Minutes from the last meeting of US Federal Reserve policy makers show just how downbeat they had become on the state of the US economy. It was this pessimism that led them to agree to spend more than one trillion US dollars to revive its fortunes.
Sellers of property have called the shots for years on the Manhattan 22.7 square mile island that is the financial capital of the United States. But now buyers are having their day, according to the first-quarter reports due from major real estate brokerages on Thursday.
The US trade deficit has narrowed to a new-year low in February, the seventh month in a row it has shrunk. The difference between what the US exports and imports, narrowed by 28% to 26.3 billion from January's revised 36.2 billion, becoming the smallest gap since November 1999.
The coming Americas summit in Trinidad Tobago, bilateral affairs and regional issues was the long agenda addressed by Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs minister Gonzalo Fernandez during a meeting Monday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the US State Department.
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has held a meeting with three members of the US House of Representatives. The event was his first known meeting with US officials since he underwent emergency intestinal surgery in 2006.
Cuban president Raul Castro has held talks with members of Congress in his first face-to-face meeting with US politicians since he became president last year. State television showed Mr Castro talking to members of the delegation, which is in Havana to explore ways of improving US-Cuban relations.
Ford Motor Co said on Monday it has slashed automotive debt by 38%, 9.9 billion US dollars, bolstering its finances amid a deep auto industry downturn. Markets reacted with Ford shares up over 15%.
During his first visit to a Muslim nation United States president Barack Obama said the US ”is not and will never be at war with Islam''. In an address to the Turkish parliament in Ankara on Monday, he called for a greater partnership with the Muslim world.
United States President Barack Obama, wildly popular the world over, said he isn't the globe's most admired politician: the title belongs to Brazil Lula da Silva
Another 663.000 United States workers lost their jobs in March, slightly more than the 658.000 that had been expected. The US unemployment rate has now hit 8.5%, up from 8.1% in February. Earlier this week, the IMF said it expects the unemployment rate in the developed world to nudge above 10% in 2010.