Home construction falls to lowest level in 50 years.

WASHINGTON - January 22, 2009 - Closing out the third year of the housing bust, construction on new homes took another turn for the worse in December, falling more than 15% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000, the lowest on record, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

SEATTLE, Washington - January 22, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it is cutting 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months - more than 5 percent of its work force - a sign of how badly even the biggest and richest companies are being stung by the recession.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - January 20, 2009 - Britain's economy is about to suffer its most vicious slump since 1946, shrinking by a drastic 2.8 per cent this year, Brussels warned yesterday, as fears over the scale of the recession mounted despite the new banking bailout.

NEW YORK - January 19, 2009 - When it comes to corporate bankruptcies, last year was ominously quiet outside the financial sector. Get ready for the storm.

LONDON, England - January 19, 2009 - Britain is facing an economic depression, one of Scotland's most prominent businessmen has warned, as the government prepares to announce its last-ditch attempt to shore up confidence in the banking industry.

LONDON, England - January 18, 2009 - Events are moving fast in Europe. The worst riots since the fall of Communism have swept the Baltics and the south Balkans. An incipient crisis is taking shape in the Club Med bond markets. S&P has cut Greek debt to near junk. Spanish, Portuguese, and Irish bonds are on negative watch.

NEW YORK - January 17, 2009 - A destructive combination of deflation and plummeting output loomed over the United States yesterday after another double dose of grim economic news.