Greece is putting finishing touches to a major overhaul of its pension system, one of the cornerstones of a policy programme agreed with the EU and the IMF to put its derailed finances back on track. In a draft law expected this week, most likely on Wednesday, the government will cut pension benefits, curb widespread

Britain's top share index pushed higher near midday on Monday as a move by China to let the yuan rise brightened the demand outlook for commodities and improved investor's risk appetite, powering gains in miners and banks. By 1046 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 55.96 points, or 1.1 percent, higher at 5,306.80, having earlier touched

European Central Bank policymakers pressed governments on Monday to follow even stricter budget rules and open their books to external monitoring as they stepped up calls for a new carrot-and-stick approach to fiscal policy. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said governments must bolster the confidence of consumers and investors by sticking to tough fiscal goals to

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, stressing that tax reform was vital to repair the country's tattered finances, told a news conference that full-fledged debate on a sales tax rise would begin after a July 11 election. Kan also said he expects fiscal reform to be a focus of discussions at upcoming G8 and G20 summits

China's yuan surged on Monday the most since its revaluation in 2005, sending a clear signal ahead of this weekend's G20 summit that Beijing is sticking to its word of allowing greater currency flexibility. The central bank has maintained the peg since the middle of 2008, a controversial policy aimed at steadying the world's fastest-growing

The biggest threat to Britain's economy is its huge budget deficit, and an emergency budget on Tuesday will save the country from the fate of debt-stricken Greece, British finance minister George Osborne said. Measures expected to be included in the budget include a bank levy and reform of welfare benefits and public sector pay. Other

The euro zone has a strong programme in place to help debt-laden countries like Greece, and the euro is a very credible currency, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet told Russia Today in an interview broadcast on Monday. "In the case of…Greece…we are in a situation where we have a strong programme and we are very keen

The Australian dollar cut some of its earlier sharp gains and the euro pulled back from a four-week high against the dollar on Monday after a sign that China would proceed only gradually in its push to make the yuan more flexible. China's central bank set the yuan's daily mid-point at 6.8275 against the dollar

The volume of Greek government debt traded on the central bank's electronic system (HDAT) fell 87 percent month-on-month in May to 1.4 billion euros ($1.73 billion) from 10.6 billion in April, the central bank said. The Bank of Greece said the fall was sharper year-on-year as 20.2 billion euros of government paper had changed hands