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The Bush administration's newly aggressive effort to help people facing foreclosure and shore up the troubled mortgage industry was sparked by growing concerns of an election-year recession, and the political damage that would cause, analysts said Tuesday.

The White House's move to deal with the growing foreclosure rate comes amid concerns about the '08 elections. The Bush administration's newly aggressive effort to help people facing foreclosure and shore up the troubled mortgage industry was sparked by growing concerns of an election-year recession, and the political damage that would cause, analysts said Tuesday.

MERCK & Co will pay US$4.85 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits in one of the largest civil cases ever in the United States, the company said yesterday. Merck faced about 26,600 lawsuits representing 47,000 plaintiffs, plus about 265 potential class action cases, filed by people or family members who claimed the drug Vioxx proved fatal or injured its users. The agreement is to cover cases filed in federal and state courts. The deal becomes binding only if 85 percent of all plaintiffs agree to drop their cases. It was finalized in the early morning hours after attorneys for Merck and the plaintiffs met with three of the four judges overseeing nearly all Vioxx claims. Merck could put the uncertainty of millions of dollars in possible settlements that have plagued the pharmaceutical company behind it, though it has been successful fighting cases individually. Analysts predicted early on that liability could reach US$50 billion, but after losing its first case in a