Economy News Headlines - Yahoo! News

CA-BUSINESS Summary

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:37:12 -0400

TSX glides near two-month high as major sectors rally TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index jumped more than 1 percent to hit nearly a two-month high on Tuesday, fueled by gains in most major sectors and optimism following positive economic data from Europe. British inflation fell twice as fast as expected last month, giving incoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney more leeway for stimulus. Another report showed that Germany is on track for a solid recovery due to a pickup in demand for its products from abroad. ...

TSX glides near two-month high as major sectors rally

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:36:30 -0400

By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index jumped more than 1 percent to hit nearly a two-month high on Tuesday, fueled by gains in most major sectors and optimism following positive economic data from Europe. British inflation fell twice as fast as expected last month, giving incoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney more leeway for stimulus. Another report showed that Germany is on track for a solid recovery due to a pickup in demand for its products from abroad. Investors also awaited minutes expected on Wednesday from the U.S. ...

China's bird flu outbreak cost $6.5 billion

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:14:09 -0400

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion in losses to the economy, U.N. experts said on Tuesday. Health authorities worldwide must be on the lookout to detect the virus, the experts said, which could still develop the ability to spread easily among humans and cause a deadly influenza pandemic. ...

New Egypt tax law: cuts for poor, business hikes

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:00:28 -0400

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's president signed a new tax law Tuesday that cuts the amount paid by poorer Egyptians in the latest move aimed at reforming the country's economy.

Fed officials dampen talk of imminent bond buying cutback

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:42:46 -0400

By Jonathan Spicer and Paul Carrel NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Two senior Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday played down the chances that the U.S. central bank would signal a readiness to reduce its bond buying at its meeting next month, dampening speculation the Fed's ultra-easy monetary policy might end soon. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard, both of whom will vote at the June 18-19 meeting, made clear further economic progress was needed before they would support curtailing bond purchases. ...

Bank of Canada's Carney says Europe needs big reforms

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:33 -0400

By Leila Lemghalef MONTREAL (Reuters) - Europe could face a decade of stagnation unless it makes big reforms and it should heed the lessons of Japan, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday as he highlighted Japan's bold moves to bolster growth. In his final speech as Canadian central bank chief before he takes over as governor of the Bank of England on July 1, Carney said Europe's recessionary economy is being held back by fiscal austerity, low confidence and tight credit conditions. "Deep challenges persist in its financial system. ...

PM says growing expenses scandal a distraction

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:06:27 -0400

By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday dismissed a mushrooming expenses scandal as a distraction, but also said he was "very upset" that members of his Conservative Party had apparently tapped the public purse for personal gain. Harper, facing the biggest crisis since he won power in early 2006 with promises to clean up government, urged legislators to focus on the economy, which the Conservatives see as their strongest suit. "We have an active and important agenda on the issues that matter to hard-working Canadian families ... ...

Ireland rejects blame for Apple's low tax rate

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:55:53 -0400

By Conor Humphries and Padraic Halpin CORK/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland said on Tuesday it was not to blame for Apple Inc's low global tax payments and had no special rate deal with the company after the U.S. Senate said it paid little or no tax on tens of billions of dollars in profits stashed in Irish subsidiaries. The Irish government, which has seen the luring of U.S. multinationals with low taxes as a key part of its economic policy since the 1960s, said its system was transparent and other countries were responsible if the tax rate paid by Apple was too low. ...

Scotland says better off without Britain, but with the pound

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:45:25 -0400

By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Ending Britain's 306-year rule would allow Scotland to reverse generations of economic mismanagement and free its lawmakers to boost economic growth, say Scottish nationalists campaigning to split from the UK. Independence would not only bring the long-standing and sometimes-troubled union to an end, but allow tax cuts and investment focused on boosting exports to spur growth on the Scottish side of the border. ...

Carney to Europe: Learn from Japan the dangers of half measures

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:31:35 -0400

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Europe could face a decade of stagnation unless it makes big reforms and should heed the lessons of Japan, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday as he highlighted Japan's bold moves to bolster growth. In his final speech as Canadian central bank chief before taking over the Bank of England on July 1, Carney noted that Europe's recessionary economy is being held back by fiscal austerity, low confidence and tight credit conditions. "Deep challenges persist in its financial system. ...

S.African stocks at record highs, weak rand lifts miners

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:16:35 -0400

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African stocks closed at record highs on Tuesday, undaunted by simmering labour tension in Africa's largest economy that caused the rand to plunge to a four-year low. The weaker currency boosted mining firms who pay costs in rand and sell products in dollars with bourse heavyweights Anglo American and BHP Billiton adding the most points to the benchmark index. ...

