EU clears Peugeot restructuring plan, French state aid

BRUSSELS: The European Commission said Tuesday it has cleared a 7.5 billion euro restructuring plan by struggling French auto giant Peugeot Citroen, including the state aid to back it.

Fed policymakers expected to stay the course

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve holds a monetary policy meeting this week amid intense speculation about the timing of a wind-down of massive stimulus, although few expect a change in direction.

Lew says stubborn Congress risks repeating U.S. fiscal wounds

(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Sunday warned Congress against manufacturing a crisis over federal spending in the months ahead, as looming deadlines set the stage for a repeat of the political deadlock which two years ago triggered worldwide financial market turmoil.

CapitaLand to Alter Home Sizes to Tackle Curbs: Southeast Asia

CapitaLand Ltd. (CAPL), Singapore’s biggest developer, may alter the size of its apartments as it seeks to improve affordability to combat government measures aimed at curbing speculation and lowering prices.

Europe stocks rise after German data; Asia falls

TOKYO (AP) -- Asian stocks dipped Thursday as investors prepared for a slew of earnings reports in coming days that will give a reading of how confident companies are in the outlook for major economies.

Europe's factories signal return to growth

The strongest reading of private sector activity in 18 months may mean light at the end of a very long tunnel for the eurozone.

World Bank: Africa held back by land ownership confusion

Africa's economic growth is being held back by confusion over who owns vast swathes of agricultural land, according to a World Bank report.

Pope warns global crisis risks creating lost generation

Pope Francis on Monday warned that the global crisis risked creating a lost generation of jobless youth and slammed a cultural tendency to socially reject the elderly.

Britain sees signs of recovery, but who has been left behind?

Row upon row of Range Rovers and Minis gleam in the afternoon sun in the yards around Southampton docks, waiting to be driven on to huge cargo ships that will carry them to car-hungry emerging economies.

G20 sets growth priority to boost fragile recovery

MOSCOW: The G20 on Saturday agreed to make boosting growth and jobs, rather than deficit reduction, the short-term priority for the global economy as it battles to consolidate a "fragile and uneven" recovery.

Amazon told: time is up for tax avoidance

Tax structures used by Amazon to route billions of pounds from sales to British customers through Luxembourg, paying negligible UK tax, are among a series of international loopholes earmarked for closure in a programme of reforms backed by G20 nations.

S. Korean Cries for G-20 Focus on Yen Belied by Pick-Up: Economy

South Korea’s forecasts for faster growth and evidence of strength in sales from shipbuilders to carmakers are undercutting the nation’s warnings that neighboring Japan’s weakening yen poses a threat to its economy.

Greek MPs back public sector cuts amid protests

The parliament in Greece has narrowly approved a public sector reform bill that will see thousands of people lose their jobs. In a 153-140 vote, MPs backed the bill tied to the country's fresh 6.8bn euros (£5.8bn) of bailout loans, needed to keep Greece afloat.

G20 faces more market volatility: Russia

MOSCOW: The Group of 20 should brace for more market volatility even as an improving US economy allows the Federal Reserve to scale back its monetary stimulus, Russia's summit coordinator Ksenia Yudayeva said on Wednesday.

G20 to seek reassurance from Fed and China

(Reuters) - G20 summits don't always set the pulse racing but this week's gathering of finance ministers and central bankers in Moscow has a better chance than most of grabbing the attention of financial markets.

BOJ Beat: Kuroda No Longer Under G-20 Heat Lamp

When the top financial bigwigs from the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries got together in the U.S. last April, Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda came under the heat lamp with some of the developing countries who complained his policies could upend their economies.

Japan may press China on slowdown, shadow banking at G20

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan may press China at a global meeting next week for more information about a slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy and risks posed by its "shadow" banking system, Tokyo's top financial diplomat said on Thursday.

U.S., EU negotiators say trade talks off to a good start

(Reuters) - Trade talks between the United States and the European Union got off to a good start, but hard bargaining will be required to reach a deal by the goal of late 2014, U.S. and EU trade officials said on Friday.

G20 needs clear, predictable policies - Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 backs clear monetary policies, Russia said on Thursday, reflecting the concerns of developing economies that a withdrawal of U.S. monetary stimulus could cause market turmoil and capital flight.

Jobless claims rise, but labor recovery grinds on

(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, although the level still pointed to further healing in the labor market.

Asia-Pacific Bond Risk Declines, Credit-Default Swap Prices Show

The cost of insuring corporate and sovereign bonds in the Asia-Pacific region against non-payment dropped, according to credit-default swap traders.

IMF's Christine Lagarde says US "sequester" budget cuts inappropriate

AIX-EN-PROVENCE: The U.S. federal budget cuts are an inappropriate measure that will weigh on potential growth, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Sunday, urging Washington to present "credible" fiscal plans.

Portugal's leaders to detail coalition-saving pact

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Portuguese party leaders say a rift that threatened to bring down the government and caused turmoil on financial markets has been patched up with details of the coalition-saving pact to be announced Saturday.

Egypt Rating Cut by Fitch on Concern Turmoil to Curb Growth

Egypt’s credit rating was cut by Fitch Ratings on concern that the ouster of President Mohamed Mursi will damp economic growth and fan political instability.

Bank of England keeps stimulus program unchanged

LONDON (AP) -- The Bank of England refrained Thursday from pumping more money into the U.K. economy, citing improved signs of growth, as it held its first meeting since the arrival of the new governor, Mark Carney.

Gold at a huge premium as imports dry up; survival of small jewellers at stake

KOLKATA: India's gold imports in June are estimated to have fallen drastically to 35-40 tonne, less than a quarter of what the purchases in May were because of state restrictions, triggering a sharp rise in premiums in the local market and raising a question mark on the survival of small jewellers.

Closer to China by degrees

Recent news from China and America has caused some panic around the world and should reinforce the view that the Australian economy of the early 2000s will not come back, regardless of who is in power after 14 September.

Mortgage rates soar to 4.46% - biggest jump in 26 years

Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate home loans spiked 0.53 percentage points to an average of 4.46% this week -- the largest weekly increase in more than 26 years, mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday.

UK avoided double-dip recession in 2011, revised official data shows

Britain never suffered a double-dip recession in 2012 but suffered a deepercollapse in output following the financial crash than previously thought, according to new data that show the economy is even further away from a full recovery.