On the eve of congressional hearings, union leaders agreed to give the Big 3 carmakers more time to make pension contributions and will suspend a program that let laid-off workers collect most of their salary. But key congressional leaders still weren't willing to say whether the carmakers will get the aid they are seeking. » read more
The holiday shopping season kicked off with a bang nationally on Black Friday. According to ShopperTrak RCT, shoppers drove total retail sales up 3 percent over 2007, just days before the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the U.S. economy is officially in a recession. » read more
Ken Lewis of Bank of America joined three other prominent North Carolina business executives at a roundtable on Wednesday in predicting a business recovery in 2009. But until then prudence should be the watchword. What will drive a recovery: low interest rates and a bottoming of the housing market. » read more
The holiday shopping season kicked off with a bang nationally on Black Friday. According to ShopperTrak RCT, shoppers drove total retail sales up 3 percent over 2007, just days before the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the U.S. economy is officially in a recession. » read more
Shoppers may buy fewer holiday gifts this year, but they don't appear to be skimping on Christmas trees. Local tree farms say opening weekend Christmas tree sales have far outpaced last year's numbers. » read more
Well, the economists finally made it official this week: We're in a recession. And, guess what? They said it began a year ago. » read more
McClatchy's Tony Pugh and the American News Project's David Murdock and Mike Fritz traveled through America to see how the financial crisis is affecting Americans and their families. Their reports covered the "Fallout on Main Street" from tony Greenwich, Conn., to the farms of Ohio. View the full project.
Foreclosure in Greenwich.

McClatchy correspondents Kevin G. Hall (left) and Tony Pugh are available to answer your questions about the economic meltdown at home and abroad, and what's in store for ordinary Americans.
» Miami Herald: Financial experts answer your money questions