The yen drifted lower against the dollar on Thursday, eating into some of its gains made the previous day, but market activity slowed ahead of the Easter holiday weekend. Volatility in stock markets has been buffeting investors' risk appetite, prompting them to cut bets built in recent weeks on higher-yielding currencies like the Australian dollar
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Switzerland's unemployment rate held at its highest levels in nearly three years in March, as the recession continued to take its toll on the country's labour market. The March rate stood at 3.4 percent, the same as February, when it rose to the highest level since April 2006, data from the State Secretariat for Economic
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The U.S. banking industry seems to be in better shape than many people think, the New York Times said, citing officials involved in federal "stress tests." However, many of the largest American lenders probably need to be bailed out again, either by private investors or the federal government, the paper said. After receiving many millions,
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European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said recent Group of 20 decisions should be introduced quickly and as professionally as possible. "I would not put the accent on one measure (from the G20) in particular. All are important and have to be considered together. They seem to me to cover all the significant aspects of
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Nintendo Co said that it would launch a new version of its blockbuster "Wii Sports" software in Japan in June to shore up flagging Wii console sales in its home market but that it planned no hardware price cuts at the moment. Nintendo's earlier "Wii Sports" game helped drive its console sales. The game allows
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Japan's Nikkei average climbed 3.7 percent to a three-month closing high on Thursday, with Sony Corp and other electronics firms cheered by an economic stimulus plan that spurred hopes of revived consumer spending. Automakers and solar power-related firms gained after a draft of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party stimulus plan showed it will feature bigger
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Demand for visas for highly skilled workers has fallen sharply from last year as the American economy has slowed, the U.S. Homeland Security Department said on Wednesday. The department's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency said they had so far received slightly more than half the applications it needs to fill the 85,000 spots for
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By Eva Kuehnen It has neither train station nor cinema, but this Bavarian town has not been bypassed by globalisation. Ambition and leverage have brought it to its deepest crisis since World War Two. Herzogenaurach — called "Herzo" by many of its population of almost 23,000 — has a 120-year history in shoe-making. As home
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Japan should spend a larger-than-expected $154 billion to stimulate its economy, the country's ruling party said on Thursday, but South Korea's central bank left interest rates unchanged and said the economy there was levelling off after a rapid decline. More big job losses in Australia and a gloomier outlook from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday
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Asian stocks pushed back towards a six-month high on Thursday as technology shares resumed their rally, while Japan's surprisingly big stimulus spending and signs of stabilising economic activity drove up government bond yields. Shares in tech-heavy Taiwan — one of the best performing stock markets in the world this year — led the rise in
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