Citigroup Inc, the US’s third largest bank, has failed an annual stress test conducted by the Federal Reserve, which determines whether US banks can withstand a potential financial shock in the future.
Japan has received approval from Beijing to purchase Chinese government bonds worth a total of $10.3 billion, as the two countries aim to strengthen financial ties. This is also the first time China has allowed a major advanced economy to purchase its sovereign debt.
With the announcement, analysts say it adds credibility to the yuan’s rise as an international currency.
[quote] In 2011, more than 9 percent of China’s total trade was settled in yuan, up from just 0.7 percent in 2010. [/quote]
Government employees from Trenton city, the capital of New Jersey, which is the third-richest state in the US, could soon face a shortage of toilet paper at their work place after its city council refused to approve a $42,573 contract for paper products from its suppliers.
According to Trenton’s Mayor Tony Mack, the city’s government buildings only have enough toilet paper to last until March 16; and the mayor blamed the city council for nit picking over budget details.
Hard landing, or soft landing? China’s trade deficit hit $31.5 billion in February as its exports slowed to a crawl, highlighting global concerns over the cooling down of the world’s second largest economy.
China’s trade data, released by the General Administration of Customs, revealed that February exports from China fell by 23.6 percent from the previous month, but rose 18.4 percent from the previous year.
The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Appellate Body has rejected an appeal by the US Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) to dismiss the findings from an earlier report that US plane maker Boeing Co had received “at least” $5.3 billion in illegal government subsidies between 1989 and 2006.
According to a WTO ruling in March last year, the US government provided Boeing with substantial financial aid over three decades, which subsequently cost European rival Airbus to lose over $45 billion in sales from 2002-2006.
A quick preview of the key economic events for the upcoming week:
Greece is officially in default, but it did not stop the S&P 500 from ending the week on positive gains. However, with oil prices well above the $100 mark, investors will be paying close attention to Friday’s February inflation report.
Monday, March 12
The United Nations Human Rights Council meets in Geneva to discuss the situation of enforced and involuntary disappearances.
The Canadian government could sign a free-trade agreement(FTA) with the European Union by the end of the year, said the country’s High Commissioner to the UK on Sunday during an interview on CTV’s “Question Period” television show.
Seven aviation leaders including Airbus and British Airways have written to Europe’s political leaders decrying the recently introduced EU carbon tax, arguing that the tax on pollution threatens employment stability and trade.
The signatories include plane-maker Airbus, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Air France, Air Berlin and Iberia, who jointly submitted the letter to the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Spain, the four countries that helped found Airbus.
Voters in Switzerland have rejected an opportunity to extend their annual paid vacation days from the government-mandated minimum of four weeks to a union-backed proposal of six weeks – with more than 67 percent of the population voting against the initiative during a national referendum held on Sunday.
Local authorities from the tiny village of Rasquera, in the northeast region of Spain, have voted to lease out a small plot of their land to a local cannabis advocacy group that would grow, harvest and package marijuana in the village – creating 40 jobs in the process.
The town hall councillors of Rasquera, which has a population of 900 people, approved the plan on Wednesday night in a 4-3 vote, which would hopefully allow the village to pay off their 1.3 million euro ($1.72 million) debt in two years.
