NPR People: John Ydstie

Three of President Obama's leading economic advisers were on Capitol Hill to answer questions about a variety of economic issues Tuesday. They warned that U.S. companies are unlikely to hire enough workers to bring down the unemployed rate much this year. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Oh) accused the administration of not taking the unemployment problem seriously enough.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd unveiled his plan to rewrite the nation's financial regulations. The bill released Monday calls for a council of regulators to oversee systemic risk and create a consumer protection agency at the Federal Reserve.

Senate Democrats and Republicans are trying to work out differences over how to overhaul financial regulations following the financial crisis. One of the big sticking points is the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Democrats, including President Obama, want a separate and independent agency. Republicans want it to be part of an existing agency but Democrats say that's been tried and didn't work.

The market plunge during the Great Recession has left many people without adequate funds for a comfortable retirement. Only about half the U.S. workforce is covered by some type of an employer-sponsored retirement plan. That means many workers depend on Social Security.

What if you could just pick the year you expect to retire and then let a retirement fund do the heavy lifting? That's what target-date or lifecycle funds promise. They're gaining in popularity, but only about 7 percent of all 401(k) assets are held in such funds.

After sustaining huge losses, Americans are trying to put their retirement investing back on track. Investment experts say people remain slow to adjust the balance of stocks and bonds in their portfolios. Many advocate making investments more conservative as you approach retirement.

The Federal Reserve says improved financial market conditions allowed it to raise a key short-term interest rate. Officials are raising the discount rate by .25 percent to a still exceptionally low .75 percent. The discount rate is the rate at which banks can borrow directly from the Fed on a short-term basis. It's the first time the Fed has increased the discount rate in more than three years.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke outlined Wednesday the Fed's "exit strategy," the plan by which the central bank will reduce its role in propping up the financial system. The Fed is looking to wind down the unprecedented lending programs it put in place during the financial crisis.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in January, down from 10 percent the month earlier. Still, government figures show the economy lost another 20,000 jobs last month.

The Labor Department on Friday said U.S. employers cut 20,000 jobs last month — but the unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent.

The government reported Friday that the U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent in the last quarter of 2009. Although the White House called it the "most positive news on the economy to date," analysts disagree on whether the growth means the economy is out of the woods.

The Commerce Department says the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in six years last quarter. It posted a 5.7 percent annual rate, which hasn't been seen since the third quarter in 2003. The is the second straight quarter the economy has grown.

The economy grew for a second straight quarter from October through December, posting a 5.7 percent annual rate, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2003. The Commerce Department report is the strongest evidence to date that the worst recession since the 1930s ended last year.

Paul Volcker is often described as one of President Obama's top economic advisers, but until Thursday he wasn't playing a big role in the administration's efforts to overhaul financial regulations. The administration announced a policy change that is straight from Volcker's handbook. It's even being called the Volcker rule.

President Obama called Thursday for new rules limiting the size and scope of Wall Street's biggest banks. The proposal would create new regulations on what banks can do with their own capital. Administration officials say they want to place firewalls between different divisions of financial companies so federally insured deposits can't be used to subsidize speculative trading.