Category: News Desk

China Injects $72bn in Money Markets to Meet Holiday Demands for Cash


China’s central bank pumped a record 450 billion yuan ($72 billion) into money markets on Tuesday after the benchmark borrowing rate climbed to a three-week high as the demand for cash spiked ahead of the weeklong Lunar New Year festivities.

The short-term liquidity injection was carried out via regular open market operations using a 14-day reverse bond repurchase agreement, which means the money will drain out of the system in two weeks.

UK Backs Break-Up of Banks that Fail to Reform


UK Chancellor George Osborne said on Monday that taxpayers will not have to pay for the mistakes and failures of the financial industry, as he pledged to split up big banks that fail to abide by new rules to “ring fence” risky investment activities.

US Government To Sue S&P Over Pre-Subprime Crisis Ratings: Report


The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to file civil charges against the nation’s largest credit-ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, for over-inflated mortgage ratings leading to the 2007 subprime crisis, reported the New York Times on Monday.

ECB Must Double Its Manpower To Properly Supervise Banks: Study


The European Central Bank has been advised to hire around 2,000 additional bank supervision staff, if it wishes to properly fulfil its new role as the bloc’s top banking watchdog, reported the Financial Times on Monday.

The recommendation was reportedly based on a consultancy study, submitted to ECB President Mario Draghi and the ECB executive board last month, that called on Frankfurt to rapidly expand its resources and clout in order to protect its own reputation.

US-EU Free Trade Agreement Within Reach: Biden


United States Vice-President Joe Biden said a free-trade zone between the US and Europe is gaining traction and could soon become a reality, after both sides of the Atlantic showed “lots of interest” in furthering deeper economic cooperation.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, Biden called for a bolstering in transatlantic ties, dispelling rumours that the U.S. had moved its focus away from Europe.

Key Economic News to Watch This Week: February 4


The European Union holds its first summit for the year this week and European leaders are expected to carve out a new budget deal for the next seven years, after failing to reach an agreement in November.

Monday, February 4

German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets with her Italian and Spanish counterparts for talks in Berlin, in preparation for the year’s first European Union summit on Thursday.

South African government announces new daily minimum wage for farm workers.

Tuesday, February 5

Japan Sets Triple Wind Power Goal: Report


The Japanese government hopes to triple its annual supply capacity of wind-powered electricity to 7.5 million kilowatts in the next decade, through development of transmission grids in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, reported the Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday.

Berlusconi Vows To Refund Italians $5.5 Billion From Unpopular Tax


 As part of his campaign ahead of the February 24-25 elections, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday pledged to return Italians some four billion euros ($5.5 billion) in property tax payments made last year, claiming that the unpopular tax, implemented by the Monti government, was “an erroneous decision by the state,” which “caused Italian families worry, anxiety, fear of the future.”

Spanish PM Embroiled in Corruption Scandal


Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has been accused of hiding almost 250,000 euros ($340,000) from tax authorities after the El Pais daily published handwritten extracts from what it said were secret accounts for his ruling People’s Party.

El Pais said the documents showed payments were received from a number of well-known Spanish businessmen, which were then used to supplement incomes of senior party officials for more than a decade. The most recent payments were received in 2009.

Infographic: Decline of the American Middle Class


In the wake of the Great Recession, there is little doubt that the American middle class is in distress. From falling incomes to rising job insecurity, weak improvements in the American economy have flowed mainly to the small percentage of affluent households, leaving the middle class and the poor with declining standards of living.