Category: News Desk

Germany’s Rating On Negative Outlook, Despite Maintaining Triple-A Status


International credit ratings agency Moody’s on Thursday reaffirmed Germany’s top “Aaa” sovereign debt rating, but issued a negative outlook for its economy, just a day after rumours over a possible German downgrade prompted a sell-off in European stock markets.

Although the agency emphasised that its credit report on Germany was “an annual update to the markets and does not constitute a rating action,” it noted that German GDP growth had slowed in 2012, while forecasting it to slow further to 0.4 percent in 2013.

Greeks Demand Justice After Farm Bosses Open Fire On Migrant Workers During Pay Dispute


The Greek government on Thursday promised “swift and exemplary” punishment for three strawberry plantation foremen from the village of Manolada, after the farm owners allegedly opened fire on some 200 Bangladeshi migrant workers, who had refused to go to work following six months of unpaid wages.

IMF Reiterates Austerity Warning


The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday issued a warning against excessive austerity, singling out the United States and the United Kingdom as countries who can afford to slow the pace of what it described as “overly strong” belt tightening. According to the Fund, fiscal adjustment needs to proceed gradually, building on measures that limit damage to the economy in the short term.

Cyprus Finance Minister Admits To Plans To Sell Gold Reserves


The Cypriot government may sell part of its gold reserves within the next few months, admitted Finance Minister Haris Georgiades on Wednesday, bringing truth to earlier speculation that Cyprus would be forced to sell its gold to meet its creditors’ demands.

Signs of Growth Good News For Home Buyers


The U.K. property market is beginning to show some signs of activity again after a couple of years of relative inactivity. February in 2013 saw slight average house prices increases, of 0.2 percent according to Nationwide Building Society or 0.5 percent according to Halifax. Halifax’s figures for the first quarter show increases of 1.9 percent.

Chinese Banks Top Forbes List Of World’s Largest Public Companies


For the first time in history, two Chinese banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Construction Bank (CCB), on Wednesday managed to unseat American oil giant ExxonMobil as the world’s largest public company on the Forbes Global 2000 list, as double-digit growth in both sales and profits propelled them higher in the world’s power rankings.

Influential Harvard Paper on Debt and Growth Riddled With Critical Flaws


The intellectual case for fiscal austerity came under fire on Tuesday when a study by academics at the University of Massachusetts found that economic growth is achievable even public debt is greater than 90 percent of GDP. The findings refute an influential 2010 pro-austerity study by Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, and renews the debate over deficit reduction policies being pursued in the eurozone and elsewhere.

South Korea Unveils $15.3bn Stimulus Plan


The South Korean government on Tuesday unveiled a 17.3 trillion won ($15.3 billion) stimulus plan to boost slowing growth in Asia’s fourth largest economy, which has been hit by a slowdown in exports and sluggish capital investment.

The extra budget includes 12 trillion won to cover a shortfall in revenues and an additional 5.3 trillion won in new spending, the finance ministry said in a statement yesterday.

East Asia Criminal Gangs Earn $90 Billion A Year: Report


Crime syndicates in East Asia and the Pacific are generating nearly $90 billion annually from illicit trade activities such as fake goods, drugs and human trafficking, claimed a UN report on Tuesday, highlighting the difficulty governments face to clamp down on transnational organised crime.

China’s Local Government Debt Is “Out Of Control”, Warns Auditor


Local governments from provinces, cities, counties and villages across China could owe somewhere between $1.6-$3.2 trillion to banks and other debtors, said a senior Chinese auditor on Tuesday, warning that the debt problem was “out of control” and could spark a bigger financial crisis than the US housing market crash.