WASHINGTON - October 7, 2010 - The number of Amerikans receiving food stamps rose to a record 41.8 million in July as the jobless rate hovered near a 27-year high, the government said.

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada - October 7, 2010 - The global race to the bottom in currencies may be less a war than it is an inevitable reaction to the growth of developing countries and the need for export-driven economies to stay competitive.

That's the view of experts who, while not wholly subscribing to the idea of a currency war, believe weakness in the U.S. dollar, Chinese yuan and other major global currencies represents what could be the early days of a trade battle triggered by the strength of emerging markets.

NEW YORK - October 6, 2010 - The Depression put a 3.1% dent in the personal incomes of New York state residents, who endured their first full-year decline in more than 70 years, according to a report released Tuesday.

Paychecks or net earnings tumbled 5.4%, while dividends, interest and rent slid 8.4%, to a grand total of nearly $908 billion, the state comptroller's report said.

MIAMI, Florida - October 6, 2010 - In their zeal to complete foreclosure proceedings, some banks send representatives to change the locks on properties in foreclosure, even while they remain occupied. The incidents of lock-changing pile further skepticism on a process recently plagued by scandal.

NEW YORK - October 5, 2010 - Wall Street economists are reviving a bet that the global economy will withstand the U.S. slowdown.

Just three years since Amerika began dragging the world into its deepest Depression in seven decades, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Credit Suisse Holdings USA Inc. and BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research are forecasting that this time will be different. Goldman Sachs predicts worldwide growth will slow 0.2 percentage points to 4.6% in 2011, even as expansion in the U.S. falls to 1.8% from 2.6%.

WASHINGTON - October 4, 2010 - Pending sales of previously owned homes rose to a four-month high in August, implying the housing market was regaining some stability after recent steep declines following the end of a home-buyer tax credit.

Another report on Monday showed new orders received by domestic factories fell 0.5% in August as demand for transportation equipment fell sharply. Analysts had forecast a drop of 0.4% in August.

NEW YORK - October 4, 2010 - Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, dodged financial disaster last month by getting money from the state to make a payment to its bondholders.

It did so even though the state warned that the money had to be used for city workers’ pensions.