Economic Stimulus

WASHINGTON - Rep. David Obey, a leading liberal Democrat but a symbol of entrenched incumbency that's falling out of favor with discontented voters, said Wednesday he will retire at the end of his term this year The decision by the often gruff House veteran of four decades and powerful Appropriations Committee chairman dealt Democrats defending their majority another blow headed into a midterm election where they already confronted a significant loss of seats.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida's unemployment rate continued its steady upward climb in October to 11.2 percent - a mark last seen in the 1970s and a tenth of a percentage point higher than September's adjusted rate, state officials said Friday.

WASHINGTON - The government watchdog overseeing economic stimulus spending said Thursday that, in its rush to take credit for saving hundreds of thousands of jobs, the Obama administration was overly confident in its job-counting and did not acknowledge significant errors in the figures.

The government's Cash for Clunkers program offered a lot of Americans great deals on new cars.

WASHINGTON - The budding economic recovery isn't getting much help from the home-building industry, which normally creates jobs and drives growth when a recession ends.