BEIJING -- The International Monetary Fund warned the world's wealthiest nations Sunday to watch their surging levels of government debt, saying it could drag down the growth needed to ensure continued economic recovery.

The economic crisis is leaving "deep scars in fiscal balances, particularly in the advanced economies," John Lipsky, the IMF's No. 2 official, told the China Development Forum in Beijing. He said countries that have been going into debt to stimulate their economies should prepare for belt-tightening steps next year.

If Democrats manage to get health care passed by the House using whatever parliamentary trick or maneuver they choose, the Senate still must take up the bill. The question then becomes, what tricks will they employ to pass a bill through their chamber and how long will this continue to drag out?

It is clear that the American people do not want -- and the country does not need -- health care reforms at a time of economic crisis.

Until President Obama gave his State of the Union speech in January, immigration advocates, Latino leaders and millions who voted for him based on his promise to push for comprehensive reform were hopeful that he would soon lead the charge on the issue. They waited while the economic crisis demanded the president's attention, as did the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then came healthcare reform, and more waiting.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Donald Trump isn't firing "The Celebrity Apprentice," but he's bringing back the regular edition of the show with 14 ordinary job-hunters plagued by the economic crisis.

NBC and Trump said Wednesday they want to put America back to work with the show, which is expected to air this fall.

The original civilian version of "The Apprentice" premiered in 2004, then two years ago was replaced by the "Celebrity Apprentice" format.

BEIJING - China vowed Sunday to remain alert to any renewed signs of economic crisis and forcefully defended its currency, trade and more assertive foreign policies as helping global rebalancing, not undermining it.

Premier Wen Jiabao repeatedly took issue with United States, whose relations with Beijing have soured in recent months. To U.S. criticisms that China keeps its currency undervalued and thus harms U.S. exports, Wen said Beijing opposed "finger-pointing or taking strong measures to force" a readjustment of the yuan.

WASHINGTON AP) - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd plans to offer his own version of a financial regulation bill as bipartisan talks have failed to yield agreement on consumer protections and other sticking points.

In a statement Thursday morning, Dodd said that his talks with Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee produced areas of common ground but a "few outstanding issues remain."

New data show that German corporate bankruptcies were up 15.5 percent on the year in December amid the fallout from the economic crisis.

The Federal Statistical Office said Tuesday that 2,583 companies filed for bankruptcy protection in the last month of 2009.

It says corporate bankruptcies increased 11.6 percent for 2009 as a whole over the previous year. A total of 32,687 bankruptcy filings were registered.

Xinhua: China expects 8 percent growth this year

BEIJING — China said Friday it will target economic growth of 8 percent this year, avoiding any slip after it rebounded last year from the world economic crisis.

The Xinhua News Agency said Premier Wen Jiabao will announce the figure during a speech Friday that is China's equivalent of the State of the Union.

The growth target keeps China on a course to replace Japan sometime later this year as the world's second-largest economy after the U.S.

BEIJING -- China said Friday it will target economic growth of 8 percent this year, avoiding any slip after it rebounded last year from the world economic crisis.

The Xinhua News Agency said Premier Wen Jiabao will announce the figure during a speech Friday that is China's equivalent of the State of the Union.

The growth target keeps China on a course to replace Japan sometime later this year as the world's second-largest economy after the U.S.

Recent events offer evidence that the ground beneath our feet is shifting, both literally and metaphorically, and scientists and traders alike are noting the effects. In the literal sense, Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, estimates that the massive earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile last Saturday moved hundreds of miles of solid rock several yards, altering the Earth's axis by approximately three inches due to the shifting of such a substantial mass.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers on Tuesday urged businesses to embrace financial regulatory reform to prevent another severe economic crisis and ensure long-term health of their companies.

Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, reiterated President Barack Obama's call for stronger financial regulation, including giving regulators the power to properly address the failures of large institutions and protect their customers.

BRUSSELS, Mar. 1 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is urging Ukraine to intensify economic reforms, especially to reopen talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and make rapid progress in the modernization of country's gas sector.

"We believe Ukraine should go back on track with the IMF. This is the first step to improve the investment climate," said European Commission President Jos Manuel Barroso at a joint press conference with the new Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Monday.

WASHINGTON -- Donald Kohn, the second-highest ranking official at the Federal Reserve, says he will step down when his term ends in late June.

Kohn has played a major role in shaping the Fed's strategy in fighting the worst financial and economic crisis to hit the country since the Great Depression.

His departure will open up a third seat on the seven-member Federal Reserve board, giving President Barack Obama a chance to put his imprint on the central bank.

ATHENS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou received an invitation to visit Berlin on March 5 by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Greek government announced on Friday.

The announcement was made as the two sides try to reduce the tension fuelled by reports in German media on the Greek economic woes which were rejected as offensive by many Greek officials.

In the meantime head of Deutsche Bank Josef Ackermann visited Athens on Friday and held talks with Greek Prime Minister Papandreou, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou and the president of Greece's National Bank Vasilis Rapanos.

Billionaire Warren Buffett said Saturday that CEOs and the boards that hired them should pay a steep price if their companies get into trouble with risky investments.

As part of his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders, Buffett encouraged other corporations to develop meaningful penalties for top executives who misjudge risk so they will be more careful. Buffett lamented that shareholders, not chief executives and directors, have borne most of the burden of company failures during the economic crisis of the past two years.

* Greek PM says worst fears confirmed on economy

* Vows drastic measures to exit crisis

* Says German WW2 reparations not settled, goes to Berlin

ATHENS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Prime Minister George Papandreou on Friday vowed to ignore the political costs and take drastic measures to pull Greece out of a debt crisis threatening the stability of the euro zone.

Speaking to parliament after a visit by EU economic inspectors, Papandreou said Greece did not want other countries to pay for its debts but expected solidarity from its European peers as it struggled with worse than expected fiscal problems.

WASHINGTON - President Obama rejected assertions on Wednesday that his domestic program amounted to big-government socialism.

Speaking to a group of corporate leaders, he defended his spending, tax and regulatory initiatives as the natural response to a historic economic crisis.

Declaring himself an 'ardent believer in the free market,' Mr. Obama challenged a line of criticism that has fueled discontent with his presidency. The policies of his first year in office, he said, 'were about saving the economy from collapse, not about expanding government's reach into the economy.'

The Dalai Lama says the economic crisis cannot deter the U.S. from championing liberty, freedom and democracy.

Fresh off a visit to the White House, the Tibetan spiritual leader addressed about 4,000 people Tuesday at Nova Southeastern University outside Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Exiled for the last half-century, the Dalai Lama also spoke of the value of forgiveness, urging the audience to hate actions, not people. He says he maintains compassion for the Chinese even though he disagrees with their treatment of his people.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The air wars are beginning in the governor's race with a Republican television attack ad against Democrat Alex Sink.

The ad the Republican Governors Association is running statewide says that as a bank president, Sink laid off thousands of people while being paid more than $8 million.

Sink was president of Bank of America's Florida operations when it merged with Jacksonville-based Barnett Bank. The consolidation of staff and operations meant the loss of 6,000 jobs.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Obama is thanking governors for "helping to right the ship" during the economic crisis that hammered the United States over the last couple of years.

The state leaders are gathering at the White House for their annual Governors Ball following weekend meetings of the National Governors Association.

Obama praised them for their "ability to work across state lines and party lines." He said Washington politicians could learn from them.