Economy

The Senate has approved a $149 billion jobless bill that extends unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for more than a year, as well as subsidies for unemployed workers to help pay employer-sponsored health insurance.

The federal government's budget deficit totaled $220.9 billion in February, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday. Although a record amount, it was better then analyst expectations, and revenue rose 23% to $107.5 billion -- the first year-over-year monthly revenue increase since April 2008.

Last week, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said the bank owed U.S. taxpayers a "large debt of gratitude." Reports out Wednesday show how he plans to bolster Citi's balance sheet after repaying the government for its financial aid.

Several have taken it upon themselves to restrict money stores. Most have passed zoning laws that prevent them from expanding into new locations in their city without a special permit. Says Brownsville's mayor: "Our most vulnerable citizens are easy prey for these legal loan sharks, and we want to protect our citizens by regulating them."

The outlook for economic growth remains muted as forecasters raised their projection for gross domestic product in 2010 but trimmed it by the same amount for 2011, according to a survey released Wednesday.

Back in March 2009, only a few savvy observers realized stocks had dropped to ground-zero level. One of those who did was Ed Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research. And now, he sees the market going even higher, based on economic and market factors.

In Asia Wednesday China's Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.7% to 3,049. In both Japan and Hong Kong, major indexes remained virtually unchanged with the Nikkei 225 Index closing at 10,564 and the Hang Seng ending the day at 21,208.

A decline of 1.5% in the Baltic Dry Index sent shares in shipping...

Stocks celebrated the one-year anniversary of the start of their greatest rally since FDR was president by posting modest gains Tuesday. The S&P 500 has had an epic rally over the last 52 weeks, climbing more than 68% from a 12-year low. The Dow is up more than 60%, while the Nasdaq is up 85%.

It's almost always better for the U.S. dollar to be strong than weak versus the world's other major currencies. Nevertheless, a stronger dollar does present an economic hurdle or two for the world's largest economy.

The Great Recession was marked by a dearth of credit, but it never lacked for buzzwords. Now comes the "new mix," which argues that international trade -- especially with developing markets -- will replace consumer spending as the basis for growth. It's a case worth considering.