Sen. Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy team included veteran Clinton administration officials seeking to revive U.S. leadership through a balance of soft and hard power.

Political volatility among the world’s leading oil producers suggests deeper causes for recent price spikes.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill spotlights the growth of deepwater drilling and the challenges of balancing strong environmental regulation with efforts to expand U.S. domestic oil production.

Non-OPEC oil producers, which turn out most of the world’s oil, are operating near capacity.

The Obama administration says its 2009 stimulus package saved jobs and boosted growth, but Republicans and some economists worry it dampened consumer and business spending and added to long-term debt.