ECB pledge gets Spain, Italy rates down

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The borrowing costs of both Spain and Italy dropped sharply in early trading Monday after the European Central Bank signaled it would intervene in the markets to keep the two countries' bond prices supported.The yield on Italy's 10-year bonds was down 0.44 percentage points to 5.56

Aug. 8, 2011

G7 vows to back stability, growth as nervous markets re-open

PARIS (AFP) -- Financial chiefs and central bankers of the G7 nations early Monday pledged to "take all necessary measures to support financial stability and growth" as nervous global markets re-opened."We are committed to taking coordinated action where needed, to ensuring liquidity, and to support

Aug. 8, 2011

Finance leaders urgently discuss market stability

TOKYO (AP) -- The world's leading economies on Sunday urgently discussed the stability of financial markets after a historic U.S. credit downgrade rattled investors already worried about European debt crises.Deputies from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies talked by telephone Sunda

Aug. 7, 2011

S&P defends U.S. downgrade

Rating agency says U.S. debt woes likely to continueWASHINGTON (AP) ― Standard & Poor’s says it downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating because it believes the U.S. will keep having problems getting its finances under control.S&P officials on Saturday defended their decision to drop the gover

Aug. 7, 2011

Obama officials attack S&P's credibility after downgrade

 

Aug. 6, 2011

U.S. rating cut by S&P on deficit reduction pact

The U.S. had its AAA credit rating downgraded for the first time by Standard & Poor’s, which slammed the nation’s political process and said lawmakers failed to cut spending enough to reduce record deficits. S&P dropped the ranking one level to AA+, after warning on July 14 that it would reduce the

Aug. 6, 2011

Dow falls 512 in steepest decline since '08 crisis

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gripped by fear of a new recession, the stock market suffered its worst day Thursday since the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 500 points, its ninth-steepest decline.The sell-off wiped out the Dow's gains for 2011. It put the Dow

Aug. 5, 2011

Obama pivots to new string of problems

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama dodged a debt-ceiling fiasco Tuesday. He reacted with a wiped brow more than a victory lap, and with good reason.As Republicans gradually weigh a potential challenger, Obama's re-election bid faces daunting problems: high unemployment, a limping economy

Aug. 3, 2011

Moody's backs U.S. triple-A rating; outlook negative

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday that the United States will retain its triple-A bond rating following passage of legislation to boost the debt ceiling. But the agency put a “negative” outlook on the rating, raising the specter of a future downgrade.Moody's said in a stateme

Aug. 3, 2011

Senate passes bill to prevent US default

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. avoided a feared and catastrophic default on the American debt, as lawmakers on Tuesday passed a measure that ties an agreement to raise the government's capacity to borrow to steep cuts in government spending.The Senate passed the measure Tuesday, a day after it passed th

Aug. 3, 2011

Delay in debt plan vote stokes uncertainty

 

July 27, 2011

Obama appeals for debt-limit compromise

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Monday night criticized a newly minted Republican plan to avert an unprecedented government default and said congressional leaders must produce a compromise that can reach his desk before the Aug. 2 deadline.“The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government,” the president said in a hastily a

July 26, 2011

Moody's downgrades Greece debt rating

PARIS (AFP) -- Moody's Investors Service said on Monday it had downgraded Greece's sovereign debt rating by three notches, leaving it one away from default, and warned creditors would lose out from the latest bailout deal.The ratings agency said in a statement that it has "downgraded Greece's local- and foreign-currency bond ratings to Ca from Caa1 and has assigned a developing outlook to the rati

July 25, 2011

States eye fee increases as tax alternative

NARRAGANSETT, Rhode Island (AP) ― Twenty dollars for a parking place wasn’t going to ruin Ellen Majka’s day at the beach. But she was still taken aback when she arrived at Rhode Island’s popular Scarborough state beach and learned that parking fees had nearly doubled.“It seems a little steep to me,” said Majka, of Westfield, Massachusetts. “Add in the price of gas and it starts to add up. But I di

July 24, 2011

Microsoft Windows fizzles as PC fears loom

 

July 22, 2011

Oil up on IEA decision, U.S. data, Greece optimism

 

July 22, 2011