Economy

• Friday, December 18th 2009 - 11:53 UTC

  Fed chairman Bernanke’s reconfirmation is almost a fact

  

  Ben Bernanke's nomination to a second term as head of the US Federal Reserve has been approved by a Senate panel. Members of the Senate Banking Committee voted on Thursday 16 to seven to back Mr Bernanke as head of the central bank.

• Friday, December 18th 2009 - 08:08 UTC

  European Parliament approves 2010 budget: almost half for agriculture

  

  The European Parliament has approved a 122.9bn Euro EU budget for 2010 - nearly half of which is to go to agriculture and natural resources. It is a 6% increase on the 2009 budget, which was worth 116bn Euros.

• Thursday, December 17th 2009 - 05:56 UTC

  Fed confirms most special liquidity facilities to expire by February 2010

  

  The Federal Reserve has decided to keep US interest rates on hold at between 0% and 0.25%, --as had been widely expected--, and anticipated that most of the special liquidity facilities will expire on February 1, 2010.

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 23:25 UTC

  UK record: one in five working age people economically inactive

  

  Youth unemployment in the United Kingdom has reached a record high as the jobless total nudged 2.5 million, the worst total since the mid-1990s. The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work was 952,000 in the three months to October, a quarterly rise of 6,000 and the highest figure since records began in 1992.

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 07:38 UTC

  Moody’s warns about deterioration of sovereign triple-A ratings

  

  Sovereign debt risk is rising globally, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom, which must outline plans to manage public debt or face ratings deterioration as soon as 2011, Moody's global head of sovereign ratings said this week.

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 05:48 UTC

  Spain tops “misery index” that combines unemployment rate and budget deficit

  

  Spain tops a new “misery index” that combines unemployment rates with budget deficits, according to forecasts from Moody’s Investors Service. Ireland appears in fourth place on the sovereign-risk outlook for 2010, behind Spain, Latvia and Lithuania.

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 05:34 UTC

  UK cuts defence programs to fund new equipment for Afghