Category: Markets

Eurozone Unemployment and Inflation Creep to Record Highs


Unemployment in the euro zone has risen to its highest level since the introduction of the common currency even as inflation climbed, underlining the challenges facing European leaders as they gather in Brussels for a summit.

Eurostat, the statistics board of the European union, reported yesterday that unemployment rate rose to 10.7 percent in January across the 17 union states, the highest level since the introduction of the euro in 1999.

Bundesbank Furious By ECB’s Overly Generous Loans


Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has expressed concern over the European Central Bank’s lending policies, after the ECB issued another round of cheap funding to the region’s banks that took the total loan programme to beyond the trillion euro mark.

ECB Opens Up $700 Billion Lifeline


The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank has announced it provided some 800 banks in the euro region with more than $700 billion in additional liquidity, in its second part of its long term refinancing operation (LTRO).

The central bank’s efforts in fighting the bailout crisis are now entering its third year and the ECB’s €529.5 billion ($712.81 billion) three-year low-interest loans have largely met the expectations of analysts and investors.

The 4 Biggest Downside Risks To The Global Economy: Nouriel Roubini


While recent developments seem to suggest some positive news for the global economy, there are at least four downside risks that could materialize this year – undermining global growth and eventually negatively affecting investor confidence and market valuations of risky assets.

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World Bank’s Zoellick Warns That China Must Reform


To complete its full transition to a market economy, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick warns that China needs to undergo reforms, especially in its private sector, to achieve its goal of a new economic growth structure.

While Zoellick does not expect a sudden ‘big bang’ reform, he noted that in the history of Chinese economic reform post Deng Xiaopeng, there has been a strong tendency for gradual reform, with tests first carried out on a local scale before they are implemented nationwide.

FBI Recruits ‘Gordon Gekko’ In Fight Against Wall Street Greed


Greed is NOT good after all, so says Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, who famously portrayed a scrupulous corporate executive in the 1987 film Wall Street, in a new advertisement unveiled by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on Monday.

The advertisement is part of a public service announcement against insider trading and corporate fraud on Wall Street, and sees Douglas speaking against the very mantra of his character, Gordon Gekko, in the movie: “greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”

Millions of Indian Workers Set To Strike


Millions of Indian government workers are set to strike today to protest rising prices and proposed sales of stakes in state-run companies, in one of the biggest industrial actions in Indian history, and the 14th general strike since India’s economic reforms in the 1990s.

Banking, postal and other important services are likely to be affected as all 11 of India’s central trade unions, each with at least 400,000 members, take part in the mass strike.

China Bans Government Officials From Driving Foreign Cars


Chinese government officials and departments will only be allowed to buy locally-branded cars in 2012, reported the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, after the government excluded all foreign brands from a preliminary list of acceptable car models.

Key Economic News To Watch This Week: Feb. 27


A quick preview of the key economic events for the upcoming week:

Last week, Greece managed to survive another bailout announcement, though private investors and institutions were forced to accept massive write downs. Despite the breakthrough, the lack of long term visibility on the part of financiers could mean that Greece might eventually face bankruptcy at the end of March.

This week however, Ben Bernanke will address Congress at the semi-annual monetary policy report, an address which will provide insights on the U.S. economic recovery thus far.

Europe Told to Put Up Or Shut Up By The G-20


Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 (G-20) advanced and developing economies have effectively challenged their European counterparts to put up more cash for into its own bailout fund or risk losing international support for the much-needed action against the continent’s crippling debt crisis.