Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva warned on Tuesday the country's economy could slide into recession, as he finally delivered a maiden policy speech that had been postponed after demonstrators blockaded parliament. Underlying the problems facing his new government, Thailand's fourth prime minister of 2008 was forced to make his speech at the Foreign Ministry rather
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By Simon Rabinovitch The biggest migration in human history has gone into reverse. China's ocean of blue-collar workers is streaming back to the country's farming hinterland, bringing thwarted aspirations and rising discontent in tow as their city jobs, their paths out of poverty, fall victim to the global economic crisis. Train K192 is a daily
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Oil prices and shares of resource producers rose on Tuesday as Israel began a fourth day of attacks on the Islamic group Hamas, while the flare-up of violence stirred caution among investors at year-end and dented the dollar. Japan's Nikkei average climbed 1.3 percent to a seven-week peak in a holiday-shortened session, but wrapped up
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The U.S. government expanded its bailout of the auto industry, while Japan reportedly considered a $110 billion scheme to buy bad loans from banks, the latest in a string of government moves aimed at reducing the damage from the worst downturn since the 1930s. Japanese stocks finished modestly higher on their last trading day of
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Asian shares advanced for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, led again by resource firms that could benefit from a sharp rebound in oil prices as Israel continued its attacks on Islamic group Hamas. Oil and gold gave up some of their recent gains, though analysts said prices could be underpinned in the short-term by
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Russia devalued the rouble again on Monday and Kremlin leaders urged government unity to deal with the biggest economic challenge in a decade. Russia's central bank began a gradual depreciation of the rouble in November in response to slumping oil prices, a worsening economy and investors' flight from emerging markets. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, facing
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Oil and gold prices surged on Monday following a flare up in Middle East violence, while an ensuing rally in resources-related stocks helped equities post solid gains. Wall Street looked set for a moderately positive start. On currency markets, Britain's pound hit another record low against the euro and the Swiss franc gained on safe-haven
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Crumbling home and auto sales pushed three Japanese insurers into merger talks and data from Europe showed the region's economies faced a bleak 2009. Consumers, investors, central bankers and politicians are hoping to see some signs of recovery next year from the worst downturn since the 1930s as governments pump over $1 trillion into their
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Cynthia Goldrick's daughter is in and out of the hospital for brain surgery, her mother has Stage 4 lung cancer and her father has moved into a home for the elderly. So when the Goldrick family's adjustable rate mortgage reset while husband Patrick was off work for a job-related injury, it eliminated the thin margin
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Central bankers seem to have dumped enough money on financial markets to avoid a repeat of the year-end funding scramble that caused chaos a year ago. Next comes what may be an agonizingly long wait until companies and consumers feel like spending enough to end the recession and banks feel confident enough to resume normal
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