WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama signed into law on Wednesday the most comprehensive financial regulatory overhaul since the Great Depression, vowing to stop risky behavior on Wall Street that imperiled the U.S. economy.

Influential business groups lined up to criticize the new law, underscoring Obama’s uneasy relationship with America’s business community. Some on Wall Street, however, welcomed the clarity offered by the law after months of wrangling in Congress over what should be in the legislation.

The law, which got final approval from the Senate last week, targets the kind of Wall Street risk-taking that helped trigger a global financial meltdown in 2007-2009 and also aims to strengthen consumer protections.

Obama, facing voter unrest over Wall Street bailouts that have failed to spark a strong Main Street job recovery, pledged taxpayers would never again have to pump billions of dollars into failing firms to protect the economy.

“Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes,” Obama said at a signing ceremony attended by some Wall Street bankers, business leaders and lawmakers.

“There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period.”

With Republicans poised to make gains in the November congressional elections, Obama’s Democrats are eager to show voters that they have taken steps to tame an industry that dragged the economy into its deepest recession in 70 years.

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) – The cap on BP Plc’s (BP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) stricken Gulf of Mexico oil well appeared to hold on Friday, but officials intensified monitoring after a critical test showed pressure rising slower than they hoped.

BP began pressure tests on the well after choking it off on Thursday for the first time since the April 20 rig explosion that triggered the leak. Underwater robots scanned the sea floor for signs the undersea well was damaged.

“We’ve seen no negative evidence of any breaching there,” said Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production.

The tests, which began Thursday afternoon and are expected to last up to 48 hours, showed the cap was building pressure in the well, meaning it was strong enough to contain the oil without leaking. But it was not rising fast enough.

“We have decided to move forward with another six-hour increment (of testing),” retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the U.S. government’s point man on the spill, told reporters at a briefing on Friday afternoon.

Allen had said pressure above 7,500 pounds per square inch would show the well was intact, while pressure that lingered below 6,000 psi would signal damage.

The pressure Friday afternoon remained close to 6,700 psi – the same level as BP announced eight hours earlier — and was barely rising by two to 10 psi per hour.

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – BP Plc’s stricken Gulf of Mexico oil well showed no signs of leaking on Friday, but officials intensified oversight after a critical test showed pressure barely rising in the capped gusher.

BP began pressure tests on the well after choking it off on Thursday for the first time since the April 20 rig explosion that triggered the leak. Underwater robots scanned the sea floor for signs the undersea well was damaged.

“We’ve seen no negative evidence of any breaching there,” said Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production.

The tests, which began Thursday afternoon and are expected to last up to 48 hours, showed the cap was building pressure in the well, meaning it was strong enough to contain the oil without leaking. But it was not rising fast enough.

“We have decided to move forward with another six-hour increment (of testing),” retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the U.S. government’s point man on the spill, told reporters at a briefing on Friday afternoon.

Allen had said pressure above 7,500 pounds per square inch would show the well was intact, while pressure that lingered below 6,000 psi would signal damage.

The pressure Friday afternoon remained close to 6,700 psi — the same level as BP had announced eight hours earlier — and was barely rising by two to 10 psi per hour.

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – BP Plc’s stricken Gulf of Mexico oil well showed no signs of leaking on Friday after a new cap stopped the flowing crude, but President Barack Obama warned that more needed to be done before it was fixed.

BP began pressure tests on the well after choking it off on Thursday for the first time since the April 20 rig explosion that triggered the leak. Underwater robots scanned the sea floor for signs the undersea well was damaged.

“We’ve seen no negative evidence of any breaching there,” said Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production.

The tests showed the cap was building pressure in the well, meaning it was strong enough to contain the oil without leaking. The Coast Guard confirmed pressure was high enough to allow BP to test through Friday evening.

Obama, speaking at the White House, cautiously welcomed the news. “We won’t be done until we actually know that we’ve killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place. We’re moving in that direction, but I don’t want us to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

The U.S. leader is under fire to push BP to permanently plug the leak and clean up an environmental and economic mess across five U.S. Gulf states. The spill has cut into multi-billion dollar fishing, tourism and drilling industries.

The offshore spill, the worst in U.S. history, has spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) – BP Plc’s (BP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) stricken Gulf of Mexico oil well showed no signs of leaking on Friday after a new cap stopped the flowing crude, but President Barack Obama warned that more needed to be done before it was fixed.

BP began pressure tests on the well after choking it off on Thursday for the first time since the April 20 rig explosion that triggered the leak. Underwater robots scanned the sea floor for signs the undersea well was damaged.

“We’ve seen no negative evidence of any breaching there,” said Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production.

The tests showed the cap was building pressure in the well, meaning it was strong enough to contain the oil without leaking. The Coast Guard confirmed pressure was high enough to allow BP to test through Friday evening.

Obama, speaking at the White House, cautiously welcomed the news. “We won’t be done until we actually know that we’ve killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place. We’re moving in that direction, but I don’t want us to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

The U.S. leader is under fire to push BP to permanently plug the leak and clean up an environmental and economic mess across five U.S. Gulf states. The spill has cut into multi-billion dollar fishing, tourism and drilling industries.

