UNITED STATES

Text of President-elect Barack Obama's speech on the economy on Thursday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., as found on Barak Obama's presidential transition website.

NACCP Image Awards, created by the oldest US civil rights organization, named singers Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson, along with cast of TV comedy Tyler Perry's House of Payne as some of the top nominees on Wednesday.

Mumbai - The market reacted with shock, Wednesday, after the promoters of beleaguered technology outsourcer Satyam Computer Services admitted to cooking up its books to the tune of $ 1 billion.

Bankrupt department store chain Woolworths, a stalwart of British retailing for 100 years, turned out the lights at the final 200 of its 807 shops on Tuesday.

Wal-Mart Inc., the world's top retail chain, said on Thursday its fourth-quarter profit will miss earlier forecasts due to slower sales, the impact of a strong dollar on its international business and litigation costs.

The stars, including Jay Z, Bruce Springsteen and Jessica Alba will be out in shows around Washington D.C. in the days leading up to the inauguration of Barack Obama as U.S. President.

Verizon Communications Inc. selected Microsoft Corp. as its partner to provide Internet services to customers concluding months of speculation.

Sony unveiled the VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC, boasting that it is the world's lightest notebook with an 8-inch screen and weighing just 1.4 pounds at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Major retailers reported dismal monthly sales for December on Thursday, with Wal-Mart Inc, the nation's biggest retailer, showing a disappointing 1.7 percent rise in December sales at its US stores open at least a year and cut its quarterly earnings outlook.

The Bank of England cut interest rates by half a percentage point to 1.5 percent on Thursday - its lowest rate since the bank was created in 1694 - as it aims to stave it off a deeper economic slump.

President-elect Barack Obama is warning that without bold action the nation's recession could linger for years as seeks support among lawmakers and the general public for a massive fiscal stimulus package.

On Wednesday Israel resumed its attacks on Gaza bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour stop to allow in humanitarian aid.

U.S. stocks fell the most in one month on Wednesday after a private jobs report showed U.S. employers slashed more jobs than forecasted in December, Intel Corp. lowered its outlook forecast and Alcoa Inc. said it plans to cut 13 percent of its workforce.

Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar opens sharply lower this morning at US71 cents. The Aussie moved to an overnight high of 0.7268 during European trade, however

Many boxing analysts believe that the one who can realistically sell a million PPVs in the U.S., maybe even 1.25-million like Pacquiao-De La Hoya did in their Dream Match fight, is Mayweather vs. Pacquiao for the undisputed pound-for-pound crown.

On Wednesday a rare event happened with a president-elect meeting for lunch with 4 of his predecessors.

Crude oil futures plunged on Wednesday 12 percent - its most in seven years - after a report revealed U.S. supplies of crude, gasoline and distillate fuels rocketed as demand declined.

The U.S. federal government will have deficit in fiscal 2009 of more than $1 trillion in the coming fiscal year.

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Nancy Killefer, a director at McKinsey & Company and a former assistant secretary of the treasury in the Bill Clinton administration, to serve as the country's chief performance officer.

Wednesday's opening in Wall Street headed lower after Alcoa Inc. announced it will cut about 13 percent of its workforce.

President-elect Barack Obama has promised Washington lawmakers long-term fiscal discipline despite a push for a costly economic stimulus plan.