes available on the market dropped to a record low.