Germany said on Thursday it was fully behind an EU-wide stimulus package aimed at pulling the bloc out of recession but insisted it would not follow others in "tossing around billions" to ease the crisis. An EU summit in Brussels, while dealing with deepening economic problems, also aims to put the EU in the lead
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Clouds of tear gas, flying stones and burnt out cars in Greek cities are stark reminders to outside investors of the sclerosis of Greek reform efforts and may even deter new businesses from starting up there. Greece has long been known for the speed with which demonstrations and strikes can paralyse the country, be it
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Full national accounts data show that the slowdown in Cyprus was fairly broadbased in the third quarter of 2008 and that public spending prevented the economy from slowing further. On Wednesday the Statistical Service confirmed that real GDP growth had slowed in the third quarter to 3.5% from 3.9% in the second. The sharpest slowdown
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European stocks fell and oil erased earlier gains on Thursday, hurt by uncertainty over a $14 billion rescue plan for U.S. automakers, while doubts about deep euro zone interest rate cuts boosted the single currency. The proposal to bail out the big three U.S. automakers passed the House of Representatives but its prospects looked grim
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The Swiss National Bank slashed interest rates by half a percentage point on Thursday, its fourth cut in two months, as it warned that a sharply worsening global climate would tip Switzerland into recession next year. The SNB said it had lowered its target band for the 3-month Swiss franc LIBOR to 0.00-1.00 percent from
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World oil demand growth will return in 2009 after shrinking this year for the first time since 1983 due to the global economic slowdown, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday. The IEA's view is in stark contrast to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which on Tuesday said demand is expected to shrink by
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The "nasty" U.S. recession will tighten its grip next year as unemployment rises and weak home and stock prices imperil consumers, finance firms and debt-laden businesses, a UCLA Anderson Forecast report released on Thursday said. Additionally, a sustained retreat in prices for goods and services is a very real possibility that would further drag on
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An attack by Germany's finance minister on other European Union states for "tossing around billions" signalled Berlin will not agree to spend more to revive the EU's economy at a summit starting on Thursday. Leaders of the 27-nation bloc want to agree at a two-day summit on a 200-billion euro ($260-billion) stimulus package to wrench
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Britain's top share index was 1.1 percent lower early on Thursday after mixed showings in Asia and on Wall Street overnight, with weakness in miners and financials countering gains by heavyweight oil stocks. At 0855 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was 49.71 points lower at 4,317.57. The UK blue-chip index closed 0.3 percent lower on
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Britons' expectations of inflation in the coming year plunged in November from a record high three months previously, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday. The BoE/GfK NOP Inflation Attitudes survey showed the median expectation for inflation over the coming year stood at 2.8 percent compared with a record high of 4.4 percent in
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