Crisis may force Geithner's approval
Reuters - President Barack Obama's nominee for U.S. Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, though tarnished by disclosures of his failure to pay taxes, is likely too uniquely qualified for Congress to reject amid hopes to contain the worst economic downturn in decades.
Dollar down vs euro, up vs pound
(AFP)
AFP - The dollar fell against the euro on Wednesday, rose versus the yen and struck a multi-year high against sterling as US President Barack Obama set to work in the White House on rescuing the ailing economy.
Financial fears weigh on Asian stocks
(AFP)
AFP - Asian stocks fell Wednesday after a plunge on Wall Street, where financial fears eclipsed hope that US President Barack Obama will move quickly to resuscitate the stricken economy.
After historic day, Obama set to tackle agenda
Reuters - Barack Obama, fresh from the pageantry of his historic inauguration, will turn on Wednesday toward his goals of rescuing the economy, charting a new course for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and shaping his approach to the Middle East conflict.
Geithner calls for TARP reform: report
Reuters - Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner requested Congress to pass a robust stimulus plan to revive the economy and pledged to "reform" the government's $700 billion bailout program, Bloomberg said, citing prepared testimony for a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
BHP takes $1.6 billion charge, to cut 6,000 jobs
Reuters - BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc will cut 6,000 jobs and close its giant Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Australia, writing off $1.6 billion, as the global resources giant battles a collapse in commodity prices.
Microsoft expected to cut jobs as profit weakens
Reuters - Microsoft Corp is expected to post a quarterly profit that misses its own target and announce thousands of job cuts this week as the global economic slump hurts even the technology industry's biggest players.
Obama takes office with world economy in crisis
Reuters - Barack Obama took office on Tuesday with the world's banks freefalling and the auto industry gasping, and Wall Street greeted the new U.S. president with its worst inauguration day ever.
BofA and Citi shares sink as investors fear more losses
Reuters - U.S. bank shares sank on Tuesday, with Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp hitting their lowest levels since the early 1990s as investors, seeing no quick end to losses from toxic assets, worried that many banks are running short of capital.
IBM profit and outlook beats Street projections
Reuters - IBM issued a 2009 profit outlook that blew past Wall Street expectations, underscoring the ability of the world's top technology services firm to weather the global downturn and boosting its shares 4 percent.
