Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke listens to opening remarks before testifying at the Joint Economic Committee in Washington May 22, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

Bernanke offers no hint of pullback in Fed stimulus

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus is helping the economy recover but the central bank needs to see further signs of traction before taking its foot off the gas, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said .  Full Article 

IRS official refuses to answer questions at scandal hearing 11:38am EDT

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service official at the center of a tax scandal about extra scrutiny of conservative groups told a congressional hearing on Wednesday she had done nothing wrong but asserted her constitutional right not to answer questions.

A man carries his belongings through debris after the suburb of Moore, Oklahoma was left devastated by a tornado, on May 21, 2013.REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Twisters return, but Oklahoma short on shelters

The people of central Oklahoma know all too well the destructive power of a tornado, but residents had few basements and storm shelters to run to when the alarm sounded, officials said.  Full Article 

Men are silhouetted against a video screen with an Apple logo as they pose with an Apple iPhone 4 smartphone in this photo illustration taken in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, May 17, 2013. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

EU leaders shine spotlight on Apple tax policy

BRUSSELS - European leaders plan to discuss how to combat aggressive tax avoidance by major companies such as Apple, Amazon and Google and cut the estimated 1 trillion euros a year the EU loses to tax evasion or avoidance.  Full Article 

Firefighters extinguish a burning car, following riots in the Stockholm suburb of Kista late May 21, 2013, in this picture provided by Scanpix. REUTERS/Fredrik Sandberg/Scanpix

Stockholm riots belie image of happy Swedes

STOCKHOLM - Hundreds of young people have torched cars and attacked police in three nights of riots in immigrant suburbs of Sweden's capital, underscoring the country's failure to defuse youth unemployment and resentment of asylum seekers.  Full Article 

Soldiers open a road that was blocked by supporters of Sunni Muslim Salafist leader Ahmad al-Assir during the funeral of Saleh Ahmed Sabagh, a Hezbollah member, in the port-city of Sidon, southern Lebanon May 22, 2013. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

Syria rebels call for reinforcements

BEIRUT - Rebels fighting for control of the Syrian town of Qusair called for reinforcements to repel forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war which is spreading violence through an already volatile region.  Full Article 

Pedestrians walk past a Raiffeisen Bank branch in Moscow May 19, 2013.  REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

No easy pickings in Russia's banking market

MOSCOW - Foreign banks that once treated Russia as virgin land where easy money could be made are now finding it a cut-throat market tougher than some bargained for.  Full Article | Factbox 

Edward Hadas

Apple, hypocrisy and stakeholder tax

Politicians are hypocrites when they complain about the cross-border tax strategies of Apple and other multinationals. But "hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue." It’s high time that companies admit taxes on profit are fair payments for the help that governments give them.  Commentary 

Bethany McLean

How much does Jamie Dimon matter?

To his supporters, he’s the personification of everything that’s best about the financial system. But to detractors, he’s the personification of all that’s wrong with modern banking — the arrogance, the resistance to new regulation, the astronomical pay in the face of obvious mistakes.  Commentary 

Gary Regenstreif

What Hollande can learn from Queen of Hearts

So far there has been little to show for his economic policies. Some actions have backfired and others have not gone far enough.  Commentary 

Glenn Hubbard and Tim Kane

U.S. power: Down but still unrivaled

Beijing does not threaten to counterbalance U.S. power as gravely as America’s economy threatens to become imbalanced on its own.  Commentary 

John Lloyd

The European Union's unending quandary

As recession deepens in the euro zone, the political questions about what comes next are resurfacing.  Commentary 

Bill Schneider

Party opinion usurps public opinion

We are witnessing the slow death of public opinion in this country. It’s being displaced by party opinion. Elections today are less and less about persuasion and more and more about mobilization: You rally your supporters in order to beat back your opponents.  Commentary