federal government

Noting that it took President Obama 10 years to pay back his student loans, White House officials today announced a new presidential initiative aimed at helping others pay back the cost of their higher educations. Student loans have overtaken credit cards as the nation's largest source of debt.

Americans get three extra days this year to file their income tax returns, but if you've put off doing your taxes, it's time to get organized -- and possibly to get help. Because if you owe Uncle Sam, even if you file for an extension, you'd better have his check in the mail by midnight Monday.

NPR expects to make a profit this year, a surprising state of affairs for a nonprofit. But with the national debate raging about whether the federal government should stop funding public broadcasting, could NPR find itself a victim of its own success?

With treasuries bleeding red ink, state governments are finding creative ways to raise funds. Given the slow economic recovery, this tax strategy will become more the norm, Carla Yrjanson, vice president of Tax Research and Content for Thomson Reuters told WalletPop in email interviews. "With...

The deficit grew to a higher-than-expected $150.4 billion in November as government spending increased for the month. But November brought some bright spots as well: Federal revenue also grew at a higher rate in November, which confirms that the economy is expanding.

The U.S. Treasury Department is offering up its remaining Citigroup shares, a move that marks the end of one of the federal government's largest bank bailouts. But the Treasury says it will hold out for an "acceptable price" for the 2.4 billion shares.

After initially voting for the QE2 plan, Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh said in a speech Monday that the government's decision to buy $600 million worth of bonds to spur the economy is a bad idea.

International Business Machines on Monday said its new Federal Community Cloud will provide cloud-computing services to the U.S. government. IBM is already working with 15 federal departments and is now aiming for state and local governments as well.

The U.S. Treasury Department will issue the second-largest quantity of debt ever for the fourth quarter of this calendar year. However, the quality is less than previously forecast because of a higher-than-expected government cash balance.

At an anticipated $16 billion, General Motors' pending initial public offering was expected to be the second largest in history. Now, the No. 1 U.S. automaker is revising IPO expectations downward, anticipating it will bring in $8 billion to $10 billion when shares go public in November.