Alcoa Inc., the world's third-largest aluminum maker, said Tuesday it will cut 13,500 jobs, or 13 percent of its work force, and slash spending and output to cope with the global economic slowdown.

His spirit broken by financial fears, German billionaire Adolf Merckle took his own life this week _ becoming the latest high-profile casualty of a global economic crisis that already has claimed the lives of executives in Europe and the U.S.

A measure of the U.S. services sector improved slightly in December, beating analysts' estimates, but pending home sales and factory orders both fell more than expected and the overall economic outlook remains grim.

All that money you're saving these days at the gas pump? You might want to put it in the bank.

German billionaire Adolf Merckle threw himself in front of a train after his business empire, which included interests ranging from VW cars to pharmaceuticals to cement, ran into trouble in the global financial crisis, his family said Tuesday.