The top U.S. brewers said Tuesday they plan to raise prices this fall, even as some of their top brands are seeing sales volume drop.

New estimates of the federal deficit leave many questions unanswered but underscore one cold fact of life in Washington right now: Boosting the economy without making an already bad deficit worse is really hard to do.

SAN FRANCISCO—-Book publishers told author Gwen Cooper that her idea to write a book about her blind cat, Homer, and how he changed her life was not distinguished enough. That all changed when she posted a blog about the cat entitled “Night of the Hunter” on Open Salon.

You can find a bright spot in the recession as close as your mailbox: There are far fewer hefty catalogs, bulging coupon packets, unwanted credit card offers and glossy fliers clogging it up.

Bonds were little changed Tuesday after auctions for one- and two-year Treasurys showed solid demand for the safety of government debt.

Analysts, lawmakers and the financial industry generally reacted positively to news that Ben Bernanke would be re-nominated as Federal Reserve chairman. But some offered a dose of constructive criticism.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has agreed to hear Connecticut’s complaint that two energy companies received more than $50 million for electricity that was never delivered, the state said Tuesday.

Giving Ben Bernanke a second term as U.S. Federal Reserve chairman was the politically safe course for a president beset by multiple crises and wanting no new battles.

The world’s largest pilots union said Tuesday it wants bulk shipments of lithium batteries and products containing the batteries immediately banned from passenger and cargo planes because they can start a fire.

Oil prices fell 3 percent on Tuesday as dealers rushed to take profits from a rally that had culminated in a 10-month peak earlier in the day.