Italy's austerity drive can't save it from Spanish fate

Italy is just like Spain, just a bit more Catholic. That may seem like an obvious statement in religious terms after a steep fall in observance across Spain and when the Vatican City remains the home of the Catholic leader.

Americans Grew Gloomier About the Economy in May

Americans grew much gloomier about the economy in May, causing a critical measure of consumer confidence to suffer its biggest decline in eight months and ending a period of steady optimism.

EU says China, U.S. also have economic work to do

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States and Japan need to tackle their tax issues and China must relax restrictions on the yuan as they share responsibility with Europe for restoring global economic health, EU leaders said ahead of a June summit of the G20 economies.

Christine Lagarde: Greeks can help themselves out of the crisis by 'paying their tax'

Christine Lagarde has warned that Greece can expect little sympathy from the International Monetary Fund on its bail-out terms, and called for its citizens to "help themselves" out of the financial crisis by "paying their tax".

Greek exit would destabilise world economy: lobby

The head of the global banking lobby which handled the private debt write-off for Greece warned on Friday that if the country leaves the eurozone, the world economy would suffer badly.

Australia, China to Push for Europe Stimulus At G-20

SYDNEY—Australia will back China in using next month's Group of 20, or G-20, summit in Mexico to push for Europe's struggling economies to change direction and focus on growth instead of austerity, the country's Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Friday.

Eurozone economy 'in dire straits'

As if Europe needed more bad news, a report Thursday showed a big drop in manufacturing activity across the eurozone.

EU summit: Merkel challenged on growth strategy

EU leaders have started summit talks in Brussels with Germany resisting pressure to launch eurobonds as a way to ease the eurozone crisis.

Barloworld pins hopes on China and Russia

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African industrial group Barloworld expects Chinese and Russian demand for resources to underpin growth for equipment such as forklifts and trucks, its chief executive told Reuters in an interview.

Obama sees 'emerging consensus' on economic fix

CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge.

G8 Summit: France leads call to keep Greece in the euro

France led calls for a push to keep Greece in the eurozone as world leaders met for the G8 summit in Camp David after a torrid week for the crisis-ridden region.

Schaeuble Sees Two Years of Turmoil as G-8 Leaders Meet

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said turmoil in the financial markets caused by Europe’s debt crisis may last another two years, as Group of Eight leaders prepared to discuss Greece and its impact on the global economy.

Bank of Canada says G20 pledge delays to cost $6 trillion

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The world economy could forgo US$6 trillion in growth by 2015 if heavyweight countries delay fiscal and currency reforms they promised to implement in November last year, the Bank of Canada said in a publication released on Thursday.

China, SKorea, Japan try to ease NKorea tensions

BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of China, South Korea and Japan said Sunday that they will work together to try to calm tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Eurozone avoids recession after strong German growth

The eurozone has narrowly avoided returning to recession after recording zero growth in the first three months of the year, figures have shown.

Greek Crisis Hurts European Markets

PARIS — The dollar rose and stocks fell Monday in Europe, and Wall Street appeared to be headed for a weak opening, as politicians fumbled for a way forward in a crisis that has put Greece’s continued euro membership into serious doubt.

European Warning Over Spanish Deficit

BRUSSELS — As the Spanish government took further measures Friday to shore up the country’s banking sector, the European Commission injected a new dose of gloom by warning that Madrid was likely to miss its deficit-reduction targets for this year and next by wide margins.

Putin's reason for skipping US summit puzzles

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin on Thursday explained President Vladimir Putin's surprising decision to skip a planned high-profile visit to the United States next week by saying he needs to finish setting up his new government.

China economy: weak and weaker

Maybe China's leaders —currently embroiled in a complex leadership transition — should worry less about politics at the moment, and more about economics.

Germany warns Greece it will halt aid unless it commits to bailout agreements

Germany has threatened to halt vital financial aid to Greece unless a new government commits to the terms of the country’s bail-out agreements.

Greece must implement bailout deal, EU Commission ready to help

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece must implement the reforms it agreed to under the second bailout program and the European Commission is ready to help Athens with that, the European Union executive said on Monday, after Greek parties opposing the bailout did well in elections.

Egypt foreign reserves see first gain since 2010

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign reserves rose slightly last month, central bank data showed on Sunday, their first gain since a popular uprising unseated the country's autocratic leader and sent the economy into a tailspin.

German Yields Fall to Records on Safety Bid; France Gains

German bunds advanced, sending the nation’s borrowing costs to record lows, on speculation Europe’s economic slump is deepening and exacerbating the region’s financial crisis.

European Central Bank Opposes Higher Taxes

BARCELONA — Ahead of crucial elections in France and Greece, Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, warned governments on Thursday that opting for the “easier road” of raising taxes to fill public coffers would not solve Europe’s problems.

UK construction PMIs offer recovery hope

Construction continued to power ahead in April with strong levels of new business and employment, according to a closely-watched economic indicator.

U.S., Japan still mulling regional trade pact: Obama

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday voiced support for Japan joining talks with the United States and eight other countries on a free trade agreement in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, but said no final decision had been made.

Australia cuts interest rates as economy slows

Australia's slowing economy has pushed the country's central bank to slash interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 3.75%, in a sign that the eurozone crisis and the cooling in China are affecting the global economy.

Wall Street down; S&P on track for monthly loss

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its first monthly decline since November, after data hinted the U.S. economic recovery is stalling and Spain's fall back into recession underscored nagging euro zone stresses.