Economy News Headlines

CARACAS (Reuters) - From new homes in slums to cash for struggling mothers, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is unleashing a flood of state spending to try to tip the balance in what looks like the toughest presidential election of his political career. The spending campaign may help win over wavering supporters and overwhelm the …

The Greek economy, in recession for a fifth year, shrank by 7.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with output a year earlier, official estimates showed on Tuesday.

The head of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank is warning against efforts to speed up the nation's economic recovery.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German analyst and investor sentiment leapt to its highest level in 10 months in February, reinforcing signs that Europe's largest economy is returning to growth as the rest of the euro zone faces a mild recession. The ZEW think tank's monthly poll of economic sentiment jumped for the third month in a …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retail sales rose less than expected in January as consumers cut back on car purchases, but a rebound in an underlying sales gauge suggested a solid underpinning for the economy's recovery. Total retail sales increased 0.4 percent last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Economists polled …

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's acting finance minister said on Tuesday that inflation in east Africa's biggest economy should continue to fall and urged banks to cut lending rates to help the middle class. Aggressive monetary tightening since October and slight declines in prices of food and fuel saw the inflation rate fall …

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top-notch credit rating is expected to survive the threat of a downgrade because of the government's resolve to erase a huge budget deficit and the central bank's ability to print money. Together these are seen keeping the country credible with investors even though it faces large risks to growth. …

Americans rebounded from a weak holiday season and increased spending on retail goods in January, an encouraging sign for the strengthening economy.

A run of downbeat economic news Tuesday reinforced expectations that the 17-nation eurozone's economy shrank during the last three months of 2011 as the government debt crisis dragged on even the biggest and richest countries.

LONDON (Reuters) - Inflation dropped sharply in January as the effect of a rise in 2011 sales tax fell away, supporting Bank of England forecasts for a sharp easing of price pressures this year and providing some relief for cash-strapped consumers. The decline to 3.6 percent - its lowest annual rate since November 2010 …

Americans rebounded from a weak holiday season and increased spending on retail goods in January, an encouraging sign for the strengthening economy.

Americans rebounded from a weak holiday season and stepped up spending on retail goods in January, an encouraging sign for the strengthening economy.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's energy regulator cut the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene on Tuesday for the third consecutive month, citing an improvement in the exchange rate over the previous month. The new prices, which come into effect on February 15, have a significant impact on the year-on-year rate of inflation …

The Greek economy remained stuck in a deep recession in the fourth quarter, according to official figures released Tuesday that confirm the painful effects of austerity reforms intended to lower debt.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's central bank said it accepted 10.2 billion Egyptian pounds in seven-day repurchase agreements in the money market on Tuesday. The bank had said on Monday it was offering 12 billion pounds of the repos, which carry a fixed rate of 9.75 percent. The central bank introduced its weekly repo offerings …

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro rose to a session high and shares reversed early losses after key German data bolstered hopes that Europe's largest economy was recovering and a strong Italian bond sale added to signs that financing pressures were being contained. Those factors revived sentiment after a raft of euro zone credit …

Portugal's economy contracted by 1.5 percent last year, pitching it into a double-dip recession amid an acute financial crisis, the country's statistics agency reports.

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius Commercial Bank's (MCB) first-half pretax profit inched up 2 percent to 2.43 billion rupees, helped by rising fees and commissions, the bank said on Tuesday. MCB, the biggest bank by market value in east Africa and the Indian Ocean region, said it expected its full-year results to be in …

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan boosted its asset buying program by $130 billion on Tuesday and in the face of political pressure set an inflation goal of 1 percent, signaling a more aggressive monetary policy to pull an ailing economy out of deflation. Bond futures jumped and the yen fell as the decision pointed to …

Germany's ZEW institute says its index of investor optimism is up sharply due to better U.S. economic data and steady progress in working out a new bailout for Greece.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping will hold talks on Tuesday that could help boost the international stature of China's leader-in-waiting while testing Obama's ability to balance U.S.-China diplomacy with election-year pressures. Taking his biggest step on to the world stage …

LONDON, FEB 14 - British consumer price inflation fell as forecast in January, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. ANALYSTS' VIEW: HOWARD ARCHER, IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT: "January's further marked fall in consumer price inflation to a 14-month low of 3.6 percent is good news for the economy as it eases the squeeze …

World stock markets sagged Tuesday after ratings agency Moody's slapped credit downgrades on six European Union countries due to the region's weak economic outlook and uncertain attempts to implement reforms.