UNEMPLOYMENT

The majority of the largest banks will continue to have enough capital to satisfy regulators, even if they suffer a financial shock that includes unemployment hitting 13 percent and a 21 percent drop in housing prices, the Federal Reserve said on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks soared Tuesday in afternoon trading, amid strong reports of retail sales and business inventories and buoyant sentiments from the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve officials decided to keep the near-term interest rates unchanged at ultra-low levels but offered few clues about plans for further easing, as highly anticipated, while the Fed noted recent strength in the labor market and that strains have eased in global financial markets.

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday provided few clues on the prospects for further monetary easing, offering just a slight upgrade to its economic outlook while restating concerns about the high level of unemployment.

A full-text of the Federal Open Market Committee's statement from March 13 meeting.

A Bloomberg National Poll showed 38 percent of Americans saying their situation is better than when Barack Obama took office, an increase from September, when 27 percent said the same.

The European Commission doesn't believe the Greek austerity measures currently adopted are enough. For 2013 and 2014, it is demanding additional cuts equivalent to 5.5 percent of the GDP, according to a report obtained by Reuters.

Obama's approval rating has fallen to a record low of 41 percent. What does this mean for the general election? The numbers tell a complicated story.

Spain announced it will adhere to budget cuts demanded by the European Union, ending the first tussle over new, stricter budgetary rules within the trading bloc.

Sales at U.S. retailers jumped in February by the most in five months, showing broad-based gains from autos to building materials, underscoring yet another hopeful sign of a strengthening economy.

Greece will have to slash a further 5.5 percent of GDP in government spending in 2013 and 2014 to meet agreed fiscal targets underpinning the second international bailout for Athens, a European Commission report said.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.56 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.45 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.54 percent at 0949 GMT.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum sought to distance himself from his GOP opponents with an op-ed tying Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney to radical environmentalists sounding the alarm on climate change.

As ministers meet to finalize the Greek payout, concerns have been raised that Spain may become the next challenge for the Union as it struggles to keep its debt-ridden Southern members afloat.

Black economic empowerment laws call for the transfer of about 25 percent of mining equity to black South Africans

Finance ministers from euro zone nations are meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss their likely final approval of a second package of rescue loans for Greece.

Asian stock markets ended lower Monday as disappointing Chinese trade data released over the weekend overshadowed stronger than expected US February jobs report.

Greece's deep recession and unpredictable elections threaten to turn the biggest debt restructuring in history into yet another short-lived reprieve, although the existential threat posed to the euro zone is not what it was.

Economists agree the current labor recovery is creating some jobs, but disagree as to which groups will benefit the most -- and what American society will end up looking like -- as a result. Their disagreements are full of useful insight that could be the base for future policies, if only policymakers were listening.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, recasting himself as France's savior from low-cost competition and high immigration, threatened to disregard European limitations on protectionism as he sought to give his re-election campaign a second wind Sunday.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will run unopposed for the leadership of the Socialists, party officials said Sunday, as the political focus shifts towards a parliamentary election now that Athens has secured a bond swap deal.