Obama, Sarkozy discussed oil market conditions: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama discussed conditions on world oil markets during a video conference on Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the White House said, but declined to say if they talked about the release of strategic reserves. "The president and President Sarkozy agreed to continue their consultations about the tightness in global oil markets, in line with previous conversations," White House press secretary Jay Carney said during a briefing. ...

U.S.'s World Bank nominee heads to Russia, Peru

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. nominee to take over leadership of the World bank, Jim Yong Kim, is heading to Moscow and to Lima, Peru, on April 12-17 to seek support for his candidacy, the Treasury Department said on Thursday. Kim, a public-health expert and former president of Dartmouth College, has already been in Asia and parts of Latin and Central America to meet finance chiefs. On Wednesday, he was interviewed by World Bank directors. Two other candidates also are vying to succeed the current World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, when he steps down. ...

Jobless claims cast cloud on labor market

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for jobless aid hit a two-month high last week and more applications were received in the prior week than initially reported, suggesting a cooling in the labor market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 13,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 380,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, defying economists' expectations for a drop to 355,000. The prior week's count was revised to show 10,000 more applications than previously reported. ...

IMF may need less money to rebuild warchest: Lagarde

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is considering scaling back how much money it needs to rebuild its war chest for handling financial crises, and it may not strike a deal with members next week, the IMF head said on Thursday. "We need to cautiously reassess, and yes we are reassessing to a lower number in terms of risk, which will bring me to probably reassess a lower number of additional resources needed. I am not fixated on any particular number yet," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said. ...