Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers has withdrawn from consideration to be chairman of the Federal Reserve, saying it would hurt the nation for him to go forward with what would be a contentious confirmation before the US Senate.

President Barack Obama has said his nominee for Federal Reserve chairman will be someone who embraces the central bank’s dual mandate to promote price stability and maximum employment, and he has narrowed his choice “to some extraordinarily qualified candidates”.

Three decades ago, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was confronted with a nation bordering on irrelevance, a stagnant economy and a set of entrenched beliefs about the relationship between the government and the people.

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.

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.

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last autumn, will be nominated by President Barack Obama for a second term.

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-elect Barack Obama named the president of the New York Federal Reserve as his treasury secretary today.

US president-elect Barack Obama went straight to work today appointing his new government and studying some of the problems he will inherit when he takes office in 10 weeks.

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.

Leading economists had mixed views today about whether a recession could spread around the world.

Abrakebabra Tigers have claimed victory in the battle of the unbeaten sides with an impressive win away to Dublin giants DCU Saints on Saturday night.

RONAN McGARRITY will be accorded a hero’s welcome when he lines out for Merry Monk Ballina against Limerick Lions in their first SuperLeague game of the new season tomorrow night.

Reigning Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague champions DART Killester open the 2007/08 campaign with a trip to UCD Marian on Thursday night, while University of Ulster begin their stint in the top division on Sunday.

The president of prestigious Harvard University in the US has come under attack on his own campus for saying that innate differences might explain why women lag in science and maths.