BARACK OBAMA

(Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday formally signed and sent to President Barack Obama the final installment of landmark healthcare overhaul legislation.

The Obama administration on Friday announced a $14 billion effort to try to stem a rising tide of home foreclosures by giving lenders incentives to erase some mortgage debt and slash mortgage payments for the unemployed.

The White House plans to announce on Friday that it will require lenders to lower the mortgage payments of some unemployed workers and encourage lenders to eliminate some principal debt of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth, sources familiar with the plan said on Thursday.

Democratic lawmakers dug in again on Thursday to break off just enough support from Republicans to keep an overhaul of the U.S. financial system moving in the Senate.

The next phase of the financial reform debate opened on Thursday in Congress as Democrats worked to divide Republicans and break off just enough support to get a bill moving in the Senate.

U.S. President Barack Obama's use of the Web on his way to the White House in 2008 has inspired British political parties to ramp up their digital campaigns for a general election expected in May.

The number of workers filing for jobless aid fell sharply last week and a gauge of underlying labor market trends hit a 1-1/2 year low, boosting hopes the economy is on the verge of creating jobs.

The United States urgently needs to invest more in nanotechnology if it is to maintain its global lead in the emerging field, according to a report issued on Thursday to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Two of the largest U.S. manufacturers said the healthcare overhaul will cost them millions of dollars this year, but the White House dismissed their complaints, saying it was simply closing a tax loophole.

A pair of top U.S. industrial companies gave some of the first estimates of what the nation's healthcare overhaul will cost them, although an Obama administration official called the moves premature.

(Reuters) - A growing number of Americans spend more than 10 percent of their income on out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare services and insurance, according to a study published on Thursday.

An unemployed Frenchman has been arrested for targeting the Twitter accounts of President Barack Obama and singer Britney Spears, French police said on Wednesday.

A French man has been arrested for hacking into the Twitter account of President Barack Obama, French police said on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - A jubilant President Barack Obama signed the most sweeping U.S. social policy legislation in decades into law on Tuesday, putting his name on a healthcare bill that will help shape his legacy and the Democrats' chances of holding on to power in Congress.

The Federal Reserve will start moving away from its zero interest rate policy later this year as the U.S. economy improves modestly and job growth resumes, the UCLA Anderson Forecast unit said on Wednesday.

The Obama administration's pay czar on Tuesday clamped down on 2010 pay at five U.S. firms that still depend on a government lifeline, but boasted that his burdensome restrictions are not sending talented workers fleeing for the exits.

U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday on gains in the industrial and technology sectors and after U.S. existing homes sales fell less than expected in February.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will revel on Tuesday in the passage of landmark healthcare legislation, a hard-fought win that will help shape his legacy and the Democrats' chances of holding power in the Congress.

China will probably run a trade deficit of more than $8 billion in March, state media said on Tuesday, citing Premier Wen Jiabao.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Monday, approved landmark financial regulatory reform legislation, pushing the fight over the issue to the full Senate in April.

Google Inc closed its China-based search service and began redirecting Web searchers to an uncensored portal in Hong Kong, drawing harsh comments from Beijing that raised doubts about the company's future in the world's largest Internet market.