Bernanke: Spending cuts add 'significant' burden to recovery

Automatic budget cuts set to go into effect this week will slow the already sluggish U.S. economy even further, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned senators Tuesday.

UK downgrade pressures reluctant Osborne to change course

LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister George Osborne said he would not flinch from his austerity drive, despite increasing pressure to change course after the loss of the country's 'AAA' credit rating and with elections approaching in two years.

State forecasts economic growth on strong tourism

HONOLULU —In its first quarter 2013 economic report, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism predicts a stronger economic growth in 2013, outpacing the national growth rate.

Euro zone recovery hopes dealt a blow in February: PMIs

LONDON: Hopes the euro zone might emerge from recession soon were dealt a blow on Thursday, as surveys showed the downturn in the region's businesses worsened unexpectedly this month - especially in France.

France facing up to minimal economic growth this year

PARIS/ATHENS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande acknowledged on Tuesday that France will miss its 0.8 percent 2013 growth target, hours after his foreign minister said the growth rate could come in at less than half that level.

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy says economic disaster averted

MADRID: Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declared Wednesday he had saved the country from economic disaster and vowed to crack down on corruption, in his first state of the nation address as he fended off a party slush-fund scandal.

Economists bet Bernanke will leave U.S. bank

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke presided over an economic boom, a recession and a slow recovery.

Japan PM Shinzo Abe ramps up pressure on central bank

TOKYO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ramped up pressure on the central bank Monday, signalling he may rein in the institution's independence if it fails to achieve an ambitious inflation target.

Wall St.'s mega-deal mojo a sign that recovery is taking hold?

(CBS News) The days of the Wall Street mega-deals appear to be back, and that's yet another sign that the economic recovery is gaining traction, according to a leading economist.

France must cut deficit below 3 pct/GDP: ECB

BERLIN: European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Joerg Asmussen said on Friday that France needed to bring its budget deficit back down to within 3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) this year.

Sharp cuts for March 1 could derail recovery: US Treasury nominee

WASHINGTON: Steep automatic spending cuts slated for March 1 could stall the US economic recovery, Jack Lew, the nominee for US Treasury secretary, told Congress Wednesday.

UK set for low GDP growth for at least two years, Bank of England warns

Britain will suffer low growth and a squeeze on average incomes for at least another two years, the Bank of England warned on Wednesday, signalling that the economy will remain weak until the next election.

Euro zone strugglers eye Ireland for crisis lessons

LONDON: To the relief of its creditors, Ireland is showing the rest of the struggling euro zone periphery that fiscal and wage discipline will eventually be rewarded by the bond markets, if not appreciated by the man in the street.

G7 expected to release statement to cool currency rhetoric

LONDON: The Group of Seven nations are considering issuing a statement this week reaffirming their commitment to "market-determined" exchange rates in response to heating rhetoric about a currency war, two G20 officials said on Monday.

EU budget deal may face rough ride in parliament

BRUSSELS: EU leaders may think they have settled the bloc's 2014-20 budget but it is the European Parliament, angry at the first ever cut, that now has the final say and early signs point to tough talks ahead.

French economy to avoid recession, says central bank

The French economy will avoid recession this year, according to the country's central bank.

EU leaders to agree push for U.S. trade deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's leaders will agree on Friday to push for a free-trade pact with the United States, according to a draft joint statement, putting the onus on the White House to respond to a proposal that would encompass half the world's economic output.

ECB says will monitor impact of euro strength

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank will monitor the impact of a strengthening euro on the currency bloc's economy but said it was not a policy target and showed growing confidence in the region.

UK to borrow more in 2012-13, deeper job cuts loom - institute

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government will borrow more rather than less this fiscal year and its multi-year austerity plan will lead to 1.2 million public sector job cuts, a leading policy institute said on Wednesday.

Euro zone economy showing signs of recovery, optimism rises: PMIs

LONDON: The euro zone's embattled economy has turned a corner, according to a business survey on Tuesday that showed businesses are more optimistic about the future but highlighted a growing chasm between the region's economies.

China services' slow uptick highlights mildness of recovery

BEIJING (Reuters) - Growth in China's increasingly important services sector rose for the fourth straight month in January, though the slim increase added to evidence that the recovery in the world's second-largest economy remains a modest one.

Job Growth Steady, but Unemployment Rises to 7.9%

Political gridlock over fiscal policy didn’t push the economy off a cliff. But it certainly isn’t helping anything, either.

Germany warns euro crisis not over

MUNICH: Europe's efforts to solve its debt troubles won a vote of confidence Friday from the chairman of China's sovereign wealth fund, but Germany's finance minister told an international conference that the continent can't afford to become complacent.

Canada revises jobs data, changes minimal

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's economy created 31,200 net new jobs in December, revised down slightly from the 39,800 previously estimated, Statistics Canada said on Friday after adjusting for the latest seasonal factors.

US personal incomes jump ahead of New Year tax rise

US personal incomes jumped 2.6% in December, the biggest monthly increase since 2004, as high earners sought to beat a New Year tax rise. The month was marked by accelerated bonus and dividend payments, the US Commerce Department said.