UK & USA Today Editoweb 6 february 2009

Queen cancels plans for state visit

A busy work schedule has forced the Queen to cancel her annual overseas spring tour, Buckingham Palace said.

Palace denies royal visit cancellation

Buckingham Palace denied Friday that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip cancelled a state visit to an undisclosed destination next month amid concerns about the prince's health.

Snow-related chaos continues

Britain remained in the grip of winter as more heavy snowfalls completed five days of chaos with more snow predicted on Sunday.

Painkillers could ward off stomach cancer: study

Taking aspirin or ibuprofen could guard against stomach cancer, even if only in very low doses, according to a British study published Friday.

Bank rates fall to new record low

The Bank of England cut interest rates by another 50 basis points on Thursday to a new all-time low of 1.0 percent, in a bid to pull the economy out of recession by getting consumers and companies spending again.

I'm not violent: Meredith accused

A man accused of murdering British exchange student Meredith Kercher when she refused to take part in a sex game has insisted he is not violent and told a a court: "I find it hard to kill a fly."

'Wicked' loan shark guilty of rape

A loan shark who raped an impoverished customer and threatened to petrol-bomb another woman's house has been convicted of 18 charges.

Jobless rate 7.6 pct; 598K job cuts most since '74

Recession-battered employers eliminated 598,000 jobs in January, the most since the end of 1974, and catapulted the unemployment rate to 7.6 percent. The grim figures were further proof that the nation's job climate is deteriorating at an alarming clip with no end in sight.

Obama names economic advisory panel led by Volcker

President Barack Obama on Friday named an advisory panel led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to help guide his efforts to rescue the economy and rebuild the shattered U.S. financial system.

Wall Street shrugs off January job losses of 598K

Wall Street extended its gains into a second session Friday, as investors looked past another bleak jobs report and hung their hopes on Washington's ability to help the economy.

SEC chief speeding penalty process for violations

The new head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is ending a practice that she said had slowed the agency's enforcement efforts against corporate wrongdoing.

Wall Street rallies on stimulus hopes Reuters

Wall Street rose about 2 percent on Friday as dire jobs data persuaded investors that Washington would act quickly to deliver a stimulus package seen as crucial to boosting the recession-hit U.S. economy.

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