Government plans policy sweeteners for insurance industry

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:12:09 -0400

By Chris Vellacott LONDON (Reuters) - Britain plans to boost the insurance industry with policy sweeteners such as tax breaks, hoping to nurture it as a source of investment and an engine of economic growth. Treasury minister Greg Clark said the government would extend to the insurance industry a series of measures announced earlier this year to boost asset managers. "The government recognises that the insurance industry is a key asset for this country and is determined to maintain and sharpen the sector's competitive edge," Clark told a conference run by specialist publisher Insurance Day. ...

How the French economy compares to Germany's, UK's

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:15:45 -0400

PARIS (AP) — Here's how the struggling French economy stacks up compared to Germany's and Britain's:

IMF says Egypt budget gap worrying, urges Yemen to finalise economic programme

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:37:44 -0400

By Martin Dokoupil DUBAI (Reuters) - Egypt's worsening fiscal gap is a concern but the International Monetary Fund is still ready to continue talks on a $4.8 billion loan once Cairo completes a review of its economic programme, a senior IMF official said. "We are ready to engage with them on reviewing and finalising the programme as soon as they completed it," Masood Ahmed, IMF Director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. ...

Does France have right plan to revive its economy?

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:34:35 -0400

PARIS (AP) — The man charged with reviving France's shrinking economy and attracting businesses to invest here is gaining a reputation for doing the opposite.

UK says on right track as IMF review nears

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:47:06 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain stood its ground on its approach to fixing the weak economy on Tuesday, a day before the International Monetary Fund is expected to call for a softening of its austerity push. "Our view is that the economy is healing and we are on the right road, but we have to stick to it," a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said. Asked by a reporter at a daily briefing whether the government would change course if the IMF report is critical, the spokesman added: "The government believes it has the right economic approach. ...

German central bank: Economy to improve 'markedly'

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:21:28 -0400

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany's central bank expects the country's economy to improve "markedly" in the second quarter — a development that could boost the wider eurozone as it struggles to get out of recession.

Bulgaria's ex-PM Borisov says he is convinced rivals can form government

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:01:04 -0400

By Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - The head of Bulgaria's largest party said on Tuesday he was convinced his rivals would be able to form a government, indicating a political stalemate that could undermine the European Union's poorest economy may soon be broken. Former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said that while his GERB party would not back the Socialists' attempts to form a ruling coalition, it would nevertheless lend the next government its support to introduce crucial economic and social measures. ...

Dollar firms before Bernanke, inflation dip hits sterling

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:18:31 -0400

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar firmed, gold fell and shares slipped off five-year highs on Tuesday as investors postioned for an update on the future of the U.S. Federal Reserve's stimulus programme. A slowdown in British inflation sent sterling to a 7-week low on the view it could give the Bank of England more leeway to support the UK economy, and the yen lost ground after a Japanese minister rowed back on remarks suggesting the currency had weakened enough. ...

Oil price down to near $96 as traders wait for Fed

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:07:52 -0400

The price of oil fell to near $96 per barrel Tuesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy.

Ireland says not to blame for Apple's low tax rate

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:01 -0400

By Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland said on Tuesday it was not to blame for Apple Inc's low global tax payments after the U.S. Senate said the company paid little or nothing on tens of billions of dollars in profits stashed in Irish subsidiaries. The Irish government, which has seen the luring of U.S. multinationals with low taxes as a key part of its economic policy since the 1960s, said its system was transparent and other countries were responsible if the tax rate paid by Apple was too low. ...

Tanzania growth to average 7 pct over 2013-2015: World Bank

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:49:33 -0400

By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania's economy is expected to expand at a slightly faster pace over the next two years after growing 6.9 percent in 2012, the World Bank said on Tuesday. It said it expected inflation in east Africa's second largest economy to average 5-7 percent during the same period. "Tanzania's economy is expected to grow at an average of 7 percent in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 fiscal years," the World Bank's lead economist in Tanzania, Jacques Morisset, told reporters in Dar es Salaam. ...

Oil price falls toward $96 per barrel

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:26:36 -0400

BANGKOK (AP) — The price of oil retreated toward $96 per barrel Tuesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve's latest views on the U.S. economy.

Mercedes S.Africa strike ends, union demands sector pay hike

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:38 -0400

By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A two-day wildcat strike at a Mercedes Benz plant in South Africa ended on Tuesday but industrial union NUMSA demanded a hefty pay hike for the sector, raising the prospect of labour unrest in factories alongside turmoil in the mines. The German luxury car maker said Friday's unscheduled walkout had nothing to do with wage demands but the stoppage served as further evidence of the fragility of labour relations in Africa's biggest economy, hitting the rand. The currency tumbled for its ninth straight session, breaching the 9. ...

World stocks mixed ahead of Fed statements

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:37:06 -0400

BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets were mixed Tuesday as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve to telegraph what it plans to do next with its economic stimulus program.