Economy News Headlines

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chairman Ben Bernanke ended weeks of speculation Wednesday by saying the Federal Reserve will likely slow its bond-buying program this year and end it next year because the economy is strengthening.

By Alister Bull and Pedro da Costa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economy is expanding strongly enough for the central bank to begin slowing the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year. Bernanke's confirmation that the Fed is getting closer to pulling back …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved White House international economic affairs adviser Michael Froman to be the next U.S. trade representative, sending him into the fray of two huge trade negotiations in Asia and Europe. Froman, a longtime friend of President Barack Obama, has already …

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would start to reduce its stimulus measures later this year if the economy is strong enough. Equities have been closely tethered to ultra-loose monetary policy, which has …

By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Days after Kaoru Shimada and other Japanese mothers rallied in Tokyo this year to press for more public daycare, she was shocked to read a local politician's blog blasting their "shameless" demands and asserting kids should be raised at home. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to take steps, …

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's governing coalition failed to end a political crisis triggered by the closure of state broadcaster ERT, but said talks would continue Thursday to try to avoid a snap election that could delay vital economic reforms and disrupt the country's bailout program.

By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A recovery in the housing market and strong growth in consumer wealth will help jump-start the U.S. economy later in 2013, said Larry Summers, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. Summers, considered a possible candidate to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke when …

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve sketched a slightly brighter picture of the U.S. economy this year and next, a sign it is moving closer to slowing its bond-buying program.

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell slightly Wednesday as the Federal Reserve indicated it's closer to easing up on economy boosting measures that have been a boon for commodities.

By Francesca Trianni NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo struck a deal with state lawmakers to license new resort-style casinos, in an effort to help revive a stagnant economy in upstate New York, the governor said on Wednesday. The agreement would amend the state constitution to legalize public, non Native …

(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it would keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month and gave no explicit indication that it was close to scaling back the program, despite intense market speculation it could soon start drawing it to a close. KEY POINTS: *Describing the economy as expanding moderately, Fed …

The Federal Reserve announced the results of its latest all-important Open Markets Committee meeting on Wednesday afternoon, and they're exactly the same as last month's results—but with three important changes. The committee's official statement reads that "economic growth will proceed at a moderate pace and the unemployment …

(Reuters) - Below are key quotes from an appearance by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz: ON RECENT ECONOMIC DATA: "We would never focus all of our attention on a single data point. For us it is a question of how is that trend shifting through time? Our sense of the numbers is they are coming together more or less as …

By Euan Rocha and Peter Henderson BURLINGTON, Ontario (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada cannot rely on its usual models to assess the economy because of unexpectedly high levels of uncertainty, with the biggest risks coming from abroad, the new central bank chief, Stephen Poloz, said on Wednesday. Answering audience questions …

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling after the Federal Reserve gave a slightly more optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy, which investors took as a hint that the bank was nearer to a decision to reduce its economic stimulus program.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it will maintain the pace of its bond-buying program to keep long-term interest rates at record lows. But it offered a more optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy and job market.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling after the Federal Reserve gave a slightly more optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy, which investors took as a hint that the bank was nearer to a decision to reduce its economic stimulus program.

By Clare Hutchison LONDON (Reuters) - Western government sanctions against Iran suffered a big setback on Wednesday when Britain's top court ruled that the government was wrong to have imposed sanctions on the biggest Iranian private bank over alleged links to Tehran's nuclear program. The Bank Mellat case and more than …

By Clare Hutchison LONDON (Reuters) - Western government sanctions against Iran suffered a big setback on Wednesday when Britain's top court ruled that the government was wrong to have imposed sanctions on the biggest Iranian private bank over alleged links to Tehran's nuclear programme. The Bank Mellat case and more than …

By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, in the first report on Russia's compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments, said on Wednesday it was closely watching Moscow for any violations that thwart U.S. exports to the world's sixth-largest economy. But in the report required by Congress, the …

By Euan Rocha and Peter Henderson BURLINGTON, Ontario (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada is relying on a rebound in businesses confidence to drive the economy's return to health, the central bank's new chief, Stephen Poloz, said on Wednesday in a speech that revealed no clear leanings on monetary policy. In his first speech …

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee (Reuters) - FedEx Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, sending its shares higher, but the world's biggest air-freight company said it was cutting more capacity between the United States and Asia. The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive …

BERLIN (AP) — President Barack Obama raised the prospect Wednesday that Europe might need to adjust its economic policies to tackle high youth unemployment and make sure that some countries don't "lose a generation."