Central bank policy dove Janet Yellen was seen as the front-runner Monday to lead the Federal Reserve after President Barack Obama’s apparent preferred candidate Larry Summers’ surprise withdrawal.Yellen, currently vice chair of the Fed, and so the top lieutenant to outgoing chairman Ben Bernanke, appeared to have broader support among Obama’s Democrats who had become the first line of resistance to Summers.But the White House remained mum on who the president’s pick would be, a day after Summer

Apple Inc.’s new high-end iPhone gives a glimpse of future products that may be in store from the world’s most valuable company. A new motion-sensor chip inside the iPhone 5S lays the groundwork for wearable-computing products, while a fingerprint sensor opens more opportunities to make the smartphone a tool for making purchases at stores, according to technology analysts who study Apple. Another new processor chip in the device may give the company the chance to switch its Mac computers away fr

WASHINGTON (AP) ― On the fifth anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse, President Barack Obama says the Republican focus on budget tightening could widen income disparities in the nation even as the economy climbs out of a debilitating recession. Trying to lay claim to an economic turnaround, Obama acknowledged that despite progress, middle- and low-income Americans have not benefited as much as the top 1 percent in the country. “We came in, stabilized the situation,” he told ABC’s “This Wee

LISBON (AFP) ― International auditors arrive in Lisbon on Monday to begin an eighth evaluation of Portugal’s economy under its 78 billion euro bailout as government austerity measures get bogged down and borrowing costs soar.The experts from Portugal’s so-called “troika” of creditors ― the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank ― will assess Lisbon’s progress in implementing reforms agreed to in exchange for the bailout granted in May 2011.The evaluati

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― President Barack Obama announced Friday he would name Jeffrey Zients, a management expert who has led his budget office, as his new top economic adviser from Jan. 1.Zients, who twice served as acting budget director under Obama as well as the government’s chief performance officer, will replace Gene Sperling as director of the National Economic Council. The appointment comes as Obama faces a constant fight with Republicans over boosting the economy and cutting the government’s

China’s plan for a free trade zone in Shanghai is “very positive” and will help improve the country’s competitiveness, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said. “Every single country in the world is trying to become competitive and I think this free trade zone will allow China to become more competitive,” Kim said at a briefing in Shanghai Sunday at the start of a four-day visit. The government is committed to financial and fiscal policy reforms which will pave the way for long-term expansion, he

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the foundations of a growth rebound aren’t solid while cautioning that stimulus won’t help resolve deep-rooted issues in the world’s second-largest economy. “The foundation of an economic recovery is not solid yet with many uncertain factors,” Li said in a speech Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China. The nation is taking steps to stabilize growth and can achieve the main economic targets this year, Li said. Policy makers have signaled they will d