Reuters - In rare public criticism of Alan Greenspan, former U.S. Undersecretary for International Affairs John Taylor said on Saturday that ultra-low Federal Reserve interest rates had stoked the U.S. housing boom and subsequent bust.

Reuters - Japanese firms cut capital spending by 4.9 percent in April-June from a year earlier, data showed on Monday, confounding forecasts and adding to views that the Bank of Japan will hold off from raising rates this month.

Reuters - Australia's central bank on Tuesday provided banks with more cash than expected to try to combat a sharp rise in bank bill rates as the sector felt the impact of the global credit squeeze.

Reuters - The OECD on Wednesday reduced its forecast for U.S. economic growth and recommended a rapid cut in interest rates to limit the fallout from a housing and mortgage market slump that has sparked global financial market turmoil.

FT.com - The US economy lost jobs last month for the first time in four years in a dramatic and unexpected reversal that raises the risks growth will be wiped out and that the downturn in the housing market will cause a recession.

AP - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction to the lowest levels in three weeks.

Reuters - The European Central Bank siphoned off excess cash from the banking system on Tuesday as investors awaited a speech from U.S. central bank chief Ben Bernanke following mixed messages from his colleagues.

Reuters - Mortgage applications rose for a second straight week, fueled by demand for home loans as interest rates sank to their lowest since May, an industry group's figures showed Wednesday.

AP - The federal deficit is running sharply lower than last year even though spending in August set an all-time high, the government reported Thursday.

AP - China's investment in factories, real estate and other urban assets in the first eight months of the year rose 26.7 percent from the same period last year, the government reported Friday, despite curbs meant to prevent runaway spending.

Reuters - The top executives of America's largest companies have grown more cautious about the economic outlook, according to a survey released on Monday by the Business Roundtable, but they still expect growth despite the turmoil in the world's credit markets and what it characterized as the "recession" in U.S. housing.

FT.com - Stocks surged on Tuesday after the US Federal Reserve moved aggressively to head off the risk of a sharp slowdown in the US economy, cutting interest rates by 50 basis points to 4.75 per cent.

Reuters - Home construction starts fell 2.6 percent in August to their lowest level in more than 12 years while building permit activity, a sign of future construction plans, also dropped to a low not seen since mid-1995, a government report on Wednesday showed.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that the credit crisis has created 'significant market stress' and offered fresh assurances that regulators would take steps to curb fallout related to the mortgage mess.

FT.com - Act one of the drama gripping the US economy featured subprime mortgages. Act two - which was all about house prices, asset-backed commercial paper and the three-month Libor rate - came to a spectacular end last week when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by an aggressive 50 basis points. Act three will be about the dollar. If low interest rates cause foreign investors to lose confidence in the US currency then the chance of recession in the world's largest economy will rise.

AFP - Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday the US economy has a better than evens chance of beating a recession but warned that a housing slowdown could hit spending hard.

AP - Worries about jobs and the economy flared in September, driving a key barometer of consumer sentiment to its lowest level in nearly two years, a private research group said Tuesday.

AFP - The dollar hovered near a new record low against the euro Wednesday amid growing concerns about the US economy and expectations the Federal Reserve will further cut interest rates.

AP - Fewer people signed up for unemployment benefits last week, raising a hopeful sign that the recent weakness in the jobs market won't be long lasting.

AP - The International Monetary Fund chose France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn as its new leader Friday to face questions of the organization's relevance in a world that seems to need it less and less.