Wall Street staged a big advance in the penultimate session of 2008 today after Washington’s latest lifeline to the car industry bolstered hopes that the US government will do whatever is necessary to cut short the recession.

America’s sinking economy was hit by two more financial torpedoes today when the unemployment rate shot to a 14-year high and Ford announced more redundancies.

America’s sinking economy was hit by two more financial torpedoes today when the unemployment rate shot to a 14-year high and Ford announced more redundancies.

US weekly chain store sales fell sharply in the latest week, as snowstorms in the Northeast hampered seasonal holiday shopping, according to the BTM-UBS weekly chain store index.