Euro zone unemployment hit its highest level in 10 years in May, data showed on Thursday, bolstering market expectations the European Central Bank will leave interest rates at record lows for now. The unemployment rate in the 16-nation euro zone rose to 9.5 percent from April's 9.3 percent as 273,000 people lost their jobs in
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The U.S. economy likely shed a further 355,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate hit a 26-year high, but for a nation mired in its deepest recession since at least World War Two that may be good news. The U.S. Labor Department's report due on Thursday is expected to depict an economy still wallowing
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Stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, as investors braced for all-important monthly jobs data. At 4:39 a.m. EDT futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 were down 0.5 percent. According to a Reuters poll of economists, U.S. non-farm payrolls data, the most closely watched U.S. economic
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European shares were lower in early trade on Thursday as investors took a cautious stance ahead of U.S. non-farm payroll figures and the ECB rate decision, with banks and commodities the biggest fallers. By 0815 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 1.3 percent at 854.87 points after rising 1.8 percent
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Top U.S. and European banks have lost more than $900 billion on toxic assets and from bad loans since the start of 2007. Losses by banks between 2007 and 2010 are expected to reach almost $2.5 trillion, roughly split between losses on securities and loans, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts. U.S. banks will take
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Britain's top share index fell 1.3 percent early on Thursday, as equities fell broadly, led lower by energy and mining stocks which fell on retreating commodity prices. Energy companies, which gained the previous session tracking higher oil prices, turned tail as crude dipped back below $70 per barrel. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow
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World stocks slipped from the previous day's two-week high while the dollar rose broadly on Thursday as investors looked to a closely-watched U.S. employment report to gauge the state of economic recovery. The world's biggest economy is expected to have lost 363,000 non-farm jobs in June, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up
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Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.6 percent on Thursday, dented by a fall in blue-chip shares as caution set in ahead of U.S. jobs data, but Hitachi jumped on a report it will boost production of lithium ion batteries for hybrid cars. Market analysts said the Nikkei was due for a pause after recovering some 40
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China raised the stakes in its long-haul drive to unseat the dollar as the world's dominant currency, seeking a debate on an alternative reserve regime at next week's Group of Eight summit. The global financial crisis set off by the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble nearly two years ago yielded new urgency to calls
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Oil prices were little changed just above $69 a barrel on Thursday, after falling in the previous session on data showing a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. gasoline stocks, which dented hopes of a demand recovery. The next major clue on the economy of the world's top energy consumer will come from the widely watched U.S.
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