US president Barack Obama will take his case to the nation tonight as his struggle to steer through an economic recovery package is proving to be a difficult test of his leadership.

President Barack Obama’s closest economic advisors are signalling that the financial crisis will require more money and more US government intervention to correct.

Wall Street rebounded today in another turbulent session, as investors rushed back into the market after the Standard & Poor's 500 index tested a 2003 low.

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke waged a stout defence of their management of a $700bn (€554bn) financial bailout today, just a week after abandoning the original strategy behind the rescue.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “poisoned” the debate over a €487bn rescue package for the United States’ economy and caused the bill’s failure, Republicans said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “poisoned” the debate over a $700bn (€482bn) rescue package for the United States’ economy and caused the bill’s failure, Republicans said today.

A $700bn (€482bn) rescue package for the United States’ troubled economy was in tatters tonight after it was rejected by the lower house of the US Congress.

Key lawmakers who struck a post-midnight deal on a 700bn (€479bn) for the financial industry tonight predicted it would pass Congress, putting in place the largest US government intervention in markets since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Tension grew in the US financial markets today, sending stocks mostly lower as investors worried about the effectiveness of a still-emerging government plan to rescue banks from crippling debt. The credit markets also showed added strain, with rising demand for short-term Treasury bills, considered the safest of investments.

US President George Bush took aim today at the huge salaries and bonuses of corporate executives, going to Wall Street to say compensation packages should be tied to how good a job a CEO does for the shareholders.

Democrats in the House of Representatives defied newly elected Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi today by ignoring her recommendation and selecting Rep Steny Hoyer as Pelosi’s top lieutenant.

US stocks rose modestly in the United States today after investors bobbed and weaved with every word of new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress.

Stocks stumbled today as mixed economic news and further hints of higher interest rates from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan kept buyers at bay.

WorldCom's former chairman has refused to answer questions from a congressional panel investigating accounting irregularities at the company.

INVOKING his Fifth Amendment right, WorldCom's former chairman refused to answer questions yesterday from a congressional panel investigating nearly $4 billion in accounting irregularities at the telecommunications giant.

Mel Dick, the engagement partner responsible for Arthur Andersen LLP's audit of troubled telecommunications company WorldCom Inc, said he had no knowledge that senior WorldCom executives were allegedly manipulating its accounts to boost profits.

Three WorldCom bosses have been ordered to testify at a Congressional hearing to investigate how the telecom giant inflated its profits by €3.8bn.

The House Financial Services Committee is issuing a series of subpoenas against WorldCom executives requiring the corporate officers of the scandal-hit telecoms firm to testify before Congress on WorldCom's $3.8bn (€3.85bn) profit restatement.

Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay pulled out of this week’s scheduled congressional testimony as members of Congress suggested he and other company executives engaged in widespread criminality.

The US Government is investigating trading in shares of 38 companies, including major airlines, cruise lines, General Motors and Raytheon, to determine if people used advance knowledge of the terror attacks to profit.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan foresees no quick end to sluggish economic growth in the United States and has signalled that the Fed stands ready to cut interest rates for a seventh time this year.