Win a holiday

Tougher rules for private-equity bank bidders

Private equity firms buying US banks will be prevented from selling their investment for at least 3 years, under proposals by FDIC

US marshals seize Madoff $7m penthouse

Ruth Madoff, wife of the jailed fraudster, is forced to move after authorities take control of the Manhattan apartment

California declares state of fiscal emergency

Governor Schwarzenegger declares fiscal emergency with $2.8bn cash shortage and expected $24bn deficit

US companies sack 473,000 in June

Data reveals worse-than-expected losses, with a further 800,000 to one million jobs expected to be cut this year

Crabtree & Evelyn files for bankruptcy in US

Soap and moisturiser maker has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York after decline in consumer spending

Washington to force UBS to give up client names

Justice Department's tough stance over offshore accounts dashes Swiss hopes for bilateral tax treaty with America

Dip in consumer confidence spooks Wall Street

US economists had expected the consumer confidence index to clock a small rise after two consecutive months of increases

Judge orders Stanford jailed until trial

Bail revoked in US as Britain's Serious Fraud Office freezes assets linked to the Texas billionaire and alleged fraudster

Madoff victims tell how he 'killed our dreams'

Court hears emotional statements from victims telling of how their lives have been ruined by the fraudster

Bernanke issues denial over Merrill Lynch deal

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve said he did not tell the BoA's management that the Fed would take action

Cuban cigars may prove hand-rolled headache

American smokers could soon have the chance to buy Cuban but lifting the embargo could spark problems over selling rights

Military colossus beats swords into solar cells

Military contractor Lockheed Martin is using its expertise to explore ocean energy, biofuel and more efficient vehicles

So this is Obama's ‘light touch’

President Obama says he favours a ‘relatively light touch’. Yet he displayed precisely the opposite in a television interview

Obama to clean up regulatory regime

President’s plans, set out in an 88-page document, include a beefed-up Fed to oversee the biggest financial groups

What caused the great financial crisis?

We can blame the errors of a man almost forgotten: former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

Microsoft loses browser from European Windows

Brussels responds, saying software group, with whom it is locked in legal action, is giving consumers less choice

Paul Volcker warns of ‘long slog’ to recovery

The chairman of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board predicts continuing high levels of unemployment

Downsized Chrysler set to reopen factories

The US carmaker starts its new life as a manufacturer of small, fuel-efficient models after selling its assets to Fiat, of Italy

E-mails show Fed pressure on BoA in Merrill deal

Fed attorneys called Mr Lewis's arguments against the deal 'not credible' and said his position 'seemed somewhat suspect'

Obama Administration appoints 'pay czar'

Kenneth Feinberg will oversee pay at companies that received 'exceptional' taxpayer bailouts, including BoA, Citigroup and AIG