Washington - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced a major shift in the Pentagon's spending priorities, cutting some expensive Cold War-era weapons programmes and boosting spending that would aid the country's battle against terrorism.
Gates said the decisions drew heavily on lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and represented a shift away from conventional warfare, as well as futuristic military projects where the technology was not yet proven.
New York - Ford Motor Company said Monday it had trimmed its debts by 38 per cent in a massive effort to keep the car maker from seeking government aid to survive.
Ford, the only US carmaker not to have received government funds, has reduced its debt by 9.9 billion dollars through agreements with creditors. It offered last month to pay creditors discounted amounts using 2.4 billion dollars in cash and 468 million shares of stock.
The debt reduction will save Ford 500 million dollars in interest each year, the company said.
Washington/Zurich - Four key central banks agreed on Monday to provide foreign currency to the Federal Reserve should it need to pump liquidity into financial institutions, many of which are in danger of collapse due to a lack of capital.
Should the need arise, the Fed would be able to access up to 285 billion dollars in euro, yen, sterling and Swiss francs through the new swap agreements, which come on top of previous commitments with the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.
Washington - The United States launched a new crackdown Monday on mortgage fraud that may have contributed to the country's worst housing downturn in decades.
The US Justice Department, Treasury and other government agencies announced a joint effort to target bogus companies that have sprouted up offering mortgage refinancing and foreclosure help.
More than 3 million people were in foreclosure in 2008, a record that helped drive down US home prices and spurred the financial crisis that has plunged the world into recession.
Washington - The United States will push for more restrictions on tourism to the North and South Poles to protect the regions' natural environment and avoid the worst effects of global warming, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.
Opening a nearly two-week summit bringing together the two diplomatic bodies that govern the Arctic and Antarctic, Clinton warned that protecting the region was crucial to stabilizing the global climate.
Washington - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced a major shift in the Pentagon's spending priorities, cutting some expensive Cold War-era weapons programmes and boosting spending that would aid the country's battle against terrorism.
New York - Ford Motor Company said Monday it had trimmed its debts by 38 per cent in a massive effort to keep the car maker from seeking government aid to survive.
Washington - A US judge on Monday cleared the way for John Demjanjuk, a war-crimes suspect from the Nazi era, to be deported to Germany.
Washington/Zurich - Four key central banks agreed on Monday to provide foreign currency to the Federal Reserve should it need to pump liquidity into financial institutions, many of which are in danger of collapse due to a lack of capital.
Washington - The United States launched a new crackdown Monday on mortgage fraud that may have contributed to the country's worst housing downturn in decades.
Washington - The United States will push for more restrictions on tourism to the North and South Poles to protect the regions' natural environment and avoid the worst effects of global warming, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.
