Business - Global Economy

NEW YORK - Commercial lender CIT Group Inc. confirmed late Monday that it has secured a $3 billion bailout from its bondholders, saving the company from bankruptcy protection.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund on Monday said it had provisionally approved a 2.5 billion dollar loan to Sri Lanka to help the country cope with the global financial crisis.

REYKJAVIK (AFP) - Iceland unveiled a 1.5-billion-euro plan on Monday to recapitalise three major banks that it was forced to rescue when the financial crisis devastated its economy last year.

GENEVA (AFP) - China on Monday upped the ante in a dispute with Washington over poultry exports, calling on the World Trade Organisation to rule on its complaint against US "discriminatory" legislation.

LONDON (AFP) - Stocks in London extended last week's sharp gains on Monday on growing optimism the world economy is finally on the mend after the worst slump in decades, dealers said.

LONDON - World stock markets rose strongly Minday as already upbeat investors welcomed reports that U.S. commercial lender CIT Group Inc. is close to securing enough funding to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection from creditors.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Ecuador has called off banana trade talks with the European Union that also included Colombia and Peru, saying World Trade Organization (WTO) rulings in Quito's favor were not being respected.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc on Friday said loan losses surged again in the second quarter, yet gains from selling most of its Smith Barney brokerage helped the company report the highest profit among big U.S. banks.

LONDON (AFP) - The global swine flu pandemic could tip the world into deflation, stalling economies just as they struggle to recover from the financial crisis, a British study said Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 2.5 percent on Friday, staging their first weekly gain in a month, after U.S. housing data sparked optimism that a battered sector of the economy may be primed for recovery.

NEW YORK/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. banks, at the center of the world's financial crisis, will command investor focus on Friday with Bank of America and Citigroup results following strong showings from their peers.

1 Stocks rose again after Nouriel Roubini, known as Dr. Doom for his dire forecasts, said the worst of the economic and financial crisis may be over. The Nasdaq rose 1.2% to a 9-month high. Its 7-day winning streak is the longest since Dec. '07. The Dow gained 1.1%, the NYSE 0.8% and S&P 500 0.9%. Volume fell.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nouriel Roubini, one of the few economists who accurately predicted the magnitude of the financial crisis, said on Thursday that the worst of the turmoil has passed.

America will get tough with nations that don't live up to trade deals, including those with substandard labor practices, said U.S. Trade Rep. Ron Kirk. The U.S. will probe labor violations in countries that insist problems are fixed vs. waiting for complaints to start enforcement, Kirk said. Also, the U.S. will use more forceful diplomacy to solve trade issues and will fight cases at the World Trade Organization and in bilateral forums when necessary.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Thursday ripped into former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson over the government's role in Bank of America's merger with Merrill Lynch and other actions to cope with the deep financial crisis that gripped the country last year.

WASHINGTON - Investors' appetite picked up this month for a government program aimed at spurring lending in the troubled commercial real estate market.

LONDON (AFP) - The recession-hit economy will shrink by 4.2 percent this year because of the financial crisis, returning to growth in 2010, the International Monetary Fund forecast on Thursday.

LONDON (AFP) - State-controlled Lloyds Banking Group, struggling to recover from the financial crisis, is to cut 1,200 more jobs, it said in a statement on Thursday.