Main Street 9

 
While the Federal Reserve had been tipped to leave rates on hold, analysts said a cut looked more likely after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.
The Fed has sought to soothe nerves and earlier injected $70bn  into markets to boost liquidity.
Central banks worldwide have faced the twin threat of quickening inflation and a wider economic slowdown.
“The [...]

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Wall Street remained on alert late Sunday as hopes for a buyout of beleaguered Lehman Brothers faded and following extensive efforts by both executives and regulators to stave off a broader financial crisis.
As the weekend drew to a close, the Federal Reserve announced plans to expand its lending to the banking industry in an effort [...]

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After six years of steady decline, the U.S. currency is on a major upswing, fueled by fears of a global recession and a meltdown in financial markets.
The New York dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s value against the currencies of major trading partners, is up 14% off an all-time low set in the Bear [...]

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(Fortune Small Business) — With commodity, fuel and insurance costs hitting record highs, small-business owners are anxious about next week’s federal minimum wage hike, which will require employers in 26 states and the District of Columbia to raise their base to at least $6.55.
Next week’s increase of the current $5.85/hour minimum wage is the second [...]

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The economic downturn is hitting middle-aged and older American workers hard, forcing more than one in four to postpone retirement, according to a survey released Tuesday by the AARP.
Twenty-seven percent of workers aged 45 and older said they had put their retirement plans on hold because of the slowing economy, AARP reported.
“The current economic downturn [...]

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 Americans are feeling a lot more economic pain than the government’s official statistics would lead you to believe, according to a growing number of experts.
They argue that figures for unemployment and inflation are being understated by the government.
Unemployment and inflation are typically added together to come up with a so-called “Misery Index.”
The “Misery Index” was [...]

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