Business: U.S. Economy

FRANKFURT - German investor confidence fell in November from the previous month, a leading German survey showed Tuesday, reflecting doubts about the sustainability of economic recovery.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top forecasters are growing more confident the U.S. economy has embarked on a sustainable recovery, a survey released on Tuesday showed.

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Christopher Dodd will propose creating a single U.S. regulator that would strip the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. of bank- supervision authority, said a person familiar with the matter.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Albert Edwards, a top analyst with French bank Societe Generale, expects global markets to hit a new low in 2010, adding that he would not be surprised if the global economy enters another recession next year.

WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called for an immediate resumption of peace talks with Palestinians and pledged more steps to improve economic conditions in Palestinian areas.

WASHINGTON - All but one of the 19 largest banks have raised the extra capital cushion regulators said they'd need to withstand a deeper recession — a sign, the Treasury secretary said, of how much the financial system has improved since the crisis began.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - GMAC, the former finance arm of General Motors, needs more capital to meet buffer requirements under the "stress tests" of banking groups conducted this year, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana is offering state government employees voluntary unpaid leave, but it's unclear how many workers might give up part of their paycheck during a recession to help the state save money.

NEW YORK - The dollar slid Monday after the world's leading economies agreed to keep stimulus measures intact for the time being.

NEW YORK - Robotic toy hamsters, the latest Barbie dolls and stylish boots are disappearing from store shelves as holiday shoppers start to get serious. But don't confuse this with the days of Tickle Me Elmo.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's sour economy is forcing county governments to slash spending and scrape for revenue, according to a survey released on Monday by the National Association of Counties that showed most counties expect their budget gaps to persist through next year.

CHICAGO - United Airlines is shaving a few bucks off upgrades to roomier "economy plus" seats through Friday.

WASHINGTON - Banks expect to tighten terms on credit cards in response to a new law that aims to protect consumers from sudden rate hikes, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday's auction. Rates on three-month bills rose and rates on six-month bills fell to the lowest level in a month.

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Monday:

ATLANTA - Georgia has secured historic low interest rates on the sale of new state bonds.

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana taxpayers may not be in the mood to pay for bigger, better schools in tough economic times, but they're more willing to help school districts make ends meet in most cases.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Advanta Corp , a small business credit card lender in the United States, said on Sunday it filed for bankruptcy protection after the economic crisis over the last two years devastated its small business customers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As unemployment in the United States edges above 10 percent, anxious investors will look to earnings reports from major retailers for signs of life in the beaten-up consumer.

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Saturday stressed the necessity of keeping global economic stimulus in place until recovery is assured and opposed the utility of a tax on financial transactions as a way to dampen risky bank behavior.

WASHINGTON - It hurts more to be unemployed now than the last time the jobless rate hit 10 percent.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - With unemployment fast becoming one of US President Barack Obama's biggest domestic challenges, focus is shifting from "too-big-to-fail" manufacturing and financial giants to struggling small businesses.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Jason Rodriguez's marriage long ago went sour, his home taken in foreclosure, his job lost to incompetence, his finances sunk in bankruptcy. It was a "stress overload" for the man accused of a deadly shooting rampage at his former office, his lawyer said Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The jump in US unemployment above 10 percent for the first time since 1983 will pressure President Barack Obama to find additional stimulus to keep a fragile economic recovery on track, analysts say.

CHARLOTTE, N.C - Regulators on Friday shut banks in Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and California, bringing the number of bank failures this year to 120 amid the struggling economy and a cascade of defaults on loans.

NEW YORK - Its TV and print ads poke fun at the bait-and-switch tactics of other banks. Its interest rates on CDs have been the most generous in the industry.

NEW YORK - Oil prices tumbled Friday after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent for the first time since 1983.