BARACK OBAMA

U.S. President Barack Obama urged lawmakers on Wednesday to coalesce around elements in healthcare reform that could be agreed and said the new Republican senator from Massachusetts should be seated before a vote on the bill.

President Barack Obama ordered a new crackdown Wednesday on federal contractors who don't pay their taxes.

U.S. home starts unexpectedly fell last month as unusually cold weather hampered construction, but a jump in building permits to a 14-month high indicated the housing market recovery was intact.

Unemployment rates will likely peak in most U.S. cities in 2010, but it will be many more years before jobless rates hit their lows of the last decade, a report released by a U.S. mayors group shows.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday faced a fight to save his legislative agenda and keep his healthcare overhaul alive after his Democratic Party lost a key Senate seat, underscoring the challenges he faces at the one-year mark of his presidency.

Japan has changed its auto replacement incentive program to give U.S. cars more chance to qualify after the United States complained its automakers were shut out, the Japanese government said on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama will order federal agencies on Wednesday to take measures to prevent companies that are delinquent in paying taxes from obtaining new government contracts, the White House said.

Massachusetts on Tuesday elected the state's first Republican to serve in the Senate in decades, a stunning upset that threatens to undermine Democrats' dominance in Washington.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.37 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.48 percent at 1018 GMT (5:18 a.m. EST).

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.38 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.37 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.48 percent at 1018 GMT (5:18 a.m. EST).

The election of a Republican U.S. senator from Massachusetts on Tuesday to replace the late Edward Kennedy, a Democrat, puts U.S. President Barack Obama's ambitious agenda at increased risk.

In a stunning blow to President Barack Obama, Republican Scott Brown won a bitter Senate race in Massachusetts on Tuesday and promised to be the deciding vote against his sweeping healthcare overhaul.

President Barack Obama would have a far tougher time advancing his agenda if the Republican candidate wins the special election in Massachusetts on Tuesday to replace the late Edward Kennedy, a Democratic icon, in the Senate.

Massachusetts on Tuesday could elect the state's first Republican to serve in the U.S. Senate in decades, a stunning upset that would undermine Democrats' dominance in Washington.

Events in health insurance, basic materials and utilities sparked a rally in the stock market on Tuesday as investors looked past earnings.

Stocks rose broadly on Tuesday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 15-month closing highs as investors bet a potential Republican victory in Massachusetts' Senate race could stall Obama's reform agenda.

Stocks rose broadly on Tuesday, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh 15-month closing highs as investors bet a potential Republican victory in Massachusetts' Senate race could stall Obama's reform agenda.

Stocks rose broadly on Tuesday as investors scooped up healthcare shares on bets that a potential Republican victory in Massachusetts' Senate race could stall U.S. President Barack Obama's reforms and remove a threat to profits in the sector.

Credit Suisse is spreading the pain of a UK tax on bonuses across bankers globally and Goldman Sachs has delayed announcing payouts to staff as a row over remuneration heated up on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday and healthcare shares gained as a Massachusetts election for the U.S. Senate put President Barack Obama's healthcare reform in jeopardy.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday and healthcare shares gained as a Massachusetts election for the U.S. Senate put President Barack Obama's healthcare reform in jeopardy.