Treasury moves to tighten mortgage aid paperwork requirements

Facing mounting criticism about the effectiveness of the government's foreclosure prevention efforts, the Obama administration announced Thursday that it will tighten the documentation requirements for borrowers applying for its marquee mortgage relief program.

Drop in December new-home sales fuels concern over recent gains

The battered market for new homes ended 2009 with a whimper, according to government data released Wednesday, fueling concern that recent improvements in the housing sector could be short-lived.

Swiss halt deal with U.S. that IDs Americans with secret UBS bank accounts

Americans who hid money from the Internal Revenue Service in secret Swiss bank accounts may escape exposure, at least for now.

Toyota faced pressure from U.S. officials before announcing recall

Toyota's decision on Tuesday to suspend the production and sale of eight models follows months of wrangling with federal safety officials, and stark disagreements with them over what was causing unintended accelerations.

Ex-prime minister of France acquitted of charges in slander trial

PARIS -- Former prime minister Dominique de Villepin was acquitted Thursday of involvement in a plot to smear his main political rival, President Nicolas Sarkozy, with fraudulent documents suggesting Sarkozy was corrupt.

State of the Union proposals by President Obama

In addition to urging Congress to finish work on financial reform, health-care legislation, climate-change legislation and a job-creation bill, President Obama also proposed:

Obama's 2010 State of the Union address fact-checked

"We've excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions. But we cannot stop there. It's time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or Congress."

Federal Reserve leaves key interest rate unchanged

The Federal Reserve left its target interest rate near zero and will continue winding down its unconventional programs, the central bank said Wednesday -- though there were new signs of internal disagreement about how much longer to continue its extreme efforts to support the economy.

First State of the Union speech by President Obama: 'We face a deficit of trust'

President Obama delivered an urgent plea for unity on Wednesday night during his first State of the Union address, seeking to recapture the energy that propelled him into office and to reverse his party's trajectory after a series of recent setbacks.

General Dynamics reports small increase in earnings

General Dynamics said its fourth-quarter profit rose less than 1 percent, to $614 million, from $612 million a year earlier. Revenue also rose less than 1 percent, to $7.9 billion.

Central banks end crisis lending measures

The Bank of England said that it and other major central banks are ending emergency lending arrangements put in place with the U.S. Federal Reserve in the wake of the global credit crisis, citing improvements in financial markets.

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