Economy

First attempt to extend break fails amid disagreement on how to cover costs.

Labor market makes modest progress, with payrolls up 120,000 in November.

Debate on Capitol Hill shifts to how to cover costs of extending break.

Debate on Capitol Hill shifts to how to cover costs of extending break.

Fed leads effort to ease Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

Fed leads effort to ease Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

Supercommittees failure raises probability of a downgrade, rating agency says.

Strength shows investors are betting on expanding economy.