China to maintain steady growth in second half: Government

BEIJING: China's economy will continue to grow at a steady rate during the second half of this year despite "extremely complicated domestic and international conditions", the government said Tuesday.

US pending home sales pull back in June as rates rise

WASHINGTON: Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes fell in June, retreating from a more than six-year high and suggesting rising mortgage rates were starting to dampen home sales.

Russia's Putin courts Ukraine ahead of planned EU deals

(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Ukraine to weigh carefully the benefits of joining Russia's regional trade bloc against its plans for closer ties with the European Union on a visit to Ukraine to attend a religious festival.

Fed's Lacker says exit from bond-buying should be quick

(Reuters) - The U.S. central bank must end its bond-buying program quickly and an end to the program was "in sight", a senior Federal Reserve official said in a German magazine on Saturday.

World Bank says global food prices fell again in latest period

WASHINGTON: Global food prices fell by 2 per cent in the latest four-month period, marking the third straight period of declines, as declining imports in the Middle East and North Africa, and lower demand pushed prices down 12 per cent from their August 2012 peak, the World Bank said on Thursday.

South Korea economic growth beats forecasts

South Korea's economy grew by more than forecast in the April to June period, boosted by a jump in domestic consumption and government spending.

Eurozone industry 'growing again'

Private sector industry in the eurozone returned to growth in July, according to a closely-watched survey, boosting hopes that the single currency area will soon emerge from recession.

Spain stuck in recession, exports offer hope: Bank of Spain

MADRID: The crisis hit Spanish economy remained in recession in the second quarter but seemed close to a recovery thanks to exports, the the Bank of Spain said on Tuesday.

US existing home sales dip unexpectedly in June

Sales of existing homes in the US dropped slightly in June, according to latest monthly figures.

Political instability clouds Italy's recovery outlook: Bank of Italy

MILAN: Political instability could undermine Italy's ability to exit its longest post-war recession, the head of the country's central bank said on Saturday.

China seen surpassing U.S. in superpower shift

Will China supplant the United States as the world's leading superpower and top player in the world economy? A new Pew Research Center survey of 38,000 people in 39 countries found the widespread belief that China is well on its way.

UK government borrowing rises in June

George Osborne's debt-busting plans were dealt a blow on Friday when figures showed underlying government borrowing rose by £500m in June.

Middle class still left behind in U.S. economic recovery, data show

The economic recovery of summer 2013 is playing out in an all-too-familiar way for poor and middle-class Americans: Gas prices are up, growth is slowing and there still aren’t nearly enough new jobs to employ the almost 12 million people who are looking for work.

To Get Back on Its Feet, Italian Bank Gives Up Five Centuries of Control

SIENA, Italy — The long, tortured saga of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the scandal-plagued Italian lender that is the world’s oldest bank, may be coming to an end, but Italy’s broader banking troubles are far from over.

Home-construction starts lowest in almost a year

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Construction started on U.S. homes fell in June to the lowest rate in almost a year, with a big slide in apartment building, according to government data released Wednesday.

Bank of England suspects traders of bond-rigging

The Bank of England has asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to examine whether traders tried to rig the price of one of its bond buybacks.

Greece's Piraeus Bank expects to pass year-end stress tests

ATHENS: Greece's Piraeus Bank expects to pass stress tests due by the end of the year to satisfy the country's international lenders of the adequacy of capital buffers.

Bank of Japan more upbeat about economic recovery

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's central bank Thursday upgraded its assessment of the economy's prospects after earlier this year implementing an ambitious monetary policy aimed at boosting inflation and growth.

China agrees to currency, procurement reforms in talks with US

WASHINGTON: China acknowledged U.S. concerns about cyber theft of intellectual property and trade secrets and agreed to steps that would open its financial and government procurement markets, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday.

French Finance Minister: See Signs of Economic Recovery

PARIS--French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said Wednesday there were signs that the economy may be recovering after two consecutive quarterly contractions.

ECB hasn't tied its hands with guidance, says Jens Weidman

MUNICH: The European Central Bank has not "tied itself to the mast" with its use of forward guidance on low interest rates, and could raise them if inflationary pressures emerge in the future, ECB policymaker Jens Weidmann said on Thursday.

Indonesia 10-Year Yield Rises to 27-Month High on Rate Outlook

Indonesia’s bonds fell, pushing the 10-year yield to the highest since March 2011, on speculation the central bank will raise borrowing costs for a second month.

Reserve Bank of India eases offshore borrowing rules for non-bank asset finance cos

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Monday eased rules for non-bank asset finance companies to raise debt overseas by allowing the lenders to raise such funds through the automatic route as against the approval route earlier, in a step aimed at improving dollar supply amid a weakening rupee.

Philippines aims to nearly halve poverty by 2015

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- The Philippines' top economic official said Friday the government aims to sustain growth at a rate high enough to nearly halve poverty by 2015.

Stocks up after encouraging jobs report

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes edged up Friday, giving up some early gains fueled by stronger than expected jobs growth in June. For some investors, however, the news left doubts about the strength of the economic recovery.

Joblessness still hangs over an improving economy

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unemployment under President Barack Obama has remained high for the longest period since the Great Depression. Despite a slowly improving job market, the millions of Americans without jobs underscore weakness in the recovery, drag down consumer spending and still roil the nation's politics.

Bank of India cuts base rate by 0.25 pc

NEW DELHI: Hours after Finance Minister P Chidambaram prodded public sector banks to reduce lending rates, Bank of India today announced a cut of 0.25 per cent in base rate to 10 per cent.

George Osborne needs to give Neets a chance – for the economy's sake

'This is the stage where people either make it in life or don't make it in life. They go to college or do gang culture."

New Bank of England governor readies institution for 'significant change'

The job of deputy governor of the Bank of England is to be advertised in the coming days, kickstarting speculation about who will take on the £260,000-a-year role at a time of sweeping regime-change expected to take place under the new governor, Mark Carney.

Obama prods Egypt government on democracy, urges peace

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama prodded the government of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Monday to work with the opposition and do more to enact democratic reforms, saying U.S. aid to the North African nation was based on such criteria.