IBT Staff Reporter

In the wake of the latest economic crisis, President Obama’s top economic officials today issued five proposals for improving the U.S. financial system that would expand the government’s authority to regulate financial companies and their products.

Oil fell nearly 2 percent a barrel on Monday, extending its retreat from a near eight-month high as the dollar firmed and stock markets tumbled.

U.S. home-builder sentiment slipped in June, a private survey showed on Monday, as higher mortgage rates and an ongoing credit crunch dampened expectations for the sector.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment slipped in June, a private survey showed on Monday, as higher mortgage rates and an ongoing credit crunch damped expectations for the sector.

The world's two largest cellphone makers, Nokia and Samsung, unveiled new phone models on Monday, offering features comparable to iPhone and Palm's Pre, but at lower prices.

A plan outlined by Six Flags Inc on Monday would leave secured lenders with lion's share of the theme park operator when it emerges from bankruptcy while unsecured lenders would get very little.

Tokyo-based NEC Corporation and F5 Networks Japan K.K on Monday said it will offer an optimized power-saving platform for SAP systems that cuts power consumption by 62 percent.

The World Bank said on Monday it had approved $90 million in loans for agricultural projects in three East African nations.

Germany pledged 25 million euros in aid to Zimbabwe on Monday and Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin could provide more support if the poverty-stricken country undertakes more democratic reforms.

One of Wall Street's most influential strategists said on Monday the U.S. Federal Reserve is unlikely to ratchet back efforts to stimulate the economy soon, and that it was too early to worry about inflation choking off what would likely be a fitful recovery.

British detectives said on Monday an investigation into Internet child pornography had uncovered a woman in the United States suspected of using a webcam to broadcast live sexual abuse of her young child.

Palestinians voiced dismay on Monday over terms Benjamin Netanyahu set for a peace deal but the Israeli leader won guarded approval in Washington and Brussels for at least accepting Palestinian statehood.

U.S. stocks fell broadly on Monday as regional manufacturing data dented optimism about the economy's health and resource shares fell alongside commodity prices.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) has soared to become the second largest exchange in the world.

The world's two largest cell phone makers, Nokia and Samsung, unveiled on Monday new phone models, offering features comparable to iPhone and Palm's Pre, but at lower prices.

Iran's hardline Islamic Basij militiamen killed at least one person on Monday and wounded more when their building was attacked by demonstrators protesting an election they say was stolen by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As the traditional July 1st pro-democracy march in Hong Kong comes near, organizers say this year over 150,000 people are anticipated to attend, even if police claim there were only 62,800.

Citigroup fully hopes to pay back the $45 billion it borrowed from the U.S. Treasury's banking bailout program, but there is no timetable, the No. 3 U.S. bank's chairman said on Monday.

Honda Motor Co. is not optimistic about meeting its 2009 sales goal for the Insight hybrid vehicle in the United States, according to an executive at the automaker, Bloomberg reported Monday.

President Barack Obama, on Monday said the healthcare system is “a ticking bomb” which could send the U.S. government down the same road as that of General Motors and go broke if the healthcare system is not reformed.

U.S. stocks sold off broadly on Monday as regional manufacturing data sparked fresh concerns about the economy's health, while sliding commodity prices hit shares of natural resource companies.

Samsung Electronics, the world's second-biggest maker of mobile phones, launched a new touch-screen model on Monday while expressing confidence it would expand its global market share despite the downturn.

(Corrects Dow reference in paragraph 3 to Last Friday, the Dow ... turned positive for the year for the first time since early January.)

U.S. stocks sold off broadly on Monday as regional manufacturing data sparked fresh concerns about the economy's health, while sliding commodity prices hit shares of natural resource companies.

U.S. stocks sold off broadly on Monday on as regional manufacturing data sparked fresh concerns about the economy's health, while sliding commodity prices hit shares of natural resource companies.

The Obama administration will target critical weaknesses in the troubled U.S. financial system, such as thin bank capital cushions and eroded lending standards, when it proposes an overhaul of financial regulation this week, two senior officials said on Monday.

Senior Obama administration officials on Monday said in a newspaper op-ed piece that a landmark financial regulation reform plan to be released this week will target capital requirements, securitization and other problem areas blamed for the global financial crisis.

Qatar Airways ordered 24 planes from Airbus as the world's largest air show opened in Paris on Monday, the Gulf carrier flexing its financial muscles as many recession-hit rivals struggle to find funds.

Oil fell more than 3 percent to below $70 a barrel on Monday, extending its retreat from a near eight-month high as the dollar firmed and stock markets tumbled.