Pentagon offset budget cut impact in key areas: Watchdog agency

WASHINGTON: When $37 billion in budget cuts hit the Pentagon abruptly early this year, officials took steps that minimized the impact on key areas like the Afghanistan war but also took action that could raise long-run costs, a watchdog agency said on Thursday.

Barack Obama chides lawmakers over flight delay fix, budget conflict

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama chided Republicans on Saturday for approving a plan to ease air-traffic delays caused by federal spending cuts while leaving budget cuts that affect children and the elderly untouched.

Spain's Rajoy adds some stimulus to the austerity

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's conservative prime minister is preparing a package of small measures - such as tax breaks for young entrepreneurs - to stimulate the economy even as he vows to stick to budget cuts.

Boehner: White House willing to "slow-walk" up to "fiscal cliff"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner on Thursday again rejected President Barack Obama's demand for increased power to raise the U.S. debt and charged that the White House seems willing to "slow-walk our economy right up to the 'fiscal cliff.'"

Draghi to Explain ECB Strategy to German Parliament

FRANKFURT—European Central Bank President Mario Draghi offered to appear before Germany's parliament to explain the bank's new bond-buying strategy, his latest attempt to convince skeptical Germans that the ECB's open-ended commitment to purchase bonds of Spain and other struggling euro countries is necessary to help resolve Europe's debt crisis.

Eurozone failure could spark rise in extremism, warns Nick Clegg

BERLIN: Europe faces a new wave of extremism and nationalism if the eurozone fails to resolve its problems, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has warned in a German news magazine.

IMF predicts European recession will slow global economy

A recession in Europe will slow the global economy this year, the International Monetary Fund predicted Tuesday, while urging world leaders to focus on growth more than budget cuts.The IMF forecasts global growth of 3.25 percent this year, slower than the 4 percent pace it projected in September.