Brown ‘respects’ Clegg-Tory talks  —  Gordon Brown has said he “respects” the right of the Lib Dems to talk to the Tories about forming a government.  —  But he said he was still PM and, if talks failed, would open negotiations with the Lib Dems, after the election resulted in a hung parliament.

First hung parliament in UK for decades  —  The Conservatives have won the most MPs in the UK general election but fallen short of a majority, leading to the first hung parliament since 1974.  —  As counting continues the Tories have gained 92 seats, Labour have lost 86 and the Lib Dems six …

Jobs up 290,000; jobless rate rises to 9.9 pct.  —  WASHINGTON — More confident employers stepped up job creation in April, expanding payrolls by 290,000, the most in four years.  The jobless rate rose to 9.9 percent as people streamed back into the market looking for work.

U.S. Economy Added 290,000 Jobs in April  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy in April added jobs at the fastest pace in four years, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose.  —  The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls rose by a higher than expected 290,000 jobs last month — the largest gain since March 2006.

Obama to Seek More Power to Cut Spending From Bills  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama, in his latest effort to signal fiscal responsibility against the rising debt, plans this month to ask Congress to give him and future presidents greater power to try to delete individual items from spending bills.