Economy, Global Financial Crisis | featured news

The Federal Reserve, facing rising global financial strains and recession fears, is poised to increase downward pressure on longer-term interest rates next week in a bid to accelerate a sputtering U.S. recovery.

The country’s economy, which crashed in 1994 and 2001 and was set back by the global financial crisis, is showing signs of overheating, fueled by consumer spending.

The government panel, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission blames: Banks that made reckless bets, credit rating agencies that endorse risky mortgage-backed securities and government regulators who overlooked warning signs until they threatened the global financial system.

China's economy slowed in the second quarter as the government steered monetary and fiscal policy back to normal after a record credit surge last year to counter the global crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of people joined May Day rallies across Europe on Saturday, many protesting against government austerity policies in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The top industrialized nations are in Pittsburgh to discuss ways to head off another financial collapse. But don't expect any major progress.

The unrelenting global troubles confronting Barack Obama are about to converge on him all at once, providing a stern test of leadership for a first-year president who has pledged to "change the world."

Central bankers from around the world are starting to focus on how to unwind the policies they used to fight the global financial crisis.

The global economic recovery has begun but sustaining it will require refocusing the United States toward exports and Asia toward imports, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist said.

The country's return to growth is a strong signal that a corner has been turned in the global crisis.