The budget agreement reached by congressional Democrats and Republicans would provide only a modest boost to the US economy. The psychological effect is likely to be a lot greater.

The US Federal Reserve today painted a bleaker outlook for the nation's economy, which it thinks will grow much more slowly and face higher unemployment than it had estimated in June.

World markets remained unsettled today over whether Greece’s referendum decision was a huge miscalculation, while worries over Italy disturbed investors too.

Stocks have rebounded as investors breathed a sigh of relief at the news that the US added more jobs than expected during July, putting a halt to one of the worst sell-offs since the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

CONFIDENCE among US consumers increased more than forecast in April, signalling that the improving labour market is helping Americans weather rising fuel costs.