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 President Barack Obama will announce his decision on whether to send more US troops to Afghanistan “within days” after he held a final strategy session with top aides, the White House said yesterday.

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 is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today’s bleak landscape.

The Senate passage of an $838bn (€649bn) stimulus bill triggered an intense round of late-night bargaining, with the White House and key congressional Democrats seeking agreement on a final compromise aimed at battling the worst economic crisis in decades.