Freddie Mac reports Q3 loss, asks for $6B in aid

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time in two years Thursday, reversing a direction set earlier this year, as the new head of the monetary authority said Europe is heading into a mild recession. "What we are observing now is slow growth heading towards a mild recession by year end," said Mario Draghi, the former Italian central banker who became president of the ECB on Tuesday.

Washington’s latest exercise in debt reduction appeared to be at an impasse Thursday, as members of a special congressional committee barreled toward a Thanksgiving deadline with no movement on the fundamental question of whether to raise taxes. Talks continued between congressional leaders and members of the supercommittee, but the panel had no further meetings scheduled and no path to compromise on a plan to slice at least $1.2 trillion from projected borrowing over the next decade.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis's (BEA) first ("Advance") estimate of third quarter 2011 U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was reported to be 2.46%, nearly twice the rate reported for the second quarter. The improvements were broadly spread across all sectors of the economy, with consumer goods and services showing the greatest strength. Even the contraction in governmental spending that had been a fixture of the prior three quarters subsided, and the increasing rate of inventory draw-downs indicates that supply chains were struggling to keep up with consumers.