The Obama administration passed another fiscal milestone this week, according to new data released by the Treasury Department. As of the close of business on Oct. 3, the total national debt was $14,837,099,271,196.71—up about $44.8 billion from Sept. 30. That means that in the less-than-three-years Obama has been in office, the federal debt has increased by $4.212 trillion–more than the total... 

Robert Zoellick, the head of the World Bank, on Saturday decried Germany’s lack of leadership during Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. Speaking to business magazine Wirtschaftswoche, Zoellick said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government had no vision of how to solve the problems of the 17-member eurozone. “There has been a lot of political bumbling, but the economy and the markets need direction... 

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England The world is facing the worst financial crisis since at least the 1930s “if not ever”, the Governor of the Bank of England said last night. Sir Mervyn King was speaking after the decision by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to put £75billion of newly created money into the economy in a desperate effort to stave off a new credit crisis and a UK... 

France is implementing austerity measures with a new budget proposal that would cut government spending for the first time in decades, Press TV reports. The 2012 budget proposal of French President Sarkozy’s government is the first to reduce public spending since World War II. “This was a budget created to please the European commission in Brussels. It stems from the desire to drastically... 

Obama slammed the Europeans at an event in Mountain View, California on Monday. US President Obama has given the Europeans a harsh lecture on the dangers of their ongoing debt crisis. Offended by the unsolicited advice, Europeans have suggested the US get its own house in order first. Obama’s remarks were “arrogant” and “absurd,” German commentators say on Wednesday. Europeans... 

Standard and Poor's dropped Italy's credit rating from A+ to A. Standard & Poor’s drops credit rating to A from A+, blaming sluggish economy and ineffective government reforms. Italy has had its sovereign credit rating cut by Standard and Poor’s, with the ratings agency keeping the country’s outlook on negative in a surprise move that may add to contagion fears in the... 

Dollar exchange rate continues to rise, despite the enormous national debt and virtually pre-default state of the USA. Why? 
Mikhail Fedorov, analyst of “RIC-Finance”:
 “Today, because of the debt crisis the Eurozone and the U.S. became competitors in terms of their attractiveness to outside investment, and therefore their ability to fund their own public loans. In fact, they... 

The “endgame” in the eurozone’s debt crisis is fast approaching, analysts declared yesterday, amid growing warnings from politicians and bankers that the reality of a Greek default and possible exit from the eurozone can be denied no longer. German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy will hold a conference call with Greek premier George Papandreou today,... 

Beijing: Visitors have their photos taken at Tiananmen gate in Beijing on August 17, 2011. China has allowed its currency to hit a series of record highs against the USD over the past week in a move analysts say may signal a new strategy to combat the growing threat of inflation. With Italy second only to Greece in the Eurozone in terms of its debt-to-GDP ratio, the Italian government is eyeing China... 

Riot policemen spray tear gas as they clash with demonstrators in front of the Greek parliament on June 29, 2011 during a protest part of the 48-hour general strike against the bankruptcy-threatened government which is desperately trying to push through sweeping austerity cuts. Protests have spread across Europe as Greece, Italy and Spain are struggling to hold on to the euro. Meanwhile, residents... 

Protestors march on September 6, 2011 during a demonstration organized by the leftist General Confederation of Italian Workers (CGIL) union against the government's economic policy in the center Rome. Tens of thousands of people are stranded. Factories are closed, airports and train stations deserted. An entire nation comes to a standstill as Italy’s largest trade union, the CGIL, calls... 

The August jobs report was dismal for plenty of reasons, but perhaps most striking was the picture it painted of racial inequality in the job market. Black unemployment surged to 16.7% in August, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%, the Labor Department reported. “This month’s numbers continue to bear out that longstanding pattern that... 

French President Nikolas Sarkozy, left and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, right. France is due to announce tighter fiscal measures, clamping down on tax breaks, as it seeks to restrain its deficit, amid concerns that the country could lose its AAA credit rating. French president, Nikolas Sarkozy ordered the budget and finance minister to pull together the measures earlier this month, after... 

Romanian Workers Spain has been given the green light by the EU executive to tighten restrictions on Romanian workers as it struggles with the highest unemployment in the 27-nation block. Spain will now require Romanians to have a work contract before settling in Spain and reverses a two and a half year moratorium that gave Romanian workers unrestricted access as fellow members of the European Union. The... 

After just a few days of calm, stock markets heaved again on Thursday, sending major American indexes down as much as 5 percent on persistent worries about the economy and Europe’s debt problems. The turmoil of last week returned with a vengeance as investors dumped stocks of companies that would suffer if worldwide growth slowed and the United States, in particular, broached another recession. But...