The offshore spill, the worst in U.S. history, has spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For full spill coverage link.reuters.com/hed87k Breakingviews [ID:nN15261343] Insider TV link.reuters.com/hyr57m Graphic on BP shares r.reuters.com/dez27m

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – BP Plc’s stricken oil well showed no sign of leaking on Friday after a new cap stopped crude from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, but President Barack Obama cautioned there was more work to do before the gusher was permanently stopped.

BP was conducting a pressure test after it choked off the well on Thursday. Underwater robots scanned the sea floor for signs of oil leaks, which could happen if the undersea well is damaged.

“We’ve seen no negative evidence of any breaching there,” said Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production.

Obama, speaking at the White House, cautiously welcomed the news. “We won’t be done until we actually know that we’ve killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place. We’re moving in that direction, but I don’t want us to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

BP’s shares rose in London on Friday on hopes that it has at last been able to stop the oil that has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the past three months and can focus on the cleanup.

It was the first time BP managed to cap the flow since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 men and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Investors welcomed the news that the leak has been capped but remained cautious since BP needs to complete 48 hours of tests on whether the well will remain intact after a new tight-sealing containment cap was installed on the mile-deep wellhead on Monday.

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – BP Plc’s stricken oil well showed no sign of leaking on Friday after a new cap stopped crude from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, but President Barack Obama cautioned there was more work to do before the gusher was permanently stopped.

BP was conducting a pressure test after it choked off the well on Thursday. Underwater robots scanned the sea floor for signs of oil leaks, which could happen if the undersea well is damaged.

“We’ve seen no negative evidence of any breaching there,” said Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production.

Obama, speaking at the White House, cautiously welcomed the news. “We won’t be done until we actually know that we’ve killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place. We’re moving in that direction, but I don’t want us to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

BP’s shares rose in London on Friday on hopes that it has at last been able to stop the oil that has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the past three months and can focus on the cleanup.

It was the first time BP managed to cap the flow since the April 20 explosion that killed 11 men and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Investors welcomed the news that the leak has been capped but remained cautious since BP needs to complete 48 hours of tests on whether the well will remain intact after a new tight-sealing containment cap was installed on the mile-deep wellhead on Monday.

HOLLAND, Michigan (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday his policies were getting “an incredible bang for our buck” by boosting U.S. jobs, and chided Republicans for obstructing reforms he said were aiding economic recovery.

Speaking at the groundbreaking for a battery plant that has received federal dollars, Obama made no mention of one of his top reform goals — the sweeping overhaul of financial regulations now near final passage in Congress.

Instead, Obama kept the focus on jobs, which together with his handling of the economy, looks like dominating congressional campaigns ahead of November mid-term elections.

“What is absolutely clear … is that we are headed in the right direction — and the surest way out of the storms we’ve been in is to keep moving forward, and not go backward,” Obama said, in a familiar swipe at his Republican opponents.

Obama was in Holland, Michigan, to tout the benefits of a $862 billion emergency program he signed last year. Government spending has contributed to worry among voters about the country’s deficit, but Obama pointed to the benefits.

“We’re leveraging nearly three private dollars for every public dollar. That’s an incredible bang for our buck.”

Alongside his massive fiscal rescue plan and healthcare reform, Obama is close to victory on a sweeping overhaul of financial regulation, which he proposed over a year ago to prevent a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Obama is likely to sign it into law next week.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new domestic AIDS policy rolled out by the White House on Tuesday asks states and federal agencies to find ways to cut new infections by 25 percent, get more patients treated quickly and educate Americans about the deadly and incurable virus.

As an immediate down payment, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $30 million to develop better prevention methods using a combination of approaches.

“We need to ensure every HIV-positive American gets the care they need,” President Barack Obama told a White House gathering of AIDS experts and activists.

“We need to make sure all our efforts are coordinated within the federal government and across state and local governments.”

The plan directs government agencies to work together more closely to focus spending where it is most needed and identify where new spending would do the most good — for instance, among hard-hit communities of blacks, Hispanics, drug users and gay and bisexual men.

It urges the Food and Drug Administration to make review of new HIV tests a priority and says HIV patients need housing and other support in addition to medical care.

Many activists who have been in on the planning of the new strategy for the past 15 months praised it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli and Palestinian officials have narrowed their differences in U.S.-sponsored indirect talks, the White House said on Friday, dismissing suggestions that little progress had been made so far.

The talks, mediated by Middle East envoy George Mitchell, began in May and aim to bring the two sides to the same table to discuss obstacles to the creation of a state for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank alongside Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to move to direct talks without delay, but Palestinian leaders say the slow-moving U.S.-mediated talks have not yet made enough progress to justify the start of face-to-face negotiations.

U.S. officials previewing a Netanyahu visit to the White House next week offered a more optimistic assessment of the talks in a briefing call with reporters on Friday.

“These talks have been really quite substantive. We have engaged with both sides on all the core issues that are relevant to this conflict,” said Daniel Shapiro, a Middle East adviser to President Barack Obama.

“The gaps have narrowed,” he said.

Another Obama adviser, Ben Rhodes, said the president was encouraged by the progress that had been made in the talks, although neither official offered any specifics on how the two sides were narrowing their differences.