Can the economy pull an Indiana Jones and avoid a recession?

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- If you've listened recently to some prominent Wall Street economists, the U.S. economy in the next two quarters is going to slip from the jaws of the credit crunch, hurdle the tiger-trap of the housing slowdown, swing across boiling oil prices, and land on its feet having narrowly escaped a recession.

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Merrill Lynch parts company with its chief executive Stan O'Neal, saying the 56-year-old has retired. more here ...

The UK pound climbs to its highest level against the US dollar in 26 years on interest rate speculation. more here ...

Swiss bank UBS reports a worse-than-expected third quarter loss, hit by bad debt in the US housing market. more here ...