Kyle Glazier

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders pushed through another extension of the nation's highway programs Wednesday evening, a move politicians and industry advocates said could clear the way for a conference with the Senate to produce a bill through 2013.

WASHINGTON — Virginia won applause from Moody's Investors Service this week following an overhaul of its pension system, but neighboring Maryland received flak as the credit rating agency warned its proposed budget cuts could harm the credit of local governments.

Housing starts fell 5.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000 in March from the downwardly-revised 694,000 for February, originally reported as 698,000, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell announced that the commonwealth has obtained all of the funds needed to proceed with its Elizabeth River Crossings project, including the full $300 million that the Virginia Department of Transportation has committed to the $2.1 billion public-private partnership.

WASHINGTON — Business inventories were up 0.6% in February, while sales rose 0.7%, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON — Retail sales rose 0.8% to $411.1 billion in March after climbing a downwardly revised 1.0% in February, the Commerce Department said Monday.

Business inventories were up 0.6% to $1,577.8 billion in February, while sales rose 0.7% to $1,236.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Retail Sales rose 0.8% to $411.1 billion in March after climbing a downwardly revised 1.0% in February, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Consumer prices rose 0.3% in March, after climbing 0.4% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The 2008-2009 financial crisis that rocked worldwide markets was amplified by the lack of a sufficient regulatory framework, including checks on the largest broker-dealer firms, Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday.

The 2008-2009 financial crisis that rocked worldwide markets was amplified by the lack of a sufficient regulatory framework, including checks on the largest broker-dealer firms, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday.

WASHINGTON -- Consumer prices rose 0.3% in March, after climbing 0.4% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Friday.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. international trade deficit was $46 billion for February, a 12.4% decrease from the slightly revised $52.5 billion deficit for January, originally reported as a $52.6 billion gap, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — A recently released Fitch Ratings report projects a sharp increase in the use of "managed" or HOT lanes on highways, but warns that such toll lanes will be more volatile than traditional toll roads because they are located next to non-toll roads.

The particularly hard-hit Los Angeles housing market provides a glimpse of why the nationwide economic recovery has progressed more slowly than expected, Federal Reserve Board Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin said Thursday.

The U.S. international trade deficit was $46.0 billion for February, a 12.4% decrease from the slightly revised $52.5 billion deficit for January, originally reported as a $52.6 billion shortage, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — U.S. import prices rose 1.3% and export prices were up 0.8% in March after a revised decline in import prices of 0.1% in February, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The federal government’s budget deficit was $198.2 billion in March, down from $231.7 billion in February, but up $10.0 billion or 5% from the $188.2 billion deficit a year ago, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

U.S. import prices rose 1.3% and export prices were up 0.8% in March after a revised decline in import prices of 0.1% in February, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Sales of merchant wholesalers were up 1.2% to $409.4 billion in February, while inventories rose 0.9%, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.