As the biggest U.S. banks clamor to defeat Congressional measures that could break up their firms or slap a big tax on their transactions, another costly proposal is quietly gaining steam.

A U.S. congressional panel on Thursday approved a measure to open the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions to government audits, a surprise blow to the central bank's efforts to shield its independence and a signal of frustration with the central bank.

Congressional budget crunchers said  the Democrats' latest health care plan would hold down federal red ink for at least 20 years, an assessment that gave supporters hope as the Senate moved gingerly toward  debate.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that no financial firm should be able to escape regulation, and the largest institutions need oversight from a single, strong regulator.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost of a sweeping U.S. Senate health care overhaul at $849 billion over 10 years, a senior Senate aide said on Wednesday.

Improper payments by the U.S. government to people, firms and contractors rose sharply to $98 billion in fiscal 2009 and President Barack Obama plans new rules to clamp down, the White House said Tuesday.

A senior House Democrat says the government didn't force Bank of America to take over Merrill Lynch, but a bank board member said much pressure was applied and Republicans charged that a committee inquiry was covering up the role of an Obama administration official.

Recently, the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) analyzed the financial assets of US lawmakers based on required annual disclosures, and found that there are 237 millionaires in the US Congress.

Former Bank of America general counsel Timothy Mayopoulos said he was 'stunned' to be fired as the bank was trying to wrap up its purchase of Merrill Lynch, after being told he would become the combined company's new general counsel.

The U.S. Federal Reserve stepped up its consumer protection efforts for the second time in less than a week Monday, proposing to limit the ability of gift card issuers to impose excessive fees.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lashed out at an agreement for American troops to use more Colombian military bases on Friday, accusing the U.S. of aiming to start a conflict and urging his military to be prepared.

The White House  Friday pushed back against a proposal in the U.S. Senate to create a single bank super-regulator and strip the Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers.

The alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and four others who will be tried in U.S. criminal court will be moved from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to a federal detention facility in New York, the Justice Department said on Friday.

A top economic adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Friday that the urgency for changing the rules of the road for financial firms may be waning and urged Congress to act while the general public is focused on banking issues.