Lawmakers got the bad financial news most were expecting Friday when state economists said they now expect general revenue to be down about $1 billion in the current budget year and more than $2 billion in the next one compared with estimates made four months ago. ...more

March 14, 2009

Four states - California, South Carolina, Michigan and Rhode Island - registered unemployment rates above 10 percent in January, and the national rate is expected to hit double digits by the end of the year. ...more

March 12, 2009

When will this wretched economy bottom out? The recession is already in its 15th month, making it longer than all but two downturns since World War II. For now, everything seems to be getting worse: The Dow is in free fall, jobs are vanishing every day, and one in eight American homeowners is in foreclosure or behind on payments. ...more

March 7, 2009

World trade more or less quadrupled from 1982 to 2008. Most economists either did not foresee the universal array of economic calamity which dramatically manifested itself in the fourth quarter of 2008 or chose to remain mum. ...more

March 6, 2009

Second-worst in Florida; numbers are highest since 1976 ...more

March 6, 2009

The number of new jobless claims and the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits both dropped more than expected last week, though they remain at elevated levels and are unlikely to fall substantially in the coming months. ...more

March 6, 2009

A new estimate shows property values and the taxes they generate are dropping more than previously expected, and that will just widen a potential state budget gap, the Senate's top budget-writer said Thursday. ...more

March 5, 2009

Patti Constantino-Martin of Spring Hill wants an end to bailouts and the government to seize the assets of the executives of failed financial institutions. ...more

February 25, 2009

The financial forecast for Hillsborough County schools likely will get worse - even with a stimulus of federal money - and administrators will have to explore ways to cut even deeper, the district's superintendent said Tuesday. ...more

February 25, 2009

The financial forecast for Hillsborough County schools likely will get worse – even with a stimulus of federal money – and administrators will have to explore ways to cut even deeper, the district's superintendent said today. ...more

February 24, 2009