David Lawder

The US Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to avert the "fiscal cliff" by stopping most of the tax hikes and across-the-board spending cuts.

A deeply divided and unproductive Congress wrapped up its final business before November's elections early on Saturday.

The United States on Monday offered generous financing for private investors to help cleanse banks of up to -trillion in toxic assets.

The US government will boost its stake in Citigroup to as much as 36%, bolstering the bank's capital base in the latest effort to save the bank.

World leaders pledged rapid action on Saturday to rescue a weakening global economy from the worst financial crisis in over 70 years

The United States Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed a key interest rate by a hefty three-quarters of a percentage point, the biggest cut in more than 23 years, after a two-day global stocks rout sparked by fears of a US recession. ''The Fed is very, very, very worried,'' said John Tierney, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.

In a bold bid to turn back a rising financial storm, the United States Federal Reserve on Friday cut a key bank lending rate and signalled a willingness to take more dramatic action to cushion the economy from tightening credit. The US central bank tried to calm financial markets by lowering the discount rate that governs Fed loans to banks.

The United States Treasury Department named two South African cousins as al-Qaeda financiers and facilitators, ordering a freeze on any US assets they may have and banning Americans from doing business with them. The treasury said Farhad Ahmed Dockrat provided funds to a trust used by al-Qaeda.