NEW YORK–Oil prices slumped today after China announced no additional measures to revive its economy, and a variety of government reports suggested that energy use could fall further still.

Should we brace for another Great Depression? No. The notion is ludicrous. Conditions will forever be such that the economic disaster that helped define the previous century will never happen again.

Southeast Asian leaders pledged to cut trade barriers and open more service industries as the bloc struggles to overcome a global recession that has eroded export demand and boosted protectionist sentiment.

WASHINGTON–The deepening recession caused worker productivity to slide by a worse-than-expected amount in the fourth quarter while wage pressures shot up at the fastest clip in two years.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has given Wall Street a double dose of reassurance. Bernanke told Congress Monday that the recession might end this year and that regulators aren’t planning to nationalize banks.

Shares of Sony Corp outperformed those of its rivals in a sliding market on Monday, as CEO Howard Stringer’s move to directly oversee the electronics arm at the center of the firm’s problems raised investor hopes for speedier restructuring.

2009 business news