YOU might call it the cognitive divide — the split between an evidence-based worldview and one that is rooted in faith or ideology — and it is one of the most important fault lines in the United States today.

THE turbulence in Egypt and Libya, which is now spreading throughout the middle East, has some playing out to do. It is bound to have international repercussions, and it’s impossible to see the shape of all of them.

President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, plans to leave the White House at the end of the year, a move that comes as the administration struggles to show an anxious public it is making progress on the economy.

The US is likely to average 95,000 more jobs each month this year while personal savings will remain high as credit remains tight, according to a White House report released today.

IRELAND’S decision last October to guarantee all deposits and borrowings at six Irish banks to prevent a run on the banks rattled governments across Europe, according to a BBC documentary screened last night.

US president Barack Obama, who quoted a new White House study suggesting that small businesses pay far more per employee for health insurance than big companies, said the disparity was “unsustainable” and “unacceptable”.

The White House, under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike, has defended giving billions of bail-out dollars to banks that plan to reward shareholders and executives or even buy other banks.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama today turned to some of the most respected names in the business world for fresh ideas to end the US financial upheaval and win the confidence of voters.

Wall Street staged an impressive rally today after the nomination of top White House economist Ben Bernanke as the next Federal Reserve chief.

A rapid rise in house prices – which has made Americans feel wealthy and inclined to spend over the last several years – will not continue indefinitely, President George Bush’s top economist has said.

NOBEL Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz does not like George Bush.