
President Barack Obama launched on Monday his 2012 re-election campaign, framing his final stint as a candidate as an effort to cement and expand the policies he has enacted from the White House.

United States will reach its 14.29 trillion US dollars legal debt limit no later than May 16 unless Congress acts before then, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said on Monday warning of “severe hardship” if lawmakers fail to act.

Barack Obama is likely to announce plans next week to run for re-election and file campaign papers with the Federal Election Commission as early as Monday, a Democratic official said.

Russian billionaire has paid 100 million US dollars for a mansion in the United States, one of the most expensive single-family homes sold in the country.
The magnitude and extent of the 2007/2008 financial crisis and the liquidity mechanisms put to work, mainly the US Federal Reserve “discount window” has surfaced following disclosure this week in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The following is a piece from Bloomberg’s which describes some of the surprises of those hectic days when the global financial system was on the edge of the cliff.

US employment recorded a second straight month of solid gains in March and the jobless rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8%, (from 8.9% in February) marking a decisive shift in the labour market.

US exchanges Nasdaq and ICE have mounted a 11.3 billion US dollars bid for NYSE Euronext, topping a previous offer from Deutsche Boerse. The bid compares with Deutsche Boerse's offer of 10.2bn.

Former US president Jimmy Carter - on a visit to Cuba - has criticized US policy towards the island. Carter said the decades-long US trade embargo and travel ban damaged the Cuban people and hindered rather than helped reform.
He also urged the Cuban government to move towards democracy and allow complete freedom of speech.

US President Barack Obama has defended the first war launched under his presidency, insisting US military involvement in Libya will be limited. He told Americans US intervention as part of the coalition had saved countless lives threatened by the forces of the tyrant Muammar Gaddafi.

Former US president Bill Clinton apologized for the international financial crisis which triggered by the United States in 2008 and rapidly extended to the rest of the world.