Search results for

Markets all over the world posted significant losses Friday, following another rough day on Wall Street on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged at the beginning of trading Friday, but recovered a bit by midday.

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told House lawmakers the financial damage done to date means an unavoidable rise in unemployment in the U.S. Greenspan said the U.S. had been hit by a "once-in-a-lifetime credit tsunami" and that it will take many months for the situation to improve.

Tears of the Desert is the first memoir written by a woman caught in the war in Darfur. The author, Halima Bashir, was born into the Zaghawa tribe in the Sudanese desert. She went on to become her village's first formal doctor. But that did not protect her from violence in Darfur.

In this reading, Morrison presents a pivotal episode from her novel, A Mercy. The book explores the repercussions of an enslaved mother's desperate act: she casts off her daughter to save her.

It has been a bad day for stocks all over the world. Markets lost ground in Asia, Europe and the United States. Recession fears have spread, and investors are pulling their money from stocks at a frightening pace.

India's fragile relationship with Pakistan has been badly damaged by the attacks on Mumbai. Indian officials say the gunmen who invaded that city, killing nearly 200 people, arrived by boat from Pakistan, and the only surviving gunman is a Pakistani. Indian politicians are demanding that Pakistan's government act decisively to get rid of the violent Islamist extremists operating on Pakistani soil.

The attacks in Mumbai are part of a rapid escalation in terror attacks in India in recent years by a variety of groups. Indian commandos have been exchanging gunfire with militants for a third day. Two years ago, Mumbai was hit by a series of deadly train bombings. Kalpana Sharma, an independent journalist in Mumbai, tells Steve Inskeep what these attacks mean for Mumbai, and for the rest of India.

The Big Three automakers have presented their plans to Congress for how they will restructure themselves to make them worthy of a congressional bailout. Ford says it wants a $9 billion standby line of credit; GM has sought $12 billion. Chrysler is expected to ask for $7 billion.

One of the arguments made for a bailout of the auto industry is that it is a matter of national security. Is there a connection between the Big Three and the military? Retired Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, says it is a false argument to directly link the auto manufacturers with military-specific combat systems.

The full weight of the recession has come bearing down on the labor market. Employers shed more than half a million jobs in November. The unemployment rate is now 6.7 percent and economists expect it to go significantly higher. Layoffs are accelerating in just about every industry.