Business

December 2, 2011

UN Grim on World Economic Prospects for 2012

United Nations economists have sharply cut their projections for world growth and warned that 2012 will be key to whether the global economy makes a slow recovery or falls back into recession. In their report, World Economic Situation and…

December 2, 2011

Sarkozy: France Germany ties key to eurozone stability

The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said France and Germany must come together to ensure stability at the heart of Europe. In a major speech in the port of Toulon, Mr Sarkozy said he and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, would meet on…

December 2, 2011

US banks sued over homes seizures

Massachusetts is suing five major banks alleging "illegal" and "deceptive" conduct in the way they seized homes during the financial crisis. Bank of America, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and GMAC must pay for the "harm" caused, the writ…

December 2, 2011

Obama Presses Senate Republicans on Tax-Cut Extension

President Barack Obama on Wednesday made another visit to an important 2012 election state seeking support for his economic policies, while back in Washington Democrats and Republicans in Congress continued negotiations on how to pay for an…

December 2, 2011

Chinese Central Bank to Ease Lending Restrictions

China's central bank has announced plans to lower reserve requirements for the country's banks. The bank said Wednesday that it will reduce the amount of money banks must hold as reserves by half a percent (0.5) starting December 5. China's…

November 30, 2011

US confidence, tensions in Iran push oil up

A rebound in US consumer confidence and escalating tensions in Iran pushed oil to US$100 ($8,565)…

November 30, 2011

EU entering ‘critical period’ to resolve debt crisis

EU finance ministers are meeting in Brussels after a top official said the region had just days…

November 30, 2011

Eurozone unemployment rate rises to 10.3%

The eurozone unemployment rate rose slightly to 10.3% in October, up from a revised 10.2% in September, official figures have shown. The number of people unemployed rose by 126,000 from September to 16.3 million. The rate in Germany fell to 5.5%…

November 30, 2011

Largest project in Haiti nears reality

THE biggest international project aimed at helping Haiti rebound from the 2010 earthquake eased closer to reality at a ceremony Monday. Former US President Bill Clinton and Haitian President Michel Martelly broke ground for an ambitious US$224…

November 30, 2011

S&P downgrades credit rating of major banks

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded the long-term credit grades of a string of major financial firms. Wall Street titans Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, along with Barclays, HSBC, and some firms in Germany and France were affected.…