The federal deficit hit a record for October as the new budget year began where the old one ended: with the government awash in red ink.

Capitalism is still alive and well, say the world’s two richest men, despite lingering shocks from the longest, deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday he will create a special panel to come up with a plan to restore health to the ailing airline industry, which is losing billions of dollars, shedding jobs and blamed for using a business model that critics say undermines safety.

Vermont’s economy apparently is turning a corner but heading into a slow, painful recovery, state budget officials were told Thursday.

Warren Buffett, perhaps the world’s most admired investor, said on Thursday the financial panic that gripped the globe last year is a thing of the past, even as the U.S. economy’s struggles persist.

WASHINGTON—-“Business Roundtable’s members were pleased today to see the announcement of final application criteria for the $4 billion in Race to the Top funding competition. The President’s continued emphasis on improving American education could not come at a more critical time.

Navistar International Corp. recently received a $127.3 million contract to provide more than 900 general transport trucks, the Pentagon said late Thursday.

Banks borrowed slightly less from the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program over the past week, and reduced their use of other credit programs designed to ease the financial crisis.

Intel Corp will pay rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc $1.25 billion to settle all outstanding legal disputes, in a move that can hasten the resolution of Intel’s antitrust troubles.

A jump in the nation’s energy inventories sent stocks falling Thursday as investors worried that demand for oil and gasoline is falling because of the struggling economy.