STANDARD & Poor’s (S&P) is to warn that Germany and France may be stripped of their triple-A credit ratings as the debt crisis prompts all 17 euro nations to be put on review for a possible downgrade, said two officials familiar with the S&P decision.

SO Greece has a new prime minister — Lucas Papademos — and Italy looks to have a new one, too — Mario Monti.

THE countdown has begun. It is a matter of when, not if, the Greek government and creditors will have to reconcile a 50% default on their sovereign debt.

A TAX on all financial transactions through banks and financial institutions, being pushed by France and Germany, will put Ireland in a difficult position politically and could have serious repercussions for the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

President Barack Obama bluntly told Republican congressional leaders that they must compromise quickly if the US government is to avoid an unprecedented default, marking an acrimonious end to a negotiating session at the White House that produced no evident progress toward a compromise on increasing the US debt limit.

THE world’s leading nations were divided last night over plans to reduce global economic imbalances, with China determined to head off international criticism over its huge foreign exchange reserves.

THE United States was yesterday to push Europe to focus on encouraging economic growth rather than slashing budgets as world leaders gathered for G8 and G20 summit talks.

The US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is in Europe today to put pressure on leaders for united action on the deepening debt crisis.

The FTSE 100 Index slid into the red today as retail stocks came under pressure for the second day in a row.

US President Barack Obama served as comedian-in-chief over the weekend, predicting that his second 100 days in office will be so successful he will wrap them up in record time.

SHARES on the Irish market finished stronger yesterday as markets around the globe were boosted when US treasury secretary Tim Geithner indicated US bank reserves would be sufficient to guard against possible shocks. The ISEQ index gained 59.54 points by the close to end at 2,446.44.

The FTSE 100 Index advanced today despite Chancellor Alistair Darling’s gloomy predictions of soaring borrowing and the worst year for the UK economy since the Second World War.

US President Barack Obama continued to push the case for his ambitious budget today during a televised speech in which he said progress was being made, but economic recovery would take time.

THERE are signs that the great recession stalking the global economy has bottomed out but there will be no immediate breathing room for Ireland, the EU’s economy chief, Joaquin Almunia has said.

US President Barack Obama said today his administration will outline a new strategy in the coming days for spending billions of federal dollars to pull the nation out of an economic crisis he described as "devastating".

President Barack Obama’s whirlwind start to his administration continued today with orders to close Guantanamo Bay and ban the use of torture.