A sudden plunge in the price of oil is sending economic and political shockwaves around the world. Oil exporting countries are bracing for potentially crippling budget shortfalls and importing nations are benefiting from the lowest prices in four years.

Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, a Lexington forecasting firm, said the US economy remains sound as employment increases and overall economic activity expands. But “the markets are in one of those moods where all news is bad …

The global economy faces its biggest test of confidence since the European sovereign debt crisis as investors fear it's running out of engines. Japan and the euro area are throwing up fresh signs of weakness by the day and emerging markets such as …

After a relatively quiet day for the markets yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial Average opened trading Wednesday by plunging more than 350 points. The benchmark index made up some of those losses in the early morning trading. Still, the Dow, which …

The U.S. economy is looking pretty good right now compared to the global economy, where developed and developing nations alike — even China — are entering or experiencing economic downturns. And President Barack Obama has been bragging about …

Aside from concerns about the global economy, Chicago-based AbbVie said it was reconsidering its $55 billion takeover of the company weeks after the U.S. government moved to curb deals designed to reduce tax, throwing the vitality of merger and …

Washington. Just as the U.S. job market has finally strengthened, the Federal Reserve now confronts a new worry: A sputtering global economy that's spooked investors around the world. The economic slump could spill into the United States, potentially …

It wasn't very long ago that the dread hovering over global financial markets was that things were getting too calm. Just this summer, Federal Reserve officials were fretting over markets being so stable that it might create complacency, and we were …

Problem is, two factors behind the oil-price drop — a weaker global economy and a stronger dollar — could hurt the U.S. economy by reducing exports, employment and spending. And all that, in turn, could outweigh the economic benefit of cheaper fuel.