Government And Institutions

Wall Street is giving a big thumbs-down to New Jersey's effort to tame Atlantic City's finances.

A legislative battle over fracking is looming in Colorado, with Republicans taking the stance that mineral owners should be compensated when a local government bans or restricts energy development.

French President Francois Hollande is calling for investments in green technology as a way to fight both global warming and poverty.

Gov. Charlie Baker promised a gathering of hundreds of local officials on Friday that he would be a strong advocate for Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns, while offering reassurances that they will not have to shoulder the burden of state budget cuts.

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated).

Federal officials have issued a $1 million penalty against Exxon Mobil Corp. for safety violations stemming from a pipeline rupture in 2011 that spilled 63,000 gallons of crude into Montana's Yellowstone River.

The World Economic Forum held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos has the official goal of "improving the state of the world." In practice, it's a massive networking event that brings together 2,500 heads of state, business leaders, philanthropists and artists.

A county official says she withholding funds from a Pittsburgh tourism agency until it details contributions linked to the mayor's appearance on "Undercover Boss." Mayor Bill Peduto appeared on the CBS show last month and pledged $155,000 to help four needy city workers.

Democratic Gov. Dannel P.

Asian stocks zoomed higher Friday, boosted by the European Central Bank's stimulus announcement, a long awaited move that also set off gains in Europe and on Wall Street.

Bowing to an outcry over online privacy, the Obama administration reversed itself Friday, scaling back the release of consumers' personal information from the government's health insurance website.

Amazon will start collecting sales tax from Illinois consumers next month to comply with a new state law, the company said.

U.S. stocks are rising Thursday morning after Europe's central bank announced a plan aimed at reviving that region's struggling economy.

The president of the National Congress of American Indians says tribes must insist that the federal government honor its commitment to Native people.

The new Republican chairman of the Senate Budget Committee says he'll try to pass a fiscal blueprint this spring that will promise a balanced budget by the end of 10 years.

Two days after the inauguration of Gov. Tom Wolf, the pleasantries are over at the state Capitol.

Authorities expect to determine Thursday if thousands of residents of a Montana city can drink from their taps after a broken pipeline spilled oil into a river and contaminated their water supply.

Major utility companies would be able to develop their own energy-efficiency programs and charge customers to implement them under a bill that cleared a state Senate committee Thursday, but the panel's chairman said the bill still needs a lot of work.

Following the largest saltwater spill of North Dakota's current oil boom, state Democratic lawmakers say they will revisit measures overwhelmingly rejected two years ago that would mandate additional monitoring and safeguards.

What now? The European Central Bank's plan to rescue Europe's economy won't work on its own.