Category: World

TOKYO, Jan 25, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s central bank chief on Friday dismissed a call for an interest rate cut in coordination with the US Federal Reserve, saying that current policies were enough to keep the economy firm.Central banks’ job is to “select appropriate policies by analysing outlooks of each country’s economy and prices even […]

PARIS, Jan 23, 2008 (AFP) – A stunning interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, followed by a clear signal from its European counterpart that it would not follow suit, illustrates sharp differences in the operating mandates of the two central banks. In Washington Tuesday, the Fed rode to the rescue of global stock […]

WELLINGTON, Jan 23, 2008 (AFP) – New Zealand’s central bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday, saying the economy was in good shape despite recent global market turmoil and fears of a recession in the US. Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Alan Bollard left the official cash rate on hold at 8.25 percent, one […]

BEIJING, Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – China’s economy grew a blistering 11.4 percent in 2007, reaching its highest level in 13 years, the government said Thursday, warning more needed to be done to address the rising threat of inflation. China’s policy-makers have long complained that consumption is too small and the savings rate too high, […]

PARIS, Jan 24, 2008 (AFP) – Trading in shares of Societe Generale was supended on Thursday after the French banking giant announced a sole trader was responsible for racking up 4.9 billion euros (7.15 billion dollars) in losses. Societe Generale announced earlier Thursday that a single trader was responsible for a massive 4. 9 billion […]

NEW YORK, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – Global stock markets saw some relief from the mayhem of the past few days as the US Federal Reserve’s surprise rate cut helped stem the massive losses seen around the world. In a wildly volatile day for markets, Wall Street ended with moderate losses while European shares closed […]

WASHINGTON, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve’s emergency rate cut Tuesday will deliver a jolt of stimulus to an ailing US economy but may be too little and too late to avert a painful recession, analysts say. Economists say the surprise cut of three-fourths of a percentage point, the largest since the central […]

LONDON, Jan 23, 2008 (AFP) – The current crisis in the world financial markets is the worst “in 60 years”, billionaire investor George Soros wrote in the Financial Times on Wednesday. In his comment piece, Soros warned that while a global recession could be held off by strong growth rates in the developing world, the […]

WASHINGTON, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – Southeast Asia will face stiffer export competition from China and likely bear the brunt of any impact in Asia from a major economic slowdown in the United States, an IMF official said Tuesday.But Beijing would probably raise government spending, particularly on infrastructure investment, to keep the economy chugging along […]

January 23, 2008 (LBO) — The Maldive Islands, a key market of two listed Sri Lankan leisure groups, greeted over 600,000 holidaymakers in 2007, the tourism ministry said, boosted by visitors from Britain, Italy and Germany. Tourism, which accounts for about a third of an economy of just under a billion dollars, grew a “record” […]

PARIS, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – Leaders in Asia and Europe appealed for calm Tuesday and called for international cooperation in the face of a galloping global meltdown on world stock markets sparked by fears of a US recession. Asian markets experienced a day of heavy losses, with Hong Kong share prices suffering their biggest […]

BRUSSELS, Jan 22, 2008 (AFP) – The European Commission’s top economic official, Joaquin Almunia, called Tuesday on the United States to tackle its deficits, which he said were the root cause of financial market turmoil. Amid concern in Europe that a US government recovery plan would not avert a recession, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs […]