BARACK OBAMA

The Federal Reserve scored a victory and mortgage bankers suffered a defeat on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate took aim at bank supervision and housing finance in its sprawling Wall Street reform effort.

(Reuters) - First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday unveiled a 70-point plan for reducing childhood obesity within a generation, including a call for marketing healthier food, but stopping short of recommending regulatory action or a federal tax on sugary sodas.

Top oil executives faced a second day of grilling on Wednesday by U.S. lawmakers over a gushing well leak in the Gulf of Mexico as BP scrambled with its latest deep-sea effort to control the huge spill that threatens environmental disaster.

Spain became the latest euro zone country to announce sweeping austerity measures on Wednesday as the executive European Commission sought unprecedented power to pre-vet national budgets.

Top oil executives face a second day of grilling by U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday over a deadly well rupture that unleashed a huge oil slick and the specter of environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Senate on Tuesday challenged the Federal Reserve's tradition of secrecy but postponed an overhaul of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under a massive reform of banking regulations.

A $1 trillion emergency package to stabilize the euro zone unleashed a spectacular rally in world stocks on Monday but the euro wiped out initial gains as worries about the region's debt problems persisted.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his team have been in close contact with their counterparts abroad on the European debt crisis, the White House said on Monday. The president and his economic team have been following and have been engaged in this situation for quite some time, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

The huge slick from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill threatened Louisiana shores west of the Mississippi Delta on Monday as BP Plc said it was trying multiple options to control the leak, without being sure that they would work.

BP Plc said on Monday it had incurred $350 million in costs so far from the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as fears mounted of a prolonged and growing environmental and economic disaster.

European central banks began buying euro zone government bonds under a $1 trillion global emergency rescue package agreed on Monday, sending the euro and European stocks and bonds surging on relieved markets.

A $1 trillion global emergency rescue package to stabilize the euro reversed the slide in world financial markets on Monday but left longer-term questions about whether Europe's weakest economies can manage their debt.

The extreme market volatility of recent days has shaken investors, who still are seeking a clear explanation of what sent U.S. stocks into Thursday's dizzying intraday spiral.

The extreme market volatility of recent days has shaken investors, who still are seeking a clear explanation of what sent U.S. stocks into Thursday's dizzying intraday spiral.

European Union finance ministers on Sunday promised to counter the wolfpack of the financial markets as they sought agreement on a 600 billion euro ($805 billion) plan to keep Greece's debt crisis from spreading.

France and Germany completely agree on measures to be unveiled on Sunday by European Union finance ministers to help the crisis-hit euro zone, the French presidency said.

European Union officials were working out the details of a financial support mechanism on Saturday to prevent Greece's debt turmoil spreading to Portugal and Spain, ready for approval by EU finance ministers on Sunday.

Euro zone leaders decided on Friday they have special measures ready before financial markets open on Monday to prevent financial turmoil in Greece spreading to other countries such as Spain and Portugal.

President Barack Obama said on Friday that regulators would look for ways to prevent a repeat of Thursday's mysterious stock market meltdown, adding to expectations the U.S. government will make new regulations to curb runaway computer trading.

The Group of Seven rich countries is concerned about Greece's debt problems, a Canadian official said on Friday, and hinted that there may be other countries that will also need help.

Shock waves from the stock market plunge rippled through Washington on Friday, prompting lawmakers to call for an amendment to a Wall Street reform bill that could lead to safeguards against technology glitches.