Greece’s beleaguered conservative prime minister on Saturday pledged to drastically tighten spending and turn the screws on tax evaders if he is re-elected in early elections Oct. 4.

Top finance officials from rich and developing countries agreed Saturday to curb hefty bankers’ bonuses, but the proposed crackdown on excessive payouts so far falls short of European demands after the U.S. and Britain shied away from imposing a cap.

The nation was focused on a tropical storm spinning off the Carolinas and a hurricane headed for Florida. People were gaming out how a political novice named Sarah Palin might upend the presidential campaign.

G20 finance leaders on Saturday took aim at excessive bank pay and risk-taking at the root of the financial crisis and insisted trillions of dollars of emergency economic supports would be needed for some time.

Group Health Cooperative was created in Washington state more than six decades ago, started up by members of local granges, unions and cooperatives who were inspired by a physician who had established America’s first cooperative hospital in Elk City, Oklahoma.

Every day it’s a battle. The nearly 15 million unemployed Americans won’t enjoy Labor Day as a relaxing respite from work. Instead, they’ll once again need to prepare to get up, hit the pavement and keep hunting for a job.

The former CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp. is asking for the dismissal of the federal government’s civil-fraud case against him, citing distorted evidence and the omission of company disclosures, according to a published report.

The prime minister of France, the country perhaps most associated with the cherished “European model” of job security and social safety nets, warned Saturday that it may prove unsustainable because the region’s economies are too stagnant.

A veteran House member from Hawaii has found a way to help his state’s struggling construction industry — and boost his campaign for governor. The catch? It would cost taxpayers an extra $10 billion.

Poland’s 2010 state budget deficit is to reach euro12.7 billion , almost double this year’s gap, the finance minister said in an interview published Saturday.