Economy

• Thursday, March 4th 2010 - 04:19 UTC

  Europe welcomes Greek austerity plan, but Athens demands “solidarity”

  

  Europe has welcomed a 6.6 billion US dollars Greek austerity plan of pension freezes and tax hikes as the country mounts a frantic bid to cut its budget deficit. Hundreds of pensioners hit the streets after Prime Minister George Papandreou revealed the hit to public and private sector retirement plans.

• Thursday, March 4th 2010 - 04:10 UTC

  Spain: no end in sight for the ranks of unemployed

  

  The ranks of Spain’s unemployed increased by 2.03% in February compared with January, bringing the jobless total to more than 4.13 million, the Labour and Immigration Ministry said Tuesday. The figure is the highest since 1996.

• Thursday, March 4th 2010 - 03:28 UTC

  China lowers lending target; exporters demand “stable” Yuan

  

  Bank of China will maintain a reasonable pace of lending this year, Li Lihui, the president of the country's fourth-largest lender by assets said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, March 4th 2010 - 03:25 UTC

  Outbreak of foot and mouth disease in south China pig farms

  

  A total of 8,382 pigs have been culled after a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in south China's Guangdong Province, bordering Hong Kong, local animal husbandry and veterinary officials reported earlier this week.

• Thursday, March 4th 2010 - 00:33 UTC

  Cement maker shares soar in Chilean markets on reconstruction expectations

  

  Chilean cement maker Melon led earnings in the IPSA stock market Wednesday operations with shares soaring 68% on expectations that the company would benefit from reconstruction efforts. Nevertheless, the IPSA select index fell 1.36% to 3708.91.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2010 - 06:51 UTC

  Venezuela’s economy contracts 3.3% in 2009; modest forecast for 2010

  

  Venezuela's economy fell by 3.3% in 2009 after contracting 5.8% in the last quarter, informed the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) which blamed the global crisis and falling prices for oil the country’s main export.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2010 - 06:39 UTC

  Russian billionaire looses 53 million USD deposit on villa purchase

  

  Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov lost 53 million US dollars deposit on a 530 million USD villa in southern France after a court ruled Tuesday that he failed to complete the purchase.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2010 - 06:37 UTC

  China dependent Australia raised interest rate 25 points to 4%

  

  Australia's central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday for the fourth time since October, as it seeks to cool its growing economy. The increase, to 4% from 3.75%, was widely expected by economists.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2010 - 06:31 UTC

  Canada leaves rates unchanged at 0.25% in spite of robust 5% growth

  

  The Bank of Canada took its first steps Tuesday toward returning the country to more normal interest-rate levels by signalling a more hawkish tone on inflation and acknowledging the economy is performing better than expected on “vigorous” consumer demand.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2010 - 06:23 UTC

  Ford Motor becomes tops US sales ahead of GM and Toyota

  

  Ford Motor overtook rival General Motors in US sales on Tuesday as Toyota faltered amid a series of mass recalls and a congressional investigation into its safety standards. Toyota reported an 8.7% drop in February US sales to 100,027 vehicles, while the overall industry was expected to perform significantly better than depressed year-ago levels.