Democrats Harden Budget Positions

The White House and congressional Democrats hardened their budget positions on Tuesday and signaled they are prepared for partisan jockeying before any agreement to block impending spending cuts and tax increases can be reached with Republicans.

Weak UK Economy May Push Government To Make Further Spending Cuts - IFS

LONDON--U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne may be forced to announce billions of pounds of further spending cuts in next week's budget statement as the weak economy makes it increasingly difficult for him to meet his fiscal rules, a leading economic think tank said Monday.

Global recovery under threat, says OECD

Decisive policy action is needed to ensure the world is not "plunged back into recession", according to the OECD.

Spurred by crisis, euro zone is shaping up: study

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone is turning into a more balanced and potentially more dynamic economy thanks to market pressure and the constant demand for structural reforms, a study showed on Monday.

Why the recovery is feeble

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last week became the latest economist to ask why the current economic recovery has been so weak.

Science fund cuts could hurt EU recovery, scientists warn

LONDON (Reuters) - Cutting science funding in the European Union would threaten economic recovery in the bloc, the heads of scientific organisations said on Friday after such cuts were proposed.

Ghana cedi recovery to continue: Fin Min

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's cedi currency is expected to gain about 3 percent between now and the end of the year, in a continued recovery from heavy losses in the first six months, Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor said on Thursday.

Average earnings rise by 1.4% to £26,500 says ONS

The average annual earnings of full-time workers in the UK rose by 1.4% to £26,500 in the year to April 2012.

Downgraded France says it needs more time

PARIS (AP) — France's government has shrugged off the latest downgrade of its credit rating, saying Tuesday that it just needs time for reforms to the sluggish economy to take root.

Britain must not burn bridges with Europe - business group

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain would damage its fragile economy and risk isolation if it ended its often stormy relationship with the European Union, business leaders said on Monday before critical EU budget talks later this week.

Monti repeats Italy does not need euro zone aid

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Mario Monti rejected suggestions on Saturday that Italy should seek aid from its euro zone partners to bind a new government to strict reform conditions after elections likely to be held in March.

China officials see growing global risks in 2013

BEIJING: China faces growing global economic risks in 2013, with the looming fiscal cliff in the United States, Europe's debt crisis and rising trade tensions all threatening growth in the world's second-biggest economy, senior officials warned on Friday.

IMF's Christine Lagarde says important for euro zone to forge deal on Greece

MANILA: A crucial Eurogroup meeting next week on Greece should forge a deal that will put the insolvent country's economy on a sustainable path, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

Lacker says Fed should be on hold, not easing

(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should keep monetary policy on hold rather than loosen conditions further given an anemic but ongoing recovery, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Thursday.

French Economy Barely Grows as Hollande Faces Jobless Surge

France’s economy barely expanded in the third quarter, underlining the challenge President Francois Hollande faces in addressing the stagnation that is extending into its second year.

China’s Urban Champion Li Gets Task of Reviving Reform

China’s premier-designate is famed for running a province that saw three fatal conflagrations and an enduring HIV blood scandal on his watch.

Egypt plans new deficit-reduction steps: media

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's government has proposed tax changes and reducing energy subsidies to cut a budget deficit running at about 11 percent of gross domestic product, Egyptian newspapers reported.

Geithner to lead Treasury into 2013

(Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to stay on into early next year to help the Obama administration forge a deal with lawmakers to avert a looming fiscal crisis, the White House said on Friday.

Euro Loses Most in 4 Months Against Yen on Fiscal Cliff, Greece

The euro slid the most in in four months versus the yen on concern a U.S. budget showdown known as the fiscal cliff will push the world’s biggest economy into recession and Greece will struggle for more rescue funds.

China economy: Latest numbers add to recovery hopes

China has reported encouraging economic data, indicating that growth in the world's second-largest economy may be rebounding.

Election Implications for Major Industries

The economy has been showing signs of life lately — more jobs, a better housing market and a pickup in spending by consumers.

European commission predicts UK recovery in 2013

The European commission on Wednesday forecast that George Osborne is likely to miss one of his key debt targets unless he takes action in next month's autumn statement – but also predicted that a struggling Britain would be the fastest growing of Europe's big five economies next year as it pencilled in a further year of stagnation for the austerity-hit nations of the single currency.

EU to predict dire 2013 for Spain: report

MADRID (Reuters) - The European Commission is to forecast Spain's economy will be almost as dire next year as this, a newspaper said on Tuesday, raising the pressure for a euro zone bailout and undermining government promises that 2012 will mark the low point.

France vows 'tough decisions' to revive economy

PARIS: President Francois Hollande pledged "tough decisions" after his government was Monday urged to cut labour costs by 30 billion euros ($38 billion) and the IMF warned that poor competitiveness was the French economy's biggest problem.

UK may need unorthodox policies to revive economy - Turner

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain may need to adopt more unconventional policies to revive its economy, one of the top candidates to become the next Bank of England governor said on Friday, citing recent efforts to spur bank lending to companies.

"Wage scar" threatens U.S. labor recovery: Manpower CEO

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A "wage scar" caused by workers accepting lower pay could slow the pace of U.S. economic recovery for years to come, the chief executive of global staffing services company ManpowerGroup said on Fri day.

Europe is 'main drag' on global recovery

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The world's two largest economies have been showing signs of improvement, but experts say the recession in Europe remains the biggest challenge to sustained global growth.

Asian factories, US jobs show improvement

NEW YORK/BEIJING: Private U.S. firms stepped up hiring last month and factories showed modest improvement, surveys showed Thursday, while Asia's large economies started to pick up after a year of slower growth.

Sandy spending hopes drive rally for recovery companies

(Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy has caused tens of billions of dollars in damage up and down the U.S. East Coast, but the recovery and reconstruction spending that will follow could pump an almost equal amount right back into the economy, driving a rally for some stocks as markets reopened on Wednesday.