Washington - Tired of having to enter your logon name every time you start Vista? With a simple hack, you can banish the logon screen for good. Open Vista's Start menu and type netplwiz into the Start menu's search box. The Advanced User Accounts Control dialogue box will open. There, you should remove the check mark from the box labelled "Users must enter a username and password to use this computer."

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Washington - The US government was preparing to take over the twin mortgage finance giants known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, dismiss their top executives and prop up the companies with government funds, with an announcement likely as early as Sunday.

The US Treasury has plans to put Fannie and Freddie into a so- called conservatorship, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank told Bloomberg financial news agency, after a briefing by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Saturday.

Washington - Tourists and residents of the Caribbean Islands of Turks and Caicos were making plans Saturday to evacuate as Hurricane Ike approached.

The Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre warned that the "core of dangerous Hurricane Ike" was approaching the islands and said "preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion."

A hurricane warning was also in place for the Bahamas and parts of Cuba, while a tropical storm alert was sounded for the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Packaging material maker Essel Propack Ltd (EPL) has announced the acquisition of US based Medical Engineering & Design (MED Inc.) a supplier of specialized disposable medical devices.

Washington - Machinists at airplane giant Boeing went on strike Saturday after rejecting the company's proposed wage increases amid fears that their jobs could be shipped overseas.

The machinists, members of the International Machinists and Aerospace Workers, approved the strike action in a vote taken last Wednesday. But they delayed implementing the strike after the company reopened negotiations with union leaders, who gave Boeing until Friday evening to provide an "exceptional contract offer" under the guidance of a federal mediator.