Washington - The was widely expected to keep interest rates steady in the range of zero to 0.25 per cent when it releases its periodic decision on Wednesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee, which began meeting on Tuesday, is to announce its decision at 1815 GMT Wednesday.

The central bank has been working to revive borrowing and stabilize the financial system amid a serious ongoing recession in the United States, which has cascaded into foreign markets.

The bank could also expand its purchases of asset-backed securities and treasury bills with an ultimate goal of freeing up more credit lines.

Washington  - US president Barack Obama Monday added his anger to mounting criticism of the bailed-out insurance giant American International Group Inc (AIG) over its payment of huge bonuses and vowed to block them.

The firm has revealed it intends to hand out 1 billion dollars in reward pay, including 165 million dollars already given to the very traders who sold financial instruments that helped trigger the global credit crisis.

Washington  - US prosecutors intend to seize millions of dollars of homes, cars and other luxury items from disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, who pleaded guilty last week to operating a 50-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

A filing in US court shows prosecutors intend to go after four homes owned by Madoff and his wife, Ruth, including the property and contents of a 7-million-dollar Manhattan luxury apartment, a 3.4- million-dollar beachside home on Long Island, a 14-million-dollar waterfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, and a home in the south of France.

The World Bank entered the advanced stage of sanctioning $2.6 billion under a special loan scheme to India.

Out of $2.6 billion, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will get a $400-million loan, India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) $1 billion and Power Grid Corporation a $1.2-billion loan.

Washington - Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff will go to jail after admitting in court Thursday to a 50-billion-dollar fraud that entwined hundreds of investors around the world and has made him the poster-child of Wall Street greed in the current financial crisis.

Madoff pleaded guilty to all 11 criminal counts, telling the lower Manhattan federal court that he was "deeply sorry and ashamed," according to broadcaster CNBC. Judge Denny Chin accepted the guilty plea and said Madoff would go to prison until he is sentenced on June 16.

Washington  - Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty in court Thursday to a 50-billion-dollar fraud that entwined hundreds of investors around the world and has made him the poster- child of Wall Street greed in the current financial crisis.

Madoff pleaded guilty to all 11 counts of fraud, telling the lower Manhattan federal court that he was "deeply sorry and ashamed," according to broadcaster CNBC. Judge Denny Chin is expected to accept the guilty plea before deciding whether Madoff can post bail or be remanded into custody while he awaits sentencing.