Spanish Banks Beat Expectations

MADRID—A new audit shows Spain would need less capital for its banks than initially estimated, clearing the way for the cleanup of the ailing sector at a time of uncertainty about the country's finances.

France unveils a budget heavy on taxes

PARIS (AP) — The French government presented a budget Friday that was heavy on taxes — including a controversial 75 percent income rate on high earners — but which critics said lacked fundamental reforms that could jumpstart economic growth.

UK economy shrank less than thought

The UK economy contracted by less than thought in the second quarter, official figures have shown. The economy shrank by 0.4% in the April-to-June period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in its third estimate of gross domestic product (GDP).

French joblessness tops 3 million for first time in 13 yrs

PARIS (Reuters) - The number of unemployed in France topped the 3 million mark in August for the first time in 13 years, official figures showed on Wednesday, adding to President Francois Hollande's woes as he seeks to revive a stalled economy and his tumbling poll ratings.

German businesses remain gloomy

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) -- Faced with a persistent debt crisis in Europe, German businesses see few reasons for optimism.

G20 aides say central banks' fix not enough - Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Group of 20 nations want governments to do more to augment central bank actions to reverse a global economic downturn, officials said on Monday.

Britain’s exports are alive and kicking - it's up to the Government to keep it that way

With a eurozone crisis still battering the Continent, the prevailing view of foreign markets is that they are a gloomy influence on the British economy.

Merkel, Hollande pledge to consult on EADS

LUDWIGSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - France and Germany pledged on Saturday to consult closely on plans by Airbus parent EADS and Britain's BAE Systems to forge a new aerospace and defense giant, but announced no joint decisions on the $45 billion merger plan.

Austerity in the dock as Europe's debt-stricken leaders meet

(Reuters) - The leaders of countries at the center of the euro zone debt crisis met in Rome on Friday after steep upward revisions to Italy's public debt targets raised growing doubts about the austerity policies being pursued.

Greek Leaders Struggle With Spending Reductions

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras struggled to clinch agreement with his coalition partners on an 11.5 billion euro ($14.9 billion) budget-cut package that’s key to receiving international aid funds.

Global Economy in Twilight Zone as Stocks Suggest Growth1

The world economy is sliding into a “twilight zone,” trapped between outright expansion and renewed recession. “It could go either way,” said Joachim Fels, chief economist at Morgan Stanley in London, who coined the description in an Aug. 15 report.

China faces instability risks as gap between rich, poor widens

BEIJING: A spectre of instability awaited China as the widening gap between rich and poor reached "dangerous levels of wealth inequality", a report by a Chinese NGO has said ahead of a key meet of the ruling Communist Party to select new leadership.

Japan and UK economies have 'eerie parallels'

If Japan - where experts fear a debt and deficit disaster - is Britain’s future, there is much to fear.

Spanish Unions Demand Vote on Cuts as 65,000 March in Madrid

Spanish union leaders demanded Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy test support for his budget cuts in a referendum as 65,000 protesters took to the streets of Madrid.

Increase in US retail sales fails to reassure

An increase in US retail sales last month failed to offer much assurance on the outlook for the world's largest economy as much of it was driven by petrol prices.

European Ministers Debate Bailouts

NICOSIA, Cyprus—Euro-zone finance ministers indicated Friday they are open to giving Athens more time to meet budget targets and that they aim to decide by the end of October on whether to give Greece its next installment of a bailout money.

World Bank urges East Europe to curb 'shadow economy'

BRUSSELS: Eastern Europe needs to curb its "shadow economy" to weather Europe's current financial crisis and promote growth, the World Bank said in a new report Monday.

Japan's Current-Account Surplus Narrows

TOKYO—Japan's economy is still struggling against headwinds from a slowdown in key export markets, government data released Monday showed, casting doubt over the viability of the nation's economic recovery going forward.

Jobs rut tips scales in favor of Fed stimulus

(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve looks set to launch a third round of bond purchases this week to try to drive borrowing costs lower and breathe more life into an economy that is not growing fast enough to lower unemployment.

EU pushes more moves to stem debt crisis

(Reuters) - European Union officials pushed on Saturday to accelerate moves to stem the bloc's long debt crisis as Italian premier Mario Monti warned that economic suffering was fuelling divisive nationalism on the continent.

Clinton sees Congress moving on Russia trade measure

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress may move this month to upgrade trade relations with Russia, a key part of the Obama administration's effort to bolster sometimes strained ties with Moscow and open the Russian market to more U.S. companies, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday.

German industry orders rise, outlook still gloomy

BERLIN (Reuters) - Stronger domestic demand helped German industrial orders edge up in July and an engineering trade body raised its forecast for full-year output growth but warned the euro crisis would hurt more in the second half of 2012.

Five reasons the economy may be about to boom

Roger Altman, a former deputy Treasury secretary and a co-founder of the investment firm Evercore partners, thinks the U.S. economy could be on the verge of an unexpected boom.

Global economic uncertainty hurts stocks

LONDON (AP) — Global financial markets fell Tuesday amid uncertainty over what authorities in the U.S., China and Europe might do to help the slowing world economy.

Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble confident of go-ahead for eurozone pacts

STRASBOURG: Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Monday he was confident the country's top court will not block the signing into law of the eurozone's key crisis-fighting tools.

Japan May Add Mortgage Tax Benefits to Cushion Sales Slowdown

Japan may extend mortgage tax benefits by five years and raise the deduction rate to cushion an expected slowdown in home sales in 2014 when a consumption tax increase takes effect.

Bernanke lifts Wall St, keeps stimulus in play

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, expressing "grave concern" for the stagnating U.S. job market, said the central bank was prepared to take further steps to strengthen the economy if necessary.

U.N. body urges G20 action on food prices, waste

(Reuters) - The world's top farm producers in the Group of 20 countries must agree coordinated action to ease worries about food prices, the head of the United Nations food agency said on Monday, as he and other experts bemoaned a huge global waste of food and water.