Equal Pay Day (American Constitution Society)
Tuesday is “Equal Pay Day”: the day when an average woman’s wages finally catch up to the wages earned the year before by the average man. Earlier this month, Fatima Goss Graves, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, shared her wish for Equal Pay Day.

Stocks edge lower on profit concerns
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks fell on Tuesday, after disappointing outlooks from microchip maker Texas Instruments Inc and health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc heightened concerns about the health of the economy.

With gas hitting record highs, drivers feeling squeezed
NEW YORK – Cabbies here complain their take-home pay is thinner than it used to be. Trucking companies across the country are making drivers slow down to conserve fuel. Filling station owners plead that really, really, the skyrocketing prices aren’t their fault.

Oil prices surge to new record of $118 a barrel on weak dollar
LONDON (AFP) – The price of New York crude oil surged past 118 dollars per barrel for the first time on Tuesday, lifted by unrest in key producer Nigeria and the weak dollar, traders said.

Exxon Mobil ranked as #1 most profitable company for fifth year straight. (Think Progress)
Oil giant Exxon Mobil takes second place on the new Fortune 500 list, with first place going to Wal-Mart. Exxon Mobil, however, was the most profitable company for the fifth year in a row, “raking in a record-breaking $40 billion in 2007 earnings.”

Existing home sales decline
WASHINGTON – Sales of existing homes fell in March while the median home price declined, as a severe slump in housing showed no signs of abating.

Fed auctions another $50 billion to banks
WASHINGTON – Battling to relieve stressed credit markets, the Federal Reserve has provided a total of $360 billion in short-term loans to squeezed banks since December to help them overcome credit problems.

Struggling homeowners could get new government-backed loans
WASHINGTON – Homeowners staggering under mounting mortgage debt and facing foreclosure could get cheaper, government-backed loans under Democrats’ housing rescue plan.

Activism by Shareholders Picks Up Steam Online
Some campaigns aim to unseat board members. The CtW Investment Group, which is affiliated with a coalition of labor unions, wants board members at six financial firms, including Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, to explain what they did to manage subprime-loan risks. Says CtW’s Mike Garland: “Absent compelling explanations, we’ll recommend that shareholders vote against reelection.”