Depression in the US

By BEN FELLER - Associated Press,DAVID ESPO - Associated Press In a conference call, Speaker John Boehner summoned his conservative rank and file to swing behind a "new measure" that could clear both houses of Congress. "It won't be 'Cut, Cap and Balance' as we passed it," he said, referring to a measure — killed in the Senate on Friday — that would have required spending cuts of an estimated $6 trillion as well as congressional approval of a constitutional balanced budget amendment fo

By DAVID ESPO - AP Special Correspondent | AP President Barack Obama, House Republicans drafted legislation Monday to avert a potentially devastating Aug. 2 government default — but along lines the White House has already dismissed. U.S. and world financial markets shrugged off the uncertainty. "This is a city where compromise is becoming a dirty word," Obama lamented as congressional leaders groped for a way out of a looming crisis. In stinging remarks a short while later on the Senate floor

The Australian NEVER before has a US president felt compelled to give a nationally televised speech on a matter usually so routine or esoteric. But these are desperate times: the US government is at grave risk of defaulting on debt for the first time next week because Republicans and Democrats in congress cannot reach an agreement.The insanity of this situation is that it is totally unnecessary -- and like playing with fire. A default, if it occurs, could trigger a global financial crisis tha