Quoting architect Daniel Hudson Burnham who helped rebuild Chicago after the great fire, ÔÇ£make no little plans,ÔÇØ is what Obama said on 16 April about tackling the economic crisis that has been the centerpiece of the US presidentÔÇÖs first 100 days in office.┬á It is not yet clear whether the $787 billion stimulus package or the $1 trillion bank bailout plan will succeed in stemming the sharp fall in the US economy, but it is very clear that President Obama has even bigger economic ambitions for transforming the US economy and ultimately rebuilding US power and presti

Twelve of South Africa's neighbors have vowed to supply electricity to help avoid power cuts during the 2010 football World Cup.   South Africa was hit by severe power shortages last year, which led it to cut some power supplies to its neighbors, and which led some to doubt its ability to stage the showpiece.   The Southern African Power Pool (Sapp), whose members include Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzia and Zambia, already share electricity supplies, and promised to transmit extra power to South Africa.

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German carmaker Daimler has marked a definitive separation from Chrysler by making a deal to give up its 19.9 percent stake in the US firm and forgiving its outstanding loans, the company has said.   Under the deal, Daimler has also agreed to three annual payments of $200 million (£137 million) into Chrysler's pension plans.   "In this way, Daimler is helping to secure pension payments to former employees of DaimlerChrysler," it said in a statement.

German carmaker Daimler has marked a definitive separation from Chrysler by making a deal to give up its 19.9 percent stake in the US firm and forgiving its outstanding loans, the company has said.   Under the deal, Daimler has also agreed to three annual payments of $200 million (£137 million) into Chrysler's pension plans.   "In this way, Daimler is helping to secure pension payments to former employees of DaimlerChrysler," it said in a statement.

President Barack Obama has told the bosses of 13 US credit card issuers to ditch unfair interest rate hikes and to be more transparent and accountable.   Obama wanted to keep the credit card market but to "eliminate some of the abuses" as politicians have expressed anger that many of the banks issuing credit cards with high fees are the same banks that have received government bailout money.   Banks say tighter rules would reduce income at a difficult time for them.

Dubai is considering two dates this year to issue another $10 billion of bonds, a government executive said on Sunday, as the emirate seeks to raise more funds to support state-linked companies.┬á Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saaed Al Maktoum, the head of a five-member Dubai government committee responsible for distributing the funds, said on Sunday the government was deciding between a "couple of dates" for a second bond sale, both before the end of the year. Dubai launched a $20 billion bond program in February, issuing the first half to the UAE central bank, and has since given m

The world's biggest software company, Microsoft, has experienced its first drop in revenue since it went public in 1986 as the global recession wounds its seemingly indestructible sales of computer operating systems.  Microsoft tonight revealed revenue of $13.65 billion for the three months to March, a 6 percent decline on the same period last year. Hit by write-downs of $420 million in investments and severance charges of $290 million, profit has dropped by 32 percent to $2.98 billion.