Almost five months after Democrats used their majorities in the  Congress to push through the stimulus, the two-year package has had little impact as anxious Americans watch the country's unemployment rate surge to 9.5 percent.

Wholesale inventories fell for a ninth consecutive month in May, a decline that has contributed to the longest recession since World War II as factories have been forced to slash production amid crimped demand.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett said in an interview aired on Thursday unemployment could hit 11 percent and a second stimulus package might be needed as the economy struggles to recover from recession.

New claims for unemployment insurance plummeted by 52,000 to 565,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's significantly below analysts' expectations of 605,000.

Japan's top government spokesman said on Thursday that excessive currency moves are undesirable as they would hurt the stability of Japan's economy and financial markets.

The U.S. recession is likely to end this year, but the Federal Reserve will not be in a rush to change its policy stance while unemployment is still rising, a top Fed policy-maker said Wednesday.

Much like its stock market counterpart, the Oil VIX is showing a high level of uncertainty among investors as efforts intensify for stronger regulation of energy trading.

The global economy is starting to pull out of recession but recovery will be sluggish and government policies need to remain supportive, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.

No one argues that the staggering deficits run up by the American government in a bid to rescue the economy are desirable, healthy or even sustainable — not if the national debt continues to swell at its current pace. But considerable debate centers on when and how vigorously to start easing off Washington’s borrowing habit, with substantial risks at both extremes, the New York Times reported.

The U.S. Treasury would have to inform Congress by Dec. 1 on whether it expects to lend more from the $700 billion financial rescue plan under legislation approved late on Tuesday by a House of Representatives panel.

The value of Japan's core private-sector machinery orders, a leading indicator of capital spending, hit a record low in May as the services sector scaled back spending in the face of weak domestic demand.

The federal minimum wage is set to increase later this month, and that could be bad news for small business owners already struggling in a pinched economy.

The pace of the economic recovery heading into the fall—electric smooth or diesel rough—will determine whether Obama can prod Congress on the key features of his agenda with momentum or from a defensive crouch.

The stock market is still in danger of breaking through its March lows as the economy continues to struggle, economist David Rosenberg told CNBC.

French workers normally take off much of the summer, but this month, there is something of a revolution going on here at this former royal chateau roughly 30 miles southeast of Paris. The throngs of tourists will be jostling alongside stonemasons, restoration experts and other artisans paid by the French government’s $37 billion economic stimulus program, the New York Times reported.