United States

• Friday, March 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Record peak of US home foreclosures in fourth quarter 2007

  The number of US home foreclosures, and the rate of homes entering the process, reached record highs in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the US Mortgage Bankers Association.

• Friday, March 7th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Spanish real estate boom funded by black money claims US

  

  The United States State Department 2008 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report makes a link and describes Spain as the “grand European centre for money laundering”, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Thursday, March 6th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  McCain ready to take Hillary-Obama or Obama-Hillary ticket

  Encouraged by her big primary victories Hillary Clinton hinted on Wednesday at the possibility of sharing the United States Democratic presidential ticket with Barack Obama as vicepresident hopeful. But Obama stressed that he still holds the lead in number of delegates.

• Wednesday, March 5th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Bernanke calls on bankers to prevent rise in foreclosures

  

  The chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, has said more should be done to prevent homeowners facing foreclosures unnecessarily. Bernanke warned there had been a 50% rise in foreclosures in 2007 to one and a half million, and this is expected to worsen as mortgage repayments rise.
  
  The Fed chairman told a meeting of US bankers that the situation called for a “vigorous response”. This would help communities and the wider economy, he said.

• Saturday, March 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  US spending on food and fuel rises as dollar looses ground

  United States consumer spending rose more than expected in January, but much of the gain was down to rising prices. The Commerce Department said on Friday personal spending rose 0.4% last month, a bigger rise than economists were expecting.

• Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  US Congress extends Andean countries trade preferences

  The United States Senate voted Thursday to extend expiring trade preferences that allow Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia to send most products to the U.S. duty-free. The ten month extension, through the end of 2008, was approved without objection.

• Friday, February 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Bernanke anticipates small bank failures linked to mortgages

  

  Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday that small US banks are likely to fail in the months ahead as the housing slump takes its toll. Bernanke also warned that the US is currently facing a more difficult situation than in the aftermath of the dotcom bust in 2001.

• Wednesday, February 27th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed minutes reveal differences on interest rates cuts

  Nine of Federal Reserve directors thought continued deterioration in financial markets and weakened economic conditions in the housing and labor markets needed the half percentage point cut to the discount rate last month.

• Monday, February 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Greenspan comes out in support of Sovereign Funds

  

  Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Monday any United States resistance to sovereign wealth funds investing in the world's largest economy would be “counter-productive.”

• Thursday, February 21st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed forecasts less US growth and higher unemployment

  The US Federal Reserve has slashed its growth forecast for the US economy and raised its forecast for unemployment. The Fed cut its growth forecast for this year by half a percent to a new range of between 1.3% and 2%. The US central bank also said the jobless rate could be as high as 5.3% by the end of the year.