The dollar steadied versus the euro and yen on Monday at the start of a busy week for U.S. data which should shed light on the extent to which the credit markets turmoil is taking a toll on growth.
Asian stock markets took a breather on Monday with Tokyo's Nikkei slipping on fresh concerns about the economy, and the yen traded in a small range in a session likely to be dulled by the U.S. Labor Day holiday.
Gold rose on Friday, aided by firm stocks and a strike at a gold mine, as speeches by U.S. President George W. Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke calmed financial markets ahead of the three-day U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend.
The Federal Reserve on Friday reassured investors it would take any steps needed to shelter the U.S. economy from a global credit squeeze, while President George W. Bush promised to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages. Chairman Ben Bernanke also said the central bank would not bail out investors who had made mistakes.
President George W. Bush's plan designed to limit the number of Americans who default on subprime mortgages might be a small positive for the commercial and investment banks exposed to them but does little to alleviate broader concerns about credit losses, analysts said.
President George W. Bush on Friday tried to calm financial market turmoil from the credit crisis by announcing proposals intended to prevent homeowners from defaulting on risky mortgages. In trying to soothe those worries, Bush said the U.S. economy was healthy enough to weather the credit crisis and that the subprime market problems represented only a modest part of the economy.
The shorter Sept. visit to the Asia-Pacific economic summit is seen as neglecting Asia's concerns. An Iraq military report and 9/11 commemorations loom.
The Nikkei rose 2.6 percent on Friday as news that President George W. Bush will outline reforms to help homeowners with subprime mortgages sparked broad-based buying, and Dell Inc's earnings lifted high-tech stocks.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a firmer opening on Friday, with all eyes on speeches by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President George W. Bush, both expected by analysts to touch on the U.S. subprime crisis.
World stocks surged on Friday on hopes the U.S. government and central bank will act to alleviate a crisis in subprime, or poor credit quality, U.S. mortgages and ease a global bank lending squeeze the problem has triggered.
U.S. President George W. Bush will outline reforms on Friday to help struggling subprime mortgage borrowers and his central bank chief will deliver a speech which will be pored over for hints of a looming rate cut.
President George W. Bush will propose reforms on Friday intended to help homeowners with subprime mortgages avoid default, his first public step to address a crisis that has created turmoil in financial markets around the world.
U.S. President George W. Bush is preparing to ask Congress for as much as $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing a White House official.
The multi-billion-dollar market for securitized student loan debt, a financial mainstay supporting U.S. higher education, is facing new stresses as Congress moves to reshape the troubled student loan industry.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose tenure has been marked by controversy over civil liberties and the firings of prosecutors, has resigned, a senior U.S. official said on Monday. Following are some facts about Gonzales.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned from office on Monday, ending a controversial tenure as chief law enforcement officer that blemished the administration of President George W. Bush.
The United States will press China to do more to ensure the safety of its exports at a regional summit meeting next month in Sydney, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on Wednesday.
China will have trouble cutting its dependence on coal despite growing pressures to fight global warming, a leading Chinese official said.
Jose Padilla, a U.S. convert to Islam once accused by the Bush administration of plotting a radiological dirty bomb attack, was found guilty on Thursday of unrelated charges he offered his services to terrorists.
The White House on Thursday said it expects to see continued U.S. economic growth, but would not comment on the recent financial market declines.
Democratic presidential hopefuls have seized on the deepening U.S. mortgage crisis and gyrating financial markets as signs they would be better stewards of the economy, but Republicans argue the outlook is strong.
The Bush administration said on Friday it would increase scrutiny and impose heftier fines on U.S. businesses that employ illegal immigrants as it sought to step up enforcement despite Congress's failure to reform immigration laws.
