Category: Other
British PM calls on Gulf states to give funds to the IMF
RIYADH, November 2, 2008 (AFP) – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday it is in the interests of oil-rich Gulf states to give funds to help countries hit by the world financial crisis.On the second day of a brief Gulf tour that started in Saudi Arabia, Brown also backed an enhanced role for them […]
South Asia braces for fall in vital remittances
DHAKA, November 2, 2008 (AFP) – The global economic crisis is putting a dent in funds sent to poor South Asian countries by nationals working abroad amid fears their armies of cheap workers will become redundant, say recruitment agents.Millions of families in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka rely on remittances from relatives working in construction […]
World faces growing risk of conflict: US intelligence chief
WASHINGTON, October 31, 2008 (AFP) – The world faces a growing risk of conflict over the next 20 to 30 years amid an unprecedented transfer of wealth and power from West to East, the US intelligence chief has said. Michael McConnell, the director of national intelligence, predicted rising demand for scarce supplies of food and […]
”’ conditions
MUMBAI, November 1, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank unexpectedly cut its key lending rate for the second time in two weeks Saturday and took other steps to spur economic growth and counter fallout from the global financial crisis. The Reserve Bank of India, citing “unsettled” financial conditions, reduced its key short-term lending rate, the […]
Oil prices take another tumble
LONDON, October 31, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices fell heavily again on Friday as the prospect of a global recession and weakening energy demand weighed on the market, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery shed 1.46 dollars to 64.50 dollars per barrel. London’s Brent North Sea crude for December […]
Emerging economies to be next victims in crisis: IMF chief
VIENNA, October 31, 2008 (AFP) – Emerging economies will be the next to topple in the global financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn wrote in article published here on Friday. Emerging countries are facing additional problems, Strauss-Kahn wrote in a guest commentary for the daily Der Standard. Their economies “aren’t […]
Japanese inflation eases off decade-high
TOKYO, October 31, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese inflation slowed in September from a recent decade high, easing concerns about the impact of high energy costs on Asia’s largest economy, the government said Friday. Core consumer prices rose 2.3 percent in September from a year earlier, up for a 12th straight month, official figures showed. But […]
World Bank lends Vietnam 60 mln dlrs to modernise central bank
HANOI, October 31, 2008 (AFP) – The World Bank Friday said it was lending communist Vietnam 60 million dollars for a project to modernise its central bank with better training and technology. “This effort is critical in ensuring Vietnam’s sustainable economic growth and continued progress in poverty reduction, especially at a time of global financial […]
US cuts rates; US, IMF open new liquidity windows
WASHINGTON, October 30, 2008 (AFP) – The US Federal Reserve sliced its key interest rate another 0.5 percentage points to 1.0 percent Wednesday as signs emerged of thawing credit markets around the world. The Fed’s expected action came after China also chopped its benchmark one-year deposit rate by 27 basis points to 3.60 in a […]
‘s Westpac reports 12 percent net profit growth
SYDNEY, October 30, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s Westpac Banking Group announced Thursday that its annual net profit rose 12 percent, driven by strong deposit and lending growth.Net profit for the year ended September 30 rose to 3.86 billion dollars (2.58 billion US) from 3.45 billion dollars the previous year, the bank said in a statement. […]
US Treasury releases 125 billion dollars to nine banks
WASHINGTON, October 29, 2008 (AFP) – The US Treasury said Wednesday it had finalized the infusion of 125 billion dollars into nine major commercial banks as part of a financial system rescue plan. Officials said Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo each received 25 billion dollars in capital. Bank of America got 15 billion […]
US economy shrinks in quarter, worst may be yet to come
WASHINGTON, October 30, 2008 (AFP) – The US economy contracted at a 0.3 percent pace in the third quarter as a global credit crunch prompted consumers and businesses to retrench, government data showed Thursday.The drop in gross domestic product (GDP) was the first negative figure since the fourth quarter of 2007, the Commerce Department reported […]