WASHINGTON — One of the economic mysteries of the last few years has been the bigger-than-expected slowdown in health spending, a trend that promises to bolster wages and help close the wide federal deficit over the long term — but only if it persists.

WASHINGTON — Come January, the United States will not only face immense tax increases and spending cuts, should Congress fail to act. It will also run out of room to finance its large running deficits.

WASHINGTON — Policymakers at the Federal Reserve were nearly united last month in their belief that the economic recovery needed additional help and that the central bank had the ability to provide it, according to the official account of the meeting released Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, on Monday warned that the institution would probably cut its estimates of global growth yet again this year because of the tepid U.S. recovery, a slowdown in emerging economies and continued troubles in the eurozone.

WASHINGTON — The World Bank on Tuesday warned that fears about the eurozone had reduced investors’ tolerance for risk, and it urged poorer economies to protect themselves by reducing their debts.

WASHINGTON — With the victory of the Socialist candidate, Francois Hollande, in the French presidential election, the White House has lost one of its closest allies on the Continent, but perhaps gained one with economic policy beliefs more closely aligned with its own.

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department announced Monday that it had finished selling the $225 billion in mortgage-backed securities it bought to help stabilize the markets during the worst of the financial crisis.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama met with top European Union leaders as the eurozone sovereign debt crisis entered a perilous new phase, with increasing worries about the sustainability of the 17-country monetary union and borrowing costs climbing to new peaks.