As a senator, Barack Obama led the charge last year to pass a bill allowing black farmers to seek new discrimination claims against the Agriculture Department.
A private sector group's index of leading economic indicators fell more than expected in March, but the forecast called for the recession's intensity to ease this summer.
Americans need to sharpen their financial know-how to help them best use their money, especially during the current economic crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world Monday to rally against the threat that intolerance could rise as a result of the economic crisis, saying "the time is now" to stamp out racism.
Sixteen months into this recession, the total number of jobs lost is nearly twice what it was during the last big recession from 1981 to 1982, and experts predict the American economy has not yet hit bottom. As more workers get laid off each month, adding to the millions still searching for work, more people are collecting unemployment checks than at any time in U.S. history.
Investors are having doubts about banks' profit reports and wondering whether their better-than-expected performance masks larger problems with bad debt.
About 1,600 white-collar workers at General Motors Corp. will lose their jobs in the next few days as the troubled automaker accelerates cost cuts in order to qualify for more government aid.
