January 29, 2012
Greeks reject German plan for EU budget commissioner
Greek officials have reacted angrily to a leaked German proposal for an EU budget commissioner with veto powers over Greek taxes and spending. The Greek government said it must remain in control of its own budget. The European Commission says it…
January 29, 2012
Davos 2012: IMF issues austerity warning
Inappropriate spending cuts could "strangle" growth prospects, the head of the IMF has warned. Austerity programmes must be tailored to each economy, Christine Lagarde said, and not be "across the board". The International Monetary Fund has been one…
January 29, 2012
Spain’s unemployment total passes five million
Spain's unemployment figure passed the five million mark in the last quarter of 2011, official figures show. The National Statistics Institute said 5.3 million people were out of work at the end of December, up from 4.9 million in the third…
January 29, 2012
Growth in the US economy quickens in fourth quarter
The pace of US economic growth increased in the final three months of 2011, according to official figures. The economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.8%, the Commerce Department said. This was up from the 1.8% annual rate recorded in the previous…
January 24, 2012
Eurozone Chief: Greek Economic Reform is ‘Off Track’
Eurozone finance ministers' chief Jean-Claude Juncker says the interest rate on new Greek government bonds has to be lower than the 4 percent bondholders are demanding. Juncker said Tuesday it is clear that Greece's economic reform program is…
January 24, 2012
EU Bans Iranian Oil, Freezes Central Bank Assets
The European Union has banned new purchases of Iranian oil and frozen the assets of Iran's central bank as part of a Western campaign to pressure Tehran to suspend controversial parts of its nuclear program. EU foreign ministers agreed to the new…
January 22, 2012
Greek debt talks hit snag
The chief negotiators for Greece's private creditors have left Athens without securing a deal to write off some of the country's debts. The Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents the creditors, said a technical team would…
January 22, 2012
General Electric shares fall on lower revenues
US industrial conglomerate General Electric has seen its profits rise, but its shares fell after revenues were lower than expected. GE shares opened down more than 2% as investors reacted badly to the results for the three months to 31 December.…
January 22, 2012
Google revenues worse than expected
Google reported a 27% increase in revenues for the last three months of 2011, but even that was not good enough to meet Wall Street estimates, sending the shares tumbling. Google shares fell 10% in after-hours trading to $575. It reported 3-month…
January 22, 2012
Republican Mitt Romney ‘to release tax returns’
US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has said he will release recent tax returns on Tuesday. Mr Romney, the early favourite in primary elections, appeared embarrassed during the South Carolina campaign by the issue of how much tax he…