United States

• Sunday, March 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  US Fed to be grilled over massive support to financial system

  

  United States Federal Reserve will make a further 100 billion US dollars available to major banks in April, trying to ease concerns about a global credit crunch. The sum, offered across two auctions, is in addition to 260 billion US dollars provided in short-term loans to the end of March.
  
  Other unorthodox steps include the Fed allowing investment banks to borrow from it directly, previously only possible for commercial banks.

• Wednesday, March 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  United States economic misery continues

  

  The US economy is continuing its economic downturn although it would be “premature” to officially declare a recession, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said.

• Tuesday, March 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  USDA: Raising a child to adulthood costs 204.000 US dollars

  

  Middle income families in United States should calculate that raising a child born in 2007 to adulthood will demand an estimated 204.060 US dollars in food, housing and education costs, according to an annual report from the US Department of Agriculture.

• Monday, March 24th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  US bakers warn about high wheat prices and shortages

  United States bakers are feeling the pinch of higher wheat prices and have been visiting Washington warning about the possible consequences for the US consumer if the current price level persists, reports FarmPolicy.com (*).

• Friday, March 21st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  OECD forecasts US economy zero growth in second quarter

  United States economic growth is grinding to a halt, but the Euro zone is doing relatively well so far, according to the latest assessment from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

• Thursday, March 20th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  “Fed rate cuts will not make difference” warns Stiglitz

  

  Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said the current financial crisis is the worst the world has seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s and the US Federal Reserve move to cut interest rates will not make much difference.

• Tuesday, March 18th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed cuts rates to 2.25% and Paulson denies recession

  

  The Federal Reserve cut US interest rates sharply (0.75%) in an attempt to restore confidence to nervous financial markets and boost the ailing economy. However the cut was smaller than markets expected and the rate now stands at 2.25% (down from 3%), almost at inflation level.

• Tuesday, March 18th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  US has always had “a good relation with Venezuela”, says Rice

  

  United States has no enemies in Latinamerica, said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who also praised regional leaders' role in downplaying the impact of the incident and tension between Colombia and Ecuador.

• Monday, March 17th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed takes new steps to ease crisis

  

  Worry about the damage a growing credit crisis is inflicting on an ailing U.S. economy led the Federal Reserve to make a rare weekend move, lowering a key lending rate before Wall Street opened Monday.

• Friday, March 14th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Fed bails out leading Wall Street bank: who's next?

  

  One of the United States leading investment banks, Bear Stearns received on Friday emergency funding, in a move that raises fears that one of Wall Street's biggest names is on the verge of collapsing.