WASHINGTON - March 19, 2009 - New jobless claims fell more than expected last week, but continuing claims set a new record for the eighth straight week and few economists expect the labor market to improve anytime soon.

LUXEMBOURG - March 18, 2009 - A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.

WASHINGTON - March 17, 2009 - U.S. industrial output fell to its lowest level in almost seven years in February and manufacturing in New York state slumped further this month, according to data released on Monday that pointed to a deteriorating economy.

WASHINGTON - March 17, 2009 - The number of Amerikans who think another Great Depression will occur within the next year is on the rise, a poll released Tuesday shows.

HARTFORD, Connecticut - March 17, 2009 - A tidal wave of public outrage over bonus payments swamped American International Group yesterday. Hired guards stood watch outside the suburban Connecticut offices of AIG Financial Products, the division whose exotic derivatives brought the insurance giant to the brink of collapse last year. Inside, death threats and angry letters flooded e-mail inboxes. Irate callers lit up the phone lines. Senior managers submitted their resignations. Some employees didn't show up at all.

NEW YORK - March 16, 2009 - Foreign investors sold a net 43 billion dollars in long-term U.S. securities in January as the flow of capital turned negative, U.S. Treasury data showed Monday.

NEW YORK - March 16, 2009 - Capital One Financial Corp, one of the largest issuers of MasterCard and Visa credit cards, said on Monday that credit card defaults rose in February in the United States as job losses accelerated and unemployment soared to a 25-year peak.