Momentum is building for stricter oversight of derivatives trading, as a top U.S. regulator backed limits on credit-default swaps and EU leaders pushed for a ban on speculative bets against government debt.
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![[ireland0309]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-HU542_irelan_A_20100310074134.jpg)
Debt-laden Ireland is winning applause for adopting severe measures that Greece has put off, but pay cuts and tax hikes have put public servants in some unusual binds.
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U.S. wholesalers' inventories unexpectedly fell 0.2% in January, as surging demand pulled goods off shelves in the first month of the year.
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![[FEDbernanke]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/GP-AA195_FEDber_A_20100309201302.jpg)
Long before the Fed raises short-term interest rates in the face of an improving economy, it will need to signal to the public that a change is in the works. Fed officials are intensifying discussions about how to send that sign when the time comes.
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![[2brown0309]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-HU531_2brown_A_20100310055108.jpg)
The British prime minister, whose government is under intense pressure to clarify plans for reducing ballooning debt, said a budget would be laid out on March 24, paving the way for a national election.
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Thailand's central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady as widely expected, but hinted at an increase at its next meeting if domestic political tensions don't interrupt economic growth.
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![[2brown0309]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-HU531_2brown_A_20100310055108.jpg)
The U.K. prime minister brushed aside calls to use the upcoming budget to accelerate the government's debt-reduction plan, even as U.K. manufacturing output fell sharply in January.
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Two new reports show that the job market continues to make small gains, though employers will have to do a lot more hiring before a dent is made in the nation's 9.7% unemployment rate.
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![[CECON]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-HU569_CECON_A_20100310111926.jpg)
China's exports expanded strongly for the third straight month in February, though they slipped slightly from January, showing a tentative recovery.
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![[EUROIMF1]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-BE835_EUROIM_A_20100307191131.jpg)
The European Union's executive arm said it is preparing proposals that could lead to the creation of a bailout fund for financially troubled euro-zone countries.
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Core machinery orders fell 3.7% in January after unusually strong growth in December, suggesting a full-fledged recovery in business investment is still some way off.
Greeks are bracing for a long and deep recession ahead as it begins to dawn on them that the cost of fixing the country's public finances will entail years of economic hardship and high unemployment.
Thirty states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate increases in January from a month earlier, while states registered rate decreases, the Labor Department said. But in a sign the job market is inching toward recovery 31 states added jobs in the first month of the year.
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
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![[SpainJmp]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AT972_SpainJ_C_20100224182722.jpg)
![[The French government slashed value-added tax on restaurants in July, hoping to lure customers back into eateries suffering from the downturn.]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AT281_Petite_C_20100111184612.jpg)
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![[Spendthrift to Penny Pincher: Vision of the New Consumer]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-FC645_christ_C_20091216201134.jpg)
![[Derek Figg sits in his Tempe, Ariz., home on Tuesday. He stopped making mortgage payments in September.]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-BC818_WALKAW_C_20091216184045.jpg)
![[Flipping]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AS810_Flippi_C_20091207182635.jpg)
![[Conti]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-BC577_RETIRE_C_20091207170623.jpg)
![[Dubai]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AS762_Dubai_C_20091203181725.jpg)
![[allentown]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-FA290_1203at_C_20091203172425.jpg)
![[Hallmark]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-BC498_HALLMA_C_20091203210113.jpg)
![[Bernanke]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AS720_Biubbl_C_20091201175452.jpg)
![[PT-AN066_Cover__C_20091127170828.jpg]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PT-AN066_Cover__C_20091127170828.jpg)
![[Lott]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-EY707_disabl_C_20091124162417.jpg)
![[house]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AS639_Housin_C_20091123183550.jpg)
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![[Jobs]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-BB927_WAGES_C_20091111163734.jpg)

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