Reuters - A weaker dollar cannot be blamed for soaring oil prices as policymakers around the world tussle with the twin specters of rising inflation and slowing growth, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Thursday.

AFP - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said here on Thursday that the US economy would most likely be stronger at the end of 2008, even as oil prices surged to new records above 146 dollars.

Reuters - U.S. employers cut workers from their payrolls for the sixth straight month in June for the country's longest losing streak since 2002, while the unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent, government data on Thursday showed.

AP - Wall Street capped a shortened trading week with a mixed finish Thursday after some uneven economic data: news of a contraction in the nation's services sector and a tame reading on employment.

Reuters - Tired of pumping his cash right back into his gas tank, New York City taxi driver Mohammed Kalair says he is considering quitting his job and going back to his native Pakistan.

Reuters - U.S. employers cut workers for a sixth straight month in June for the longest such streak since 2002 and vast service sector unexpectedly contracted, underscoring the economy's frailty.

AP - Employers cut payrolls by 62,000 in June, the sixth straight month of nationwide job losses, underscoring the economy's fragile state. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent.

Reuters - The Dow sank into a bear market on Wednesday as U.S. stocks fell on growing concerns about the toll that record oil prices are taking on the economy and corporate profits.

AP - Wall Street resumed its sell-off Wednesday after oil hit a new record and a bearish analyst report renewed concerns that General Motors Corp. could run out of cash.

AFP - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that the US economy was enduring "a rough period" and warned that home foreclosures would likely remain high in the near future.

AP - Orders to U.S. factories turned in the slowest performance in three months in May as a surge in demand for commercial aircraft was not enough to offset weakness in autos, heavy machinery and steel.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Thursday that inflation was becoming the top economic focus of many countries around the world as oil and food prices take their toll.

Reuters - U.S. private-sector employers slashed 79,000 jobs in June, the largest drop since November 2002, according to a report by ADP Employer Services released on Wednesday that may spell bad news for the government's labor market report later this week.