Backgrounder: U.S. Financial Crisis
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Federal Reserve, together with six other major central banks from around the world, slashed interest rates Wednesday to cope with the current financial crisis.
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Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, Oct. 6, 2008. (Xinhua/Hou Jun) |
NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street plunged again Tuesday on recession concerns with all the major indexes sliding more than 5 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned in a speech Tuesday that the financial crisis could prolong the difficulty the economy is facing.
U.S. budget deficit hits new record of $438 bln
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. federal budget deficit hit a new record of 483 billion dollars in the 2008 fiscal year which ended on Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Tuesday.
The new record of budget deficit followed last year's 162-billion-dollar red ink and exceeded the previous all-time high of 413 billion dollars set in 2004. Full story
U.S. consumer credit declines for first time in over decade
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer credit dropped at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in August, the first decline since January 1998, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.
The 3.7 percent decline, or 7.88 billion dollars, followed a revised 2.4 percent growth rate in July and surprised analysts who had been expecting an increase of 5.25 billion dollars for August. Full story
Dollar falls amid expectations of rate cut
NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The dollar fell against most major currencies on Tuesday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled possible rate cut to support weakening economy. Full story
Bernanke hints to cut interest rates to cope with financial crisis
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned on Tuesday that outlook of U.S. economic growth has worsened, hinting the central bank might cut the interest rates to cope with the financial crisis.
"Economic activity is likely to be subdued during the remainder of this year and into next year," Bernanke told the annual meeting of the National Association for Business Economics. Full story
Bush Administration pledges rapid response to financial crisis
WASHINGTON, Oct.6 (Xinhua) -- The Bush Administration pledged on Monday they will move rapidly to deal with the current financial crisis.
"Conditions in U.S. and global financial markets remain extremely strained," said the President's Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) in a statement. Full story
No rescue in sight after U.S. passage of bailout bill
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Even after passage of the Bush administration's 700-billion-dollar financial rescue plan Friday, the United States' economic options span the unappealing gamut from bad to worse, a newspaper report said on Sunday.
Even if the financial bailout works, the economy faces troubles too pervasive and entrenched to be solved any time soon, the Los Angeles Times said. Full story
