WASHINGTON - Chairman Ben Bernanke ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by saying the Federal Reserve will likely slow its bond-buying program later this year and end it next year because the economy is strengthening. The Fed's purchases of Treasury and mortgage bonds have helped keep long-term interest rates at record lows. A pullback in its $85 billion-a-month program would likely mean higher rates on mortgages and other consumer and business loans.

WASHINGTON - Already reeling from a pair of scandals, the Internal Revenue Service is drawing new criticism over plans to hand out millions of dollars in employee bonuses. The Obama administration has ordered agencies to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts, but the IRS says it's merely following legal obligations under a union contract. The agency is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses, said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the IRS.

BURLINGTON, Ont. - Newly installed Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz on Wednesday tried to rally business toward the kind of spending he says is needed to bolster the economy, while giving no signal about any change in interest rate policy. In his first major speech since taking over from former governor Mark Carney earlier this month, Poloz preached the virtues of "stability and patience," saying the central bank's long-standing target of low, stable inflation remains "sacrosanct."

President Barack Obama issued a call for Russian and US nuclear arsenals to be slashed in a speech at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday and warned Western governments against complacency, saying history's work was not done. Obama used the once-divided city's rebirth as a metaphor for progress, as he stood on the east side of the route of the Berlin Wall. "The wall belongs to history. But we have history to make as well," a sweat-streaked Obama said to an invited crowd of 4,500 people standing before the majestic landmark in sweltering summer weather.