Chandler is becoming a financial services hub, and is expected to land more major location and expansion projects, economic development professionals say.

NEW YORK - Small businesses trying to plan their finances for 2009 are finding the process complicated not only by the recession, but by the uncertainty about what governments at all levels will be doing to either stimulate the economy or make up for lost tax revenue.

Thursday is anticipated to bring one of the most difficult public revelations for anyone with an interest in Mesa. That's when the City Council will get an official picture of the revised financial forecast in light of revenue shortfall and how the city management plans to deal with it.

Maricopa Workforce Connections hosts free workshops on financial health for the holidays.

NEW YORK - The end of June and beginning of July is an important time for savvy small-business owners, who’ll be assessing their companies’ finances and thinking about strategies for the second half of 2008. A midyear checkup is even more important than usual this year, given the uncertainty of the business climate.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its projection for economic growth this year, citing damage from the double blows of a housing slump and credit crunch. It said it also expects higher unemployment and inflation.

The financial markets, home sales and the mortgage business have all taken some hard hits lately, enough for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to offer the reassurance that the U.S. economy is strong enough to weather the blows without falling into recession.

A very old story is once again being retold, with a few of the characters' names updated to besmirch the innocent. In this story, conservatives are to blame for an economic crisis because they allegedly believe there is no role for government in the economy, and all economic crises are due to lax regulation of markets.

KYOTO, JAPAN - The dual realities speak for themselves. Asia’s poverty rate has plummeted from about 50 percent to less than 19 percent in the past four decades and the average income has grown nearly sixfold, but nearly 2 billion people still live on less than $2 a day.

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday he doesn't believe the economy will slip into a recession and rejected the notion raised by his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, that the economic expansion, which started in late 2001, could be running out of steam.

With many cities strapped for cash, a key economic-development group is scrambling for new money sources to support its efforts to recruit more businesses to the Valley.

WASHINGTON - The country didn't get the energetic rebound in economic growth hoped for from the government's tax rebates in the second quarter, and the economy jolted into reverse at the end of 2007, raising new recession fears.

Critics of Proposition 106 say voters should reject the ballot measure, also known as Conserving Arizona’s Future, because it would create a financial burden on the state during an economic slump.

Arizona private colleges and universities contribute more than $516 million to the state’s economy while employing more than 18,000 people each year, an independent study conducted by Scottsdale-based Applied Economics shows.

Countrywide Financial Corp. plans to expand its operation in Chandler from 26 acres to more than 50 acres with an eventual work force of 4,000 people.

NEW YORK - It’s panic time in many American homes as parents struggle to evaluate the financial aid packages for their soon-to-be college freshmen children — and figure out what to do if they don’t get enough.

Unless Mesa leaders slash spending or bring in more money, the city will be in big trouble soon.

WASHINGTON — Tough as they seem, will the Obama administration's strict new Wall Street rules really work?

WASHINGTON - Financial institutions identified as targets of a terrorist plot in three cities opened for business Monday under stepped-up security and defiant words from people who said they won't be cowed by the extraordinary intelligence pointing to a potential attack.

August 2, 2004

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - With economic anxiety rising, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama scrambled Wednesday to adjust their messages to connect more directly with financially struggling voters.

The state of the economy has taken center stage in almost every conversation. Many families and businesses are already hurting, and hopefully the actions recently taken by our federal government and the contemplated actions to be taken by our state governments, as well as our financial community, will provide some short- and long-term relief to those who are suffering.

NEW YORK - Wall Street began the second quarter with a big rally Tuesday as investors rushed back into stocks, optimistic that the worst of the credit crisis has passed and that the economy is faring better than expected. The Dow Jones industrials surged nearly 400 points, and all the major indexes were up more than 3 percent.