Patrick Temple-West

WASHINGTON — South Carolina expects to competitively issue $342.7 million of refunding bonds and $126.2 million of general obligation bonds for four higher education institutions this week.

WASHINGTON — Nonfarm U.S. payrolls increased by a disappointing 36,000 in January as the unemployment rate dropped to 9.0%, the lowest level since April 2009, and severe winter weather affected employment in some sectors, the Labor Department reported Friday.

WASHINGTON - Nonfarm U.S. payrolls increased by a disappointing 36,000 in January as the unemployment rate dropped to 9.0%, the lowest level since April 2009, and severe winter weather affected employment in some sectors, the Labor Department reported Friday.

WASHINGTON — State rainy-day funds plunged by 70% or $21.3 billion from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2010, underscoring how depleted state funding cushions have gotten as they prepare fiscal 2012 budgets without federal stimulus aid, according to a report released Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Factory orders rose 0.2% in December, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Orders excluding transportation increased 1.7%. Durable goods orders fell 2.3%.

WASHINGTON — Initial jobless claims fell 42,000 to 415,000 in the week ended Jan. 29, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing jobless claims fell 84,000 to 3.925 million.

WASHINGTON — U.S. nonfarm productivity grew at a 2.6% annual rate in the fourth quarter, matching the average expansion rate of the past decade, the Labor Department said Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Factory orders increased 0.2% in December, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON - U.S. nonfarm productivity increased 2.6% at an annual rate in the fourth quarter, the largest gain in three quarters, as businesses' labor costs declined, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Initial jobless claims dropped 42,000 to 415,000 for the week ending Jan. 29, the lowest level in four weeks, as unemployment offices returned to normal following a spike a week earlier as unemployment offices reopened after being shut by winter weather, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia released its comprehensive annual financial report for fiscal 2010 on Monday as its chief financial officer warned against letting the surplus in the general fund slip further in fiscal 2012, which will begin on Oct. 1.

State revenues increased 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010, capping a full year of revenue growth and easing concerns that states should be able to file for bankruptcy protection, according to officials at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, which issued a report Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Construction spending fell 2.5% in December to the lowest level in more than a decade, and the November tally was also revised downward, in a Commerce Department report released Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Construction spending fell 2.5% in December as the dollar amount of construction spending fell to the lowest level more than a decade, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia expects to issue $81.7 million of federal highway grant anticipation revenue bonds on Wednesday in a deal that was delayed from December at an additional cost to the district of about $2 million.

WASHINGTON — Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.7% in December as higher energy prices spurred spending, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON – Personal income gained 0.4% and consumption increased 0.7% in December as energy costs increased, but core consumption increased annually by the smallest amount on record, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON — North Carolina expects to competitively sell $500 million of limited-obligation capital improvement bonds Wednesday in its largest deal in almost four years.

Consumer sentiment fell in January, dropping to 74.2 from a previous-month reading of 74.5 in the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan report released Friday. The decline was driven by concerns about rising prices. The current conditions index, a survey of consumers’ willingness to buy big-ticket items, dropped to 81.8 from 85.3 in December.

The U.S. economy expanded at a faster annual pace in the fourth quarter, growing 3.2% due to the stronger consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Friday.