Social Security checks for nearly 49 million Americans are going up by 3.3 percent in 2007, a smaller percentage gain than this year, the government announced Wednesday.

US Economy : Trade Deficit Widens to a Record (Update1) Bloomberg - ... US companies imported more computers, consumer goods and oil even as they shipped a ... it showed that consumer spending is holding up even as the economy slows. ...

Late payments on credit card bills edged up this past spring, when high energy prices were squeezing the finances of some people and making it hard to pay bills on time.