Economy News Headlines

LONDON (Reuters) - The single biggest risk to Britain's nascent economic recovery is continued eurozone weakness, the Bank of England's outgoing governor Mervyn King said in a television interview on Sunday. He called for a "credible medium term plan" to get the economy back on track and said automatic economic stabilizers …

By James Mackenzie VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Pope Francis on Saturday and, apparently responding to his criticism of a heartless "dictatorship of the economy", called for stronger regulation of financial markets. On Thursday, Francis appealed in a speech for world financial reform, saying …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke painted an upbeat picture on Saturday for the potential of innovation to lift living standards, delivering a sweeping look at the last 100 years that included memories of his 1963 South Carolina home. Bernanke made no reference to monetary policy or the immediate …

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party has overtaken the ruling Civic Platform in an opinion poll released on Saturday, showing the government may be increasingly vulnerable to the economic downturn. The center-right Civic Platform, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk won 40 percent of the vote …

By Xiaoyi Shao and Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - China's housing inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in April in two years, driven by a jump in prices in Beijing and Shanghai, complicating the task of policymakers trying to cool the property sector while supporting economic expansion. Average new home prices …

By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe's top trade official for the first time late on Friday officially cited Chinese mobile telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp for violating anti-dumping and anti-subsidy guidelines. European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he was prepared to launch …

NEW YORK (AP) — Encouraging news about the U.S. economy extended the stock market's rally Friday.

By Roberta Rampton and Mark Felsenthal BALTIMORE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday sought to turn the spotlight from controversies threatening to swamp his agenda back to his top priority - the economy - and announced he will try to cut in half the time it takes to get federal approval for large job-creating …

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks continued their climb into uncharted territory on Friday, racking up the fourth week of gains in a row as encouraging economic data prompted investors to pick up shares of growth companies. The Dow and the S&P 500 finished at fresh record highs, driven by gains in energy and industrial …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will attend talks on Syria in Amman on Wednesday, the State Department said, as major powers try to bring the Syrian government and opposition to peace talks in June. Kerry's visit is part of a one-week trip that begins in Oman on Tuesday and includes talks about …

By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Friday as robust economic data helped drive gains in energy stocks and financial shares, offsetting weakness in gold producers. The materials sector, a major component of the S&P/TSX composite which includes gold miners, was the lone sector to finish …

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government says it has cut its economic growth forecast for 2013 from 3.5 percent to 3.1 after exports stagnated and first-quarter GDP figures came in weak.

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided House of Representatives on Friday passed a Republican-sponsored bill that would force federal securities regulators to conduct more economic analysis before adopting rules for Wall Street. The bill, which is not expected to make it to the Democrat-controlled Senate floor …

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil plans to modernize and expand its overcrowded ports, attract private investments to the sector and make it easier for companies to hire skilled foreign workers, in a bid to spur economic growth,

By Ann Saphir CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve has not done enough to lower U.S. borrowing costs to boost economic growth, a top Fed official said on Friday, citing his outlook for overly low inflation and overly high unemployment over the next two to three years. Since the Great Recession, workers and businesses …

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government says it has cut its economic growth forecast for 2013 from 3.5 percent to 3.1 after exports stagnated and first-quarter GDP figures came in weak.

ROME (AP) — Italy's new cross-party government has adopted its first measures to help the economy. They include suspending a tax on primary residences and allocating funds to extend a short-term layoff scheme.

LONDON (AP) — Fitch Ratings agency has downgraded Slovenia's credit grade by one notch, citing a weak economic outlook and a frail banking system.

AMSTERDAM (AP) — World stock markets rose steadily on Friday after two key indicators suggested the U.S. economic expansion will continue.

By Paul Taylor PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey's achievement of investment-grade status crowns a decade of rapid growth, financial stability and political reform by a "tiger" economy on the seam of Europe and Asia, but the rising power still faces pitfalls in a dangerous neighborhood. Moody's Investors Service raised its rating …

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans felt better about their economic and financial prospects in early May as consumer sentiment rose to the highest level in nearly six years, an encouraging sign after other recent data had suggested broader U.S. growth is cooling. A gauge of future economic activity released …

WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of the U.S. economy's future health rose solidly in April, buoyed by a sharp rise in applications to build homes and a better job market.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund said Friday that substantial risks still loom for the Cypriot economy even after a multi-billion dollar international bailout aimed at averting a debt default.