Reuters Top News: 19 February 2009
February 20th, 2009 • Reuters, Top Stories
- Obama housing plan will have impact in March: Bair
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration’s $275 billion program to stem a wave of U.S. home foreclosures will start having an impact as soon as March, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chairman Sheila Bair said on Thursday. - Netanyahu wins backing in Israeli PM contest
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances of becoming Israel’s prime minister again were boosted on Thursday by the conditional backing of an ultra-nationalist politician who emerged as a kingmaker in a close election. - U.S. judge rules Spitzer documents be unsealed
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge ordered the unsealing of documents in an investigation that linked former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to a prostitution ring, potentially shedding more light on a scandal that forced Spitzer to resign. - Sebelius considered for U.S. health secretary
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is a leading contender for U.S. health secretary, a post that will spearhead the effort to overhaul the healthcare system, a U.S. official said on Thursday. - Clinton to focus on North Korea in Seoul talks
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South Korean officials on Friday plan to discuss how to rein in North Korea’s nuclear weapons program amid talk of a possible power struggle in Pyongyang. - California lawmakers break impasse, pass budget
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California lawmakers approved a state budget package on Thursday to close a $42 billion deficit, ending a lengthy standoff with a slate of bills that aim to raise taxes, slash spending and increase borrowing. - U.S. seeks more UBS account records in tax battle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government sued UBS AG on Thursday, seeking disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service of thousands of the Swiss bank’s U.S. customers with secret accounts, the Justice Department said. - Obama reassures Canada on open trade
OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday assured Canada, his country’s biggest trading partner, he would not pursue protectionist policies and the two neighbors agreed to cooperate on cleaner energy technology. - Nearly 5 million Americans drawing jobless benefits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers drawing unemployment aid jumped to a record high of nearly 5 million, the government said on Thursday, as a worsening economy made it increasingly hard to find jobs. - FBI finds Allen Stanford in Virginia
WASHINGTON/ST.JOHN’S (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement officials found Texas billionaire Allen Stanford in the Fredericksburg, Virginia, area on Thursday, and served him with a complaint accusing him of an $8 billion fraud.
