E.U. Approves Dexia Bailout

BRUSSELS — European Union regulators on Friday approved a bailout for the bank Dexia that includes a €5.5 billion capital injection by Belgium and France.

Japan voters back new PM cabinet, economy top priority

TOKYO (Reuters) - More than half of Japanese voters support new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet, media surveys published on Friday showed, with the country's stagnant economy topping the list of problems voters want the hawkish new leader to tackle.

Debt Ceiling Nears as Budget Talks Stymied

The Treasury Department said Wednesday the government would hit its legal borrowing limit by Monday, setting in motion emergency measures to keep the government operating for several more weeks and serving as a reminder that the nation's budget wrangling could continue well into 2013.

Economy, Security in Spotlight at Gulf Summit

MANAMA, Bahrain--Representatives of the oil-rich states making up the Gulf Cooperation Council were gathering in Manama on Monday to discuss economic integration and security in the face of growing regional tensions.

UN adds about 5 per cent to budget for 2012-2013

UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly approved an increase of about 5 per cent to cover the United Nations' regular operations in 2012-2013 on Monday evening, raising the two-year budget to about $5.4 billion but delaying action on a key proposal that would allow greater mobility of U.N. staff.

World economy: US runs out of road as fiscal cliff looms

LONDON: The wheels could come off the US economy even before it has shifted out of second gear unless politicians reach a last-minute deal to avoid $600 billion in tax rises and spending cuts that kick in next month.

IMF extends zero interest loans to poor nations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Poor countries with loans from the IMF can continue to pay no interest until the end of 2014, the Fund's board said on Friday, as their economies are still recovering from the global economic crisis.

British Commission Says Bank Reforms Don’t Go Far Enough

LONDON — Regulators in Britain should have the power to completely split up banks, a government-commissioned report concluded Friday, adding that changes being currently proposed do not go far enough to prevent a future crisis.

"Fiscal cliff" drag on economy less than feared so far

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy showed surprising signs of resilience in November despite the approach of the so-called fiscal cliff as consumer spending rose by the most in three years and a gauge of business investment jumped.

Challenging France to Do Business Differently

PARIS — Louis Gallois, one of France’s most influential industrialists, knew he was about to make waves for the country’s Socialist president.

Bank of Canada should raise rates in late 2013: IMF

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's economy should start ramping up in the second half of next year following a couple years of sluggish growth, allowing the Bank of Canada to resume raising interest rates by the end of 2013, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

New-wave economies going for growth

They are big. They have young and growing populations. They have invested in infrastructure and education.

Eyeing growth, France seeks to smooth Algeria ties

PARIS/ALGIERS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande travels to Algeria on Wednesday to try to heal wounds left by a bloody war of independence half a century ago and to seek greater access to the former colony's oil wealth in an attempt to lift France's own flagging economy.

Spending Probably Rose in U.S., Home Sales Climbed

Consumer spending probably rose in November as Americans set aside the threat of higher taxes next year while shopping for the holidays, economists said before reports this week.

E.C.B. Sees a Healing Euro Zone but Warns of Risks

FRANKFURT — Tensions in the euro zone have eased noticeably since the summer, the European Central Bank said Friday, but it warned that the situation remained fragile in part because commercial banks were still in a weakened state.

UK credit rating threatened with S&P downgrade

George Osborne's economic credibility suffered a fresh blow on Thursday when Standard and Poor's became the third of the major credit ratings agency to put the UK's AAA rating on negative outlook.

China party chief stresses reform, censors relax grasp on internet

BEIJING (Reuters) - China must deepen reforms to perfect its market economy and strengthen rule of law, Communist Party chief Xi Jinping said in southern Guangdong, echoing groundbreaking comments by reformist senior leader Deng Xiaoping in the same province 20 years ago.

Arabs offer Palestinians $100 million a month "financial safety net"

DOHA (Reuters) - Arab states agreed to provide the Palestinian Authority with a $100 million monthly "financial safety net" to help President Mahmoud Abbas's government cope with an economic crisis after the United Nations granted de facto statehood to Palestine

Germany's growth forecast cut by Bundesbank

Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, has cut its growth forecast for next year, saying the country's economy might be entering a recession.

China to stick with 7.5 percent economic growth target in 2013: ources

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's leaders are likely to stick with the 2012 economic growth target of 7.5 percent when they chart a course for 2013, allowing higher levels of fixed-asset investment to offset weak export demand, sources involved in internal discussions about the plans say.

Euro blueprint gives Brussels economic sovereignty over members

A masterplan for “completion of economic and monetary union” has been set out in a confidential document to be discussed by EU leaders at a Brussels summit next week.

State governors to meet with Obama, Boehner on "fiscal cliff"

(Reuters) - With a few weeks remaining before the onset of "fiscal cliff," a bipartisan delegation of governors is set to meet Tuesday with President Barack Obama and congressional leaders in search of some answers about the impact of deficit reduction measures on their state budgets, which rely heavily on federal aid.

Japan candidates hit streets in first national vote since Fukushima disaster

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Candidates hit the streets on Tuesday at the official start of a campaign for a parliamentary election that is expected to return the opposition Liberal Democrats to power but risks furthering the policy stalemate plaguing the world's third-biggest economy.

Euro, shares rise on signs of Chinese growth

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro hit a six-week high and shares rose on Monday as signs of quicker Chinese growth boosted investors' risk appetite although gains were capped by U.S. budget worries.

US economy grew at 2.7% rate in summer

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate from July through September, much faster than first thought.