MICHIGAN

U.S. consumers felt much more upbeat about the economy in April, a month when the country's battered manufacturing sector also appeared to be crawling out of a deep recessionary hole, reports showed on Friday.

The greenback was in the Thursday session, higher against the yen while slumping against the Australian dollar.

U.S. consumers felt much more upbeat about the economy in April, a month when the nation's manufacturing sector also appeared to be crawling out of a deep recessionary hole, reports showed on Friday.

Chrysler LLC will file for bankruptcy on Thursday after talks to restructure its debt with lenders broke down, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday.

Chrysler LLC -- battered for the past two years by disappearing global auto sales and the credit crisis -- filed for bankruptcy on Thursday and announced an industry-changing deal with Fiat after talks to restructure its debt broke down.

Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy on Thursday after talks to restructure its debt with lenders broke down.

The U.S. Treasury has reached an agreement in principle with Chrysler LLC's first-lien lenders that may help the troubled automaker avoid bankruptcy, two people briefed on the discussions said on Tuesday.

Kate Harding has spent most of her life on one diet or another, losing weight but always gaining it back. Determined to improve her quality of life, she joined a fast-growing group of anti-dieting activists promoting overweight people's civil rights.

Whirlpool Corp reported a surprise quarterly profit on Monday as cost-cutting efforts helped the world's biggest appliance maker weather a slump in global sales, and it backed its 2009 profit forecast.

Whirlpool Corp on Monday reported a surprising quarterly profit after cost-cutting efforts helped the world's biggest appliance maker offset a slump in global sales.

Whirlpool Corp , the world's biggest appliance maker, reported a lower quarterly profit on Monday as sales fell in the global slowdown.

There has been some progress in U.S. government-driven negotiations to save Chrysler LLC, according to a senior White House official, who on Sunday also did not rule out an attempt to complete the company's restructuring in bankruptcy.

With just days to go for Chrysler LLC to reach agreements to cut labor and debt costs or face bankruptcy, members of Michigan's Democratic congressional delegation said on Saturday the onus was now on the U.S. automaker's creditors to make concessions.

Bank regulators in Michigan closed Michigan Heritage Bank on Friday, the 27th U.S. bank to fail this year as the struggling economy and falling home prices take their toll on financial institutions.

Chrysler LLC's lenders offered to cut the amount they are owed in a proposal to the Obama administration that points to an acceleration in the pace of high-stakes debt restructuring talks.

With a week remaining for Chrysler LLC to clinch a deal with Italy's Fiat , the U.S. automaker is readying a bankruptcy plan but still focused on reaching an alliance with the support of the Obama administration, people with knowledge of the discussions said on Thursday.

General Motors Corp said on Thursday it would slash production over the next three months to cut its inventory of cars and trucks and avoid the risk of an uncontrolled shutdown from the financial crisis at bankrupt supplier Delphi Corp .

If any of the big three U.S. automakers is forced to sell assets in a liquidation, their brands and patents may attract the most interest, while the manufacturing assets could be a tough sell.

Political allies of the U.S. auto industry expressed serious concern on Wednesday to senior White House officials about possible carmaker bankruptcies with Chrysler LLC facing an April 30 deadline to cement an alliance to avert probable insolvency.

U.S. credit card companies are expected to use a White House meeting to put their best foot forward, despite an avalanche of negative publicity, aiming to blunt a congressional push for tougher regulations.

The Federal Reserve will not allow its unorthodox policies to trigger a surge in inflation, but may still need to do more to ease credit if the economy remains weak, the Fed's No. 2 official said on Saturday.