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U. S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday, October 3, participated in the first presidential debate at the University of Denver.

The two men clashed over the role of government, taxes and healthcare, mirroring a deep divide in the ideologies of the two parties.

Romney criticized the Obama government for 8.1 per cent unemployment and weak economic growth. He said that Obama government was spending more, taxing more and regulating more, and added that it was not the right answer for American economy.

Drug maker Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has lost the Depakote drug case in the US and has been sentenced to pay criminal liabilities.

U. S. District Court Judge Samuel Wilson of the Western District of Virginia ahs ordered the company to pay $500 million in criminal fine, forfeit another $198.5 million and pay $1.5 million to the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The company will also face a five year term of probation after it was proven guilty in the court.

The US national factory activity, a key indicator of the American manufacturing activity, rose to 51.5 in the month of September from 49.6 in August, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

The rise of the index to a level above 50 indicates that the sector is not in contraction mode anymore in September after falling for three previous months. The index has risen above the 50 mark for the first time since May this year, according to the data released by ISM.

A British trade delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is visiting Turkey for attracting investments from the country and promoting exports to Turkey from the UK.

Mr. Clegg is aiming to secure deals worth £500 million and. He began the trip with the announcement of a series of agreements signed with the Turkish companies that are aimed at boosting the economic growth in the UK and helping in recovery.

The service sector in the UK has slowed moderately in the month of September and services providers cut jobs for the first time in ten months amid a volatile global economic environment.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of the country fell to 52.2 from 53.7 in August. The situation was worse for manufacturing and construction PMI's indicating contraction. The combination of the three PMIs was 51.1 for the month of September compared to 52.2 in the earlier month.

New Zealand's Fonterra Cooperative has recorded a fall in the average price of dairy for the first time in two months.

Fonterra's Global Dairy Trade-Weighted Index recorded a fall of 0.9 percent and the average selling price was $3,285 per tone. The Trade-Weighted Index covers a range of 30 products and contract periods and its recorded the first fall since July.