News Today - Apr 20

* Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao calls for more surveillance of countries that issue major reserve currencies, but doesn't mention the U.S. or greenback by name.

* Losers outpaced winners on the new Fortune 500 annual list of largest U.S. companies. full story

* U.S. housing sales are near a bottom, and a third of sales are now of foreclosed properties, the chief economist of Freddie Mac, Frank Nothaft, said on Saturday.

* President Obama says he'll require accountability from U.S. banks that require additional bailout funds and vows not to put taxpayer money into a black hole.

* A major business lobby group predicted Monday that the worst of Britain's recession may be over, but growth would only resume next year, in a forecast just days before ministers unveil a crunch budget.

* White House Director of the National Economic Council Lawrence Summers told Recent US economic data has gotten better but recovery will be a slow process, "We 've seen some more mixed statistics after a period when there was no positive statistics to be found"

* US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner does not see a second wave of banking collapses and the government is ready to support capital-raising when needed, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday.

* ECB president Trichet tells Japanese media the bank is considering a 25-basis point rate cut and says that new 'non-standard' measures will be announced at May policy meeting.

* American Sterling Bank was closed by regulators Friday, marking the 24th bank failure of the year in US as the credit crunch continues to spread through the economy.