
Initial US weekly jobless claims surged to 417,000 last week, dimming hopes of an imminent recovery in the jobs market, the US Labour Department said Thursday.

Delta Air Lines Inc. agreed to buy 100 Boeing Co. 737 single-aisle jets with a catalogue value of 8.5 billion dollars as the carrier postponed plans to buy another 100 smaller jets from Brazil’s Embraer SA or Canada’s Bombardier Inc.

US billionaire Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway has announced it is investing 5 billion dollars in Bank of America. News of the famous investor's move sent Bank of America's shares up by 25%, before moving back to 10% ahead.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim spent 8.8 million dollars to boost his stakes in Saks Inc. and New York Times adding to his biggest US holdings as the stock market slumped last week. Saks gained the most in almost a year.

US stocks shot 3% higher on Tuesday on speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke this week could signal new help for the US economy, giving investors hope a four-week rout was nearing an end.

A strong earthquake rattled the United States East Coast, sending tremors as far as Canada, shaking Washington and scaring thousands of office workers who fled onto the streets.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) president Deven Sharma has stepped down just weeks after the agency downgraded the US credit rating. He will be replaced by Douglas Peterson, chief operating officer of Citibank with effect from 12 September, the agency said.

US Vice President Joe Biden rejected views that US power is waning and said Washington would never default, wrapping up a China visit that has played down tensions between the world's two biggest economies. He also anticipated 2012 was a ‘transition year” both for the US and China

The United States economy is growing so slowly that it will take years to wrench lofty unemployment rates back to normal levels, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Sandra Pianalto said.

US President Obama administration said Thursday it would postpone the deportation of illegal immigrants without criminal records and allow them to apply for work permits as it reviews over 300.000 cases.