Economy

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 07:15 UTC

  UK Chamber of Commerce fears considerable slowdown in the economy

  

  The UK economy slowed considerably in the three months to the end of September but is not set to fall back into recession, according to the latest British Chambers of Commerce’s Quarterly Economic Survey.

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 07:12 UTC

  China posts highest trade surplus in third quarter since pre-crisis 2008

  

  China posted a 16.9 billion US dollars trade surplus for September, the largest quarterly surplus since the financial crisis in 2008. Exports rose 25.1% from a year earlier and imports climbed 24.1%, the customs bureau said on its website today.

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 00:54 UTC

  August OECD unemployment slightly down to 8.5%; in Spain, 20.5%

  

  As many as 45.5 million people were without job in August in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) region, reflecting sluggish labour market conditions in mostly developed nations.

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 00:50 UTC

  Home repossession in US a political “hot potato”; 1.2 million forecasted in 2010

  

  The White House has ruled out a temporary ban on the repossession of homes, despite a growing row over alleged malpractice. Some US banks have already imposed their own moratorium on foreclosures while they investigate possible legal flaws in the eviction process.

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 00:46 UTC

  Japan announces new stimulus plan and measures to weaken the Yen

  

  The Japanese cabinet has approved a plan to pump more than 60 billion US dollars into the country's struggling economy. The aim of the plan - which still needs approval from parliament - is to boost growth, jobs and spending.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 07:00 UTC

  Brazilian economy larger than Italy’s next year, according to IMF estimates

  

  Brazil's economy will likely be larger than that of Italy next year, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 06:59 UTC

  China resumes purchases of Argentine soy beans banned since April

  

  China’s two largest state-owned grains and oilseeds trading companies to import soybean oil from Argentina, easing restrictions imposed in April. Beijing-based Cofco Ltd., China’s biggest grain trader, and China Grain Reserves Corp. have been cleared by the commerce ministry to import soybean oil from Argentina.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 06:55 UTC

  Nobel Economics Prize for experts in labour market and jobs

  

  US born Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen, and British-Cypriot Christopher Pissarides, have won the 2010 Nobel economics prize. They were honoured for work on how unemployment, job vacancies and wages are affected by regulation and policy.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 06:36 UTC

  UN corn and soybean futures resumed rally on Monday

  

  United States corn and soybean futures resumed their rally Monday as a surprising government crop report from last week continued to drive concerns over supplies.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 00:48 UTC

  Brazilian auto production up but exports threatened by the strong Real

  

  Automobile production in Brazil is forecasted to grow 13.1% this year, more than the 6.5% expansion predicted previously according to the national automakers' association Anfavea. Output will probably end the year at 3.62 million units, Anfavea said.