Will Barack Obama be the president with best stock market record in 21st century?

In the 84 years that the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index has been calculated, it doubled during the terms of only four presidents before Barack Obama's election in 2008.

Global Economy: Crash or Gradual Slowdown?

The debate over whether the world's economy is facing a dramatic crash has gained traction in recent weeks, as the euro zone debt crisis continued to dominate headlines and worries about other major economies like the U.S. and China grew.

Analysis - Policy-making gets harder in wake of global credit

Greece's latest austerity steps have squeaked through parliament, avoiding an imminent default. Politicians in Washington may manage a similar last-minute trick later this year to raise the U.S. sovereign debt ceiling, allowing the United States to continue borrowing.

But almost wherever you look in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, widening domestic and international faultlines -- including those between political elites and the people they rule -- are making economic policy-making a more anguished process.