Republicans in the House of Representatives told President Barack Obama on Friday the best way to boost the economy would be to cut income taxes, rather than the Democratic plan which puts more focus on government spending.

Oil fell more than $2 towards $34 a barrel on Monday as signs of a resolution of a gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine and after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza eased supply concerns.

A judge ruled Monday that Bernard Madoff would not be sent to jail pending trial, declining a request by prosecutors to revoke the bail of the financier accused in a $50 billion fraud case.

Italy’s Fiat will take a 35 percent stake in U.S. car maker Chrysler LLC — valued at zero by its part-owner — in a deal aimed at helping the pair survive the worst crisis to hit their industry in decades.

Thousands more Missourians have had their natural-gas service shut off for nonpayment this year than in previous years, another sign of a faltering economy that’s left hundreds of thousands across the state without jobs and cost some residents their homes.

President-elect Barack Obama is seeking as much as $310 billion in tax cuts as part of a massive stimulus plan to counter what senior policymakers warned could be a prolonged period of economic stagnation and deflation.