President Barack Obama and leaders in the U.S. Congress will attempt to reach a spending-cut deal on Thursday that would avert a dangerous government shutdown at week's end. Mindful of a midnight Friday deadline when temporary government funding runs out, Obama called on negotiators to work around the clock to iron out "relatively narrow differences"
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Chinese police said the detained artist and activist Ai Weiwei is being investigated for "suspected economic crimes", while his family said on Thursday he was the victim of a political crackdown also decried by the departing U.S. ambassador. "Police said late Wednesday they are investigating Ai Weiwei for suspected economic crimes in accordance with the
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Japan pumped nitrogen into a crippled nuclear reactor on Thursday, trying to prevent an explosive build-up of hydrogen gas, as the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years fired debate over the safety of atomic power in the United States. In a sign of growing international concern over radiation fall-out from the earthquake-wrecked Japanese plant,
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The euro clung near a 14-month high against the dollar ahead of an expected euro zone interest rate rise on Thursday, while gold held close to a record scaled on the back of the U.S. currency's weakness and inflation worries. Asian shares were lacklustre, with the Nikkei rising, as investors who had bet on the
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Portugal's financial sector can expect some relief after the caretaker government decided to seek financial aid after months of what many economists said was a refusal to acknowledge economic reality. But Lisbon will have to agree to tough austerity targets to obtain a bailout, and how quickly a deal can be negotiated at the start
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Oil prices hit fresh peaks on Wednesday, rising to highest since August 2008, buoyed by unrest in the Middle East and North Africa and dollar weakness ahead of an expected European Central Bank interest rate increase. Brent crude rose $1 to breach through $123 a barrel at 1454 GMT, its highest since August 2008, and
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Italy and other countries should increase aid donations to help stop uprisings in Africa and the Middle East spreading long-term unrest across the region and Europe, the EU's development chief told Reuters. Andris Piebalgs said Italy needed to almost double its contribution to around 4.3 bln euros ($6.14 bln) to help the region where uprisings
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Most Greek banks have adequate capital to pass upcoming EU stress tests, the chairman of the country's largest lender National Bank said on Wednesday. European banks have to pass a second round of stress tests this year to show they have adequate capital to weather shock conditions. "Greek banks, except ATEbank passed the stress test
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. What the ruling communists have not yet realised (or perhaps refuse to acknowledge) is that the Central Bank Governor’s job is not to be loyal to the President of the Republic but to ensure the autonomy of his institution from the political arena. This means that Athanassios Orphanides should be and feel free to
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The European Commission has asked Cyprus to respect EU rules that give nationals from the EU, as well as from Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, the right to buy a second home on the island without restrictions. As Cyprus is still maintaining the restrictive measures, nationals from the EU/EEA are hampered in their efforts to acquire
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