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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Business hiring is picking up, but not enough to make up for the massive losses of temporary government jobs.

The economy lost a total of 54,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Businesses added 67,000 jobs to their payrolls in August. Economists had forecast a smaller gain of 44,000 jobs. It marked the eighth straight month that businesses added jobs, following nearly two straight years of job losses.

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NEW YORK — The stock market ended its worst August since 2001 with meager gains Tuesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed officials’ increasing concern about the economy.

Stock indexes gave up most of their gains in mid-afternoon after the release of minutes from the Fed’s Aug. 10 meeting. Fed officials said during their discussions that they recognized that the economy might need further stimulus beyond the purchases of government debt the central bank announced that day. Some of the officials acknowledged that economy had softened more than they had anticipated.

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Does handing out unemployment benefits to out-of-work Americans discourage them from finding a job?

In an op-ed article in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, Harvard economist Robert Barro argues that the current unemployment rate would be 6.8 percent rather than 9.5 percent if the Obama administration hadn’t extended unemployment-insurance eligibility to up to 99 weeks from the standard 26 weeks.

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Americans can expect gasoline prices to drop as school buses start rolling through neighborhoods across the country.

With most family vacations wrapping up and teen drivers back in classes, gasoline demand will wane and prices should fall after Labor Day. One expert says prices could drop as much as 15 cents a gallon.

The average retail price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $2.724 a gallon Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. It has dropped about 4.6 cents in the past week but is still 10 cents more than it was a year ago.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The president’s signature foreclosure rescue plan is losing its punch, according to a federal report released Friday.

Only 36,695 troubled homeowners received long-term mortgage modifications in July under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP. This brings the total to 434,717 borrowers who have successfully made it out of the trial phase.

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A month ago, 51,205 delinquent borrowers were given long-term assistance.

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WASHINGTON — Retail sales grew in July for the first time in three months but largely due to a rise in gasoline prices, the government said Friday in a series of reports that added up to a picture of sluggish economic growth.

Sales rose 0.4 percent last month and sales excluding autos climbed 0.2 percent, the Commerce Department said. Retail strength was concentrated in higher sales of autos and gasoline. Most other retail categories saw their sales fall.

Meanwhile consumer prices rose in July by 0.3 percent – the biggest jump in nearly a year — as energy costs increased for the first time in five months, the Labor Department said. On an annual basis consumer prices are up a mild 1.2 percent, a bit higher than the 1.1 percent pace last month.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Obama administration is making $3 billion in additional funds available to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure.

One part of the plan, announced Wednesday, includes a new $1 billion program that will offer loans to unemployed borrowers at risk of losing their homes. The loans, which will be dispersed through nonprofit and housing agencies, will carry 0% interest and be good for a maximum of $50,000 for up to two years.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — First it was Greenspan. Now one by one, other elders of the economy are speaking out against deficits, and they’re making the surprising argument for higher taxes.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan was first and has taken the most extreme position, arguing that all of the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 should be allowed to expire.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As mom-and-pop businesses struggle to make ends meet, the latest attempt to help them has gotten mired in Washington politics.

The debate began in October, when President Obama started pushing ways to get cheap capital to small businesses. It continued after his State of the Union address, in which he touted the proposal.

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WASHINGTON — The Postal Service was $3.5 billion in the red for the third quarter and may not be able to make a required payment for future retiree health benefits, the agency said Thursday.

Losses for the April through June quarter were $1.1 billion more than the post office lost in the same period a year ago.

The post office has been rocked by declining mail volume as people and businesses continue switching to the Internet in place of letters and paper bills.

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner made a case Wednesday for letting tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans lapse as a step toward getting the nation’s fiscal house in order.

“Borrowing to finance tax cuts for the top 2% would be a $700 billion fiscal mistake,” Geithner said before the Center for American Progress in Washington, alongside deficit hawk Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum. “It’s not the prescription the economy needs right now, and the country can’t afford it.”

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Shares of Barnes & Noble soared 26% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the bookseller put itself on the block.

The board of directors believes Barnes & Noble shares are “significantly undervalued,” and has hired financial advisor Lazard to explore “strategic alternatives” that may include selling the company, Barnes & Noble said in a prepared statement.