UNITED STATES

The White House plans to announce on Friday that it will require lenders to lower the mortgage payments of some unemployed workers and encourage lenders to eliminate some principal debt of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth, sources familiar with the plan said on Thursday.

Scientists may have made an a-maize-ing discovery that could lead to higher corn yields in the United States.

China could move again to greater flexibility in its currency regime but needs to take domestic factors such as employment into account when deciding whether to do so, a central bank adviser said in remarks published on Friday. In an op-ed article titled Toying with yuan won't help us, Fan Gang, the only academic member of the People's Bank of China's monetary policy committee, wrote that a rise in the currency itself was not a solution for U.S. economic problems, including employment.

The euro inched up from a 10-month low on Friday and Treasury yields slipped after euro zone leaders and the IMF agreed to provide a joint financial safety net for debt-laden Greece.

Democratic lawmakers dug in again on Thursday to break off just enough support from Republicans to keep an overhaul of the U.S. financial system moving in the Senate.

The Aussie dollar clawed back some of its losses in Asia yesterday climbing back above 91 cents as commodity prices steadied and the RBA painted a positive picture of the Australian economy.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's balance sheet rose to a record high in the latest week, surpassing the previous week's record level, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

A key U.S. lawmaker expressed support on Thursday for a proposal by communications regulators to give auction proceeds to broadcasters as an incentive to give up some airwaves highly sought by wireless broadband providers.

The Treasury could unveil a preset trading plan next month for the sale of its 27 percent stake in Citigroup Inc , Bloomberg said on Thursday, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter.

U.S. President Barack Obama's use of the Web on his way to the White House in 2008 has inspired British political parties to ramp up their digital campaigns for a general election expected in May.

U.S. stocks ended flat on Thursday, dropping off earlier highs as a weak U.S. bond auction and global debt concerns continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

When Toyota Motor Corp concluded that seemingly harmless floormats posed a danger in all of its cars and trucks, the automaker sent a stark warning intended to prevent crashes.

Car and truck manufacturer Daimler AG allegedly earned $1.9 billion in revenue and at least $91.4 million in illegal profits from transactions tainted by bribes, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Delinquencies on mortgages rose to nearly 14 percent in late 2009, led by a sharp increase in seriously overdue home loans held by the most credit-worthy borrowers, U.S. banking regulators said on Thursday.

In a global significant breakthrough, Australia has led the development of a new lens that can slow a short-sighted person's rate of vision deterioration and aid them to see.

U.S. gold futures finished Thursday with moderate gains, bouncing from a 6-week low hit overnight, and ending a choppy session in which prices were batted around by gyrations in the euro, oil and U.S. equity prices as well as impact from gold options expirations. * For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/].

The number of workers filing for jobless aid fell sharply last week and a gauge of underlying labor market trends hit a 1-1/2 year low, boosting hopes the economy is on the verge of creating jobs.

The United States urgently needs to invest more in nanotechnology if it is to maintain its global lead in the emerging field, according to a report issued on Thursday to U.S. President Barack Obama.

State regulators said they are taking control of roughly $64 billion of the worst assets at U.S. bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc .

U.S. securities regulators are looking at some trades of hedge funds Carlson Capital LP and Appaloosa Management LP, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Two of the largest U.S. manufacturers said the healthcare overhaul will cost them millions of dollars this year, but the White House dismissed their complaints, saying it was simply closing a tax loophole.