A year-old program granting movie studios tax breaks for filming in California has saved jobs and should yield two billion dollars in direct spending, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- seen here in June -- said.(AFP/Getty Images/Michael Buckner)AFP - A year-old program granting movie studios tax breaks for filming in California has saved jobs and should yield two billion dollars in direct spending, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said.


Ships assist in clean up and containment near the source of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill on July 27, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. The US House of Representatives on Friday voted to overhaul offshore drilling safety rules and to protect whistleblowing workers in a sweeping response to the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Chris Graythen)AFP - The US House of Representatives on Friday voted to overhaul offshore drilling safety rules and to protect whistleblowing workers in a sweeping response to the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill.


US President Barack Obama (C) makes remarks after touring a General Motors Auto plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. Obama, speaking to workers at a Chrysler plant, said that four consecutive quarters of US economic growth was a AFP - President Barack Obama took to the wheel of a new electric car Friday on a Detroit-area tour of the revitalized auto industry, touting his economic policies but urging the need to do more.


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People hold Union flags during a demonstration to protest the government austerity cuts in Madrid in June 2010. The IMF on Friday lowered its 2011 growth forecast for the Spanish economy to 0.6 percent from the 0.9 percent it foresaw in April and warned the recovery AFP - The IMF on Friday lowered its 2011 growth forecast for the Spanish economy to 0.6 percent from the 0.9 percent it foresaw in April and warned the recovery "is likely to be weak and fragile."


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Shoppers and pedestrians walk past an extrance to Macy's Department Store in New York City, December 2009. US economic growth slowed dramatically to 2.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, the Commerce Department said Friday, prompting fears the recovery is losing steam.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Chris Hondros)AFP - US economic growth slowed dramatically to 2.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, the Commerce Department said Friday, stoking fears that the recovery is losing steam.


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The Siemens logo is displayed at the headquarters of the German industrial group in Munich in 2009. Siemens said Friday that it has resumed full-time work schedules at German sites owing to a pick-up in demand, following the lead of the auto industry.(DDP/AFP/File/Steffi Loos)AFP - German industrial group Siemens said Friday that it has resumed full-time work schedules at German sites owing to a pick-up in demand, following the lead of the auto industry.


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The IMF building is seen in 2008 in Washington, DC. The IMF warned France on Friday that it would fail to meet its goal of reducing the public deficit to 3.0 percent of output in 2013 unless it made AFP - The IMF warned France on Friday that it would fail to meet its goal of reducing the public deficit to 3.0 percent of output in 2013 unless it made "further efforts" to curb spending.


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Leading shares in London slipped lower on Friday after weaker-than-expected US growth figures stirred concern about the strength of the economic recovery, dealers said.(AFP/File/Shaun Curry)AFP - Leading shares in London slipped lower on Friday after weaker-than-expected US growth figures stirred concern about the strength of the economic recovery, dealers said.


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The logo of French oil giant Total in La Defense near Paris. The energy company has said its second quarter net profit jumped 72 percent to 2.96 billion euros (3.86 billion dollars), benefitting from higher oil prices.(AFP/File/Boris Horvat)AFP - French oil giant Total said Friday its second quarter net profit jumped 72 percent to 2.96 billion euros (3.86 billion dollars), beating forecasts on the back of higher oil prices.


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A dealer counts US dollar notes at his money changer booth in Singapore in March 2008. The dollar sank to a 2010 low against the yen on Friday but firmed against the euro amid concern over the prospects for the world's top economy as investors await key US growth data.(AFP/File/Roslan Rahman)AFP - The dollar sank to a 2010 low against the yen on Friday but firmed against the euro amid concern over the prospects for the world's top economy as investors await key US growth data.


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