The largest aftershock since Chile's devastating earthquake rocks the South American country minutes before the inauguration of President Sebastian Pinera.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates downplays Iran's influence on Afghanistan, but the war of words escalates, with Iran's president promising to "cut your hands off of the Persian Gulf oil."
Protesters clash with police as more than 20,000 people march through central Athens during a nationwide general strike against the government's new austerity measures.
An Iranian appeals court sentenced a university professor to six years in prison for suspected involvement in the country's postelection turmoil, local media reported Thursday.
Heavy fighting between Somali insurgents and pro-government troops has killed at least 43 people over two days, as African Union peacekeepers used tanks to help the beleaguered government beat back an insurgent attack, officials said Thursday.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is joining the American International Group in a loss-sharing agreement that is part of the insurer s sale of its American Life Insurance Company unit to MetLife, Bloomberg News reports.
The Treasury Department sold $13 billion in 30-year bonds at a yield of 4.679% on Thursday, finishing up a week of auctions. Bidders offered to buy 2.89 times the amount of debt sold, the highest since September and better than the average of 2.61 times at the last four comparable sales.
The Treasury Department did not adequately consider all options when bailing out troubled finance company GMAC and could have better protected taxpayers money, according to a report released Thursday.
U.S. households increased their holdings of Treasury securities to the highest level in at least two years, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday. Households held $795.2 billion in Treasurys at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, up from $735.5 billion in the third quarter, as Americans continued to find U.S. debt an attractive investment amid continued uncertainty over the strength of the U.S. economic rebound and sovereign-debt problems abroad.
U.S. debt grew at the slowest pace on record during the fourth quarter, as households and businesses continued to deleverage, nearly offsetting another huge increase in federal debt.
JOBLESS CLAIMS DROP: New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 462,000, nearly matching analysts estimates. It was the second straight drop.
After widening dramatically for two months, the U.S. trade deficit reverses course and narrows unexpectedly in January, suggesting that the economic recovery remains tentative. Both imports and exports fall from December levels, government data show.
The U.S. commercial paper market grew in the latest week, resuming an expansion trend that supports signs of emerging economic growth, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.
The Treasury Department announced Thursday that it received net proceeds of $11.15 million from the sale of warrants to purchase common stock of Signature Bank. Treasury said it sold 595,829 warrants at $19 per warrant.
The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday it expects net proceeds of $11.15 million from the auction of warrants in New York-based Signature Bank , which were priced at $19 each.
