BEIJING, China - November 8, 2010 - Washington's latest move to print more money is a form of indirect currency manipulation that could lead to a new round of currency wars and even global economic collapse, a leading Chinese newspaper warned on Monday.

The United States last week announced it would inject an extra $600 billion into its banking syatem in its latest effort to correct a collapsing economy, prompting criticism from a number of countries, notably China and Germany.

WASHINGTON - November 8, 2010 - U.S. banks are failing at the fastest rate in two decades.

In communities around the U.S., 143 banks have collapsed so far this year - more than all of last year. This time, the failed banks are smaller, on average, than in 2008 and 2009. The damage to the industry has thus been milder this time. Still, the wave of closings points to the persistent struggles of many communities and states.

LOS ANGELES, Kalifornia - November 7, 2010 - Grocery store owners William and Esperanza Casco were making enough money to stay current on their mortgage, but when JPMorgan Chase & Co. offered a plan that reduced their payments, they figured they could use the extra cash and signed up.

The Cascos say they never missed a subsequent payment, so they were horrified when the bank decided the smaller payments weren't enough and foreclosed on their modest Long Beach home.

WASHINGTON - November 7, 2010 - Without additional government action to spur hiring, President Obama said Sunday that he fears the U.S. economy could enter a "new normal" in which corporate profits are high but the number of new jobs is too low to reduce the nation's 9.6% unemployment rate to pre-Depression levels.

LOS ANGELES, Kalifornia - November 4, 2010 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the fabled studio whose origins go back to Hollywood's earliest days, filed for bankruptcy protection, sagging under a mountain of debt.

The filing, made Wednesday morning in New York, came after MGM's leading creditors struck a deal with corporate raider Carl Icahn, who had amassed about 15% of the company's debt and was previously pushing for a merger between MGM and rival studio Lions Gate Entertainment.

WASHINGTON - November 4, 2010 - The number of people seeking jobless benefits jumped sharply last week, after two straight weeks of declines.

The increase undermines hopes that unemployment claims, after falling four times in the previous five weeks, were on a sustained downward trend. That would signal layoffs were slowing and hiring was picking up. Instead, claims remain stuck at an elevated level.

LONDON, England - November 3, 2010 - The U.S. Federal Reserve will pump another $600 billion into the U.S. money supply over the next eight months in a bid to resuscitate America's failing economy.

The latest round of quantitative easing (QE) comes on top of the $1.7 trillion already completed and is intended "to promote a recovery", the Fed said. It is changing tack, however, buying U.S. government bonds instead of corporate debt and mortgage-backed securities. Existing QE will be rolled over, but also recycled into Treasuries.