WASHINGTON (AP) - Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.



Total public debt subject to limit May 15 15,673,665



Statutory debt limit 16,394,000



Total public debt outstanding May 15 1...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - He's no longer the swaggering general who held Sarajevo "in the palm of his hand" during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Yet as his long-awaited genocide trial began Wednesday, Ratko Mladic still managed to reopen old wounds with the flick of his hand.

Hobbled by strokes and wearing a business suit instead of...

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. factory output increased in April, helped by a gain in auto production. Busier factories have driven stronger hiring this year and helped the economy grow.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that factory production rose 0.6 percent in April, erasing a 0.5 percent decline in March.

Half of the A...

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh has ordered a four-member commission to investigate 54 businesses linked to the pioneering microlender Grameen Bank founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

The probe came weeks after Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith said the bank's board had not authorized most of the affiliates. U.S. Sec...

NEW YORK (AP) - A threat that's been hanging over the economy is starting to look a lot less menacing.

Oil and gasoline prices are sinking, giving relief to businesses and consumers who a few weeks ago seemed about to face the highest fuel prices ever.

President Barack Obama's re-election prospects could also benef...

(AP) - HOUSING STARTS RISE: U.S. homebuilding rose to nearly a three-year high in April. Builders broke ground at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

FACTORY OUTPUT UP: U.S. factory output increased for the third time in four months, the Federal Reser...

(AP) - Wheat futures soared 5 percent as dry weather in the U.S. brought worries that the crop wouldn't be nearly as large as traders had expected.

Reports of a drought in Russia also had traders anticipating tighter supplies of wheat. The July contract settled up 30.25 cents at $6.3875. Corn also rose, 4 ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Maybe the U.S. economy's strength this winter wasn't just weather-related after all.

Home construction is near a three-year high. And factory output has risen in three of the year's first four months.

The data released Wednesday suggest growth in the April-June quarter is off to a good start, helped...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve policymakers are open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or threats escalate.

Minutes of the central bank's April 24-25 meeting released Wednesday stated that "several members" thought additional Fed support could be needed if the recovery lost momentu...

(AP) - Fears that Greece will drop the euro pushed a key Treasury yield to the lowest level this year.

The yield on the 10-year note dropped to 1.76 percent in Wednesday trading, a new low for 2012. That's down from 1.77 percent late Tuesday. Its price rose 12.5 cents for every $100 invested.

The 10-year y...