General Electric's decision this week to no longer lend consumers money to buy motorhomes and boats was more bad news for the recreational vehicle and boat industry.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in March on a record plunge in the value of imports, even as average oil prices surged to a new record, a Commerce Department report on Friday showed.

China intends to strengthen its supervision and control of cross-border capital flows in order to protect stability in the financial system, Vice Premier Wang Qishan said on Friday.

Australia's central bank on Friday  raised its forecasts for inflation this year further above its  comfort zone, but said a significant slowing in domestic demand  was underway which would bring inflation back into the band by  the end of 2010.

“We're of the opinion that the market has likely seen the worst,” says Standard & Poor’s Chief Investment Strategist Sam Stovall. He's not alone.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday that the worst of the credit crisis is over, according to attendees at a New York speech.

Lenders would be required to tell consumers when they are being offered less favorable terms based on poorer credit scores under new rules proposed on Thursday by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Thursday tax rebates now being issued to Americans will immediately help consumers and bolster the economy by summer.

The number of US workers filing claims for initial jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, according to a report Thursday that suggested the labor market, while soft, was not deteriorating rapidly.

The European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 4 percent on Thursday, as widely expected, and its president Jean-Claude Trichet warned on inflation pressures.

The Bank of England kept the interest rate unchanged at 5 percent on Thursday, caught between the threat of rising inflation and increasing evidence of a weakening economy.

Australia employment growth blew past expectations in April, pointing to a still-healthy labor market even as other parts of the economy buckle before higher interest rates and rising living costs.

South Korea's central bank held interest rates steady for the ninth consecutive month on Thursday, saying Asia's fourth-largest economy was faced with conflicting risks from inflation and economic slowdown.