BARACK OBAMA

Congress was set to approve President Barack Obama's massive tax-cut bill on Thursday that is expected to boost the economy but pile onto a federal debt that some fear is nearing dangerous levels.

House of Representatives Democrats demanding a chance to blast the tax cut deal President Barack Obama struck with Republicans delayed a vote on the massive tax measure on Thursday, but House leaders said they still expected to pass the bill.

First-time claims for jobless benefits were essentially unchanged in the latest week, cementing a recent downward trend that remains too modest to bring down unemployment.

The Obama administration is setting conditions' to initiate the 'responsible reduction of US troops in Afghanistan, the White House review of Afghan war stated. The troop withdrawal is likely to commence in July as the review maintained that US strategy in the conflict zone has been showing progress.. It also stated that the Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan is at its weakest since 2001.

Wall Street was set to open little changed on Thursday after economic bellwether FedEx reported quarterly results that missed expectations, suggesting an economic recovery remained tentative.

Stock index futures turned flat on Thursday, giving up some gains after economic bellwether FedEx reported quarterly results that missed expectations.

Stock index futures were slightly higher on Thursday as investors awaited data on jobs and housing and corporate earnings from bellwether FedEx for signs of improvement in the economy.

The war in Afghanistan is unlikely to be won, US Intelligence reports suggest. Even as President Barack Obama is all set to announce policy review on the war in Afghanistan, two classified reports state that it could be improbable to end Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgency in the Tribal regions of the country. The reports however, have fueled a bitter row between the intelligence agencies and the military over who has a better perspective and proximity in the war zone.

A deal that President Barack Obama struck with Republicans to extend tax cuts for nearly every working American and spur job growth moves to the House of Representatives for passage as early as Thursday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat to slightly higher open for Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones industrial average and for the Nasdaq flat to up 0.1 percent by 0913 GMT.

The U.S. sued BP and eight other defendants on Wednesday over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mex ico, seeking civil penalties under the Clean Water Act.

With American businesses holding nearly $2 trillion on their books, President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that a meeting with corporate executives of 20 of the largest U.S. companies will help elicit a variety of ideas to grow the economy and boost jobs amid an anemic recovery.

The U.S. Senate passed the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 today by a vote of 81-19. It now goes to the House of representatives, which could take up the matter as early as today.

A deal that President Barack Obama struck with Republicans to extend tax cuts for nearly every working American and spur job growth sailed through the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg won the TIME Man Of The Year, the first tech executive to win it since Jeff Bezos in 1999.

Stocks fell on Wednesday as the dollar rallied after Moody's warned Spain its debt rating could be downgraded, bringing concerns about the euro-zone debt crisis back to the forefront.

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of social networking site Facebook, became the second-youngest person ever to be named the TIME magazine's 'Person of the Year.'

A deal that President Barack Obama struck with Republicans to extend expiring tax cuts for nearly every working American and spur job growth sailed through the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

A deal struck by President Barack Obama and Republicans to extend expiring tax cuts for millions of Americans and stimulate the sluggish U.S. economy received the needed majority of votes for passage in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

The United States will lead the rich world's economic recovery over the next two years while Japan and major European economies flounder by comparison, according to Reuters polls of more than 200 economists.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA, criticized the temporary extension of tax breaks, saying a failure to extend them permanently creates uncertainty for businesses.