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U.S. President Barack Obama is defending a proposed new agency designed to protect American consumers against deceptive practices by the financial services industry.
In his weekly address Saturday, Mr. Obama says a breakdown in government oversight led to an "epidemic of irresponsibility" from Wall Street to Washington, ultimately triggering the current economic crisis.
The president proposed a set of new regulatory reforms earlier this week, including a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. He says the new agency will have the power to set tough new rules to force companies to offer innovative products that Americans can understand.
Mr. Obama says his proposals are facing strong opposition from the business community. But he warns that he is ready to fight them to prevent a similar crisis from happening again.
In their weekly address, opposition Republicans are strongly criticizing Democratic efforts to overhaul the U.S. health care system. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell argues that the Democratic proposals would lead to higher deficits and hurt the economy.
He referred to a recent study by the Congressional Budget Office that two competing Democratic plans would cost over $1 trillion over 10 years.
The cost of living in the United States has fallen at the sharpest rate in about six decades.
Wednesday's report from the Labor Department is fresh evidence that the recession is keeping businesses from raising prices and workers from demanding raises.
The data show that the U.S. consumer price index fell 1.3 percent in the 12-month period that ended in May. While costs fell for the year, there was a slight increase in prices (one-tenth of a percent) in May.
The recession is also cutting U.S. trade with the rest of the world. A Commerce Department report Wednesday says U.S. exports and imports dropped sharply.
The gap between the value of goods and services Americans buy from foreigners and what they sell abroad (the current account deficit) shrank to just over $100 billion for the first three months of this year.
Meanwhile, two of the world's top package delivery companies say the worst of the recession may be over.
Many economists look at U.S.-based United Parcel Service and FedEx as bellwethers because consumers and businesses send more packages when economic conditions are good.
FedEx said Tuesday it expects the next six months will be "extremely difficult" but that the company's fortunes should improve by early next year.
FedEx says revenue for the three months ending in May, $7.85 billion, fell 20 percent compared to the same time last year.
On Tuesday, UPS Chief Executive Scott Davis predicted the recession would be over by the end of the year.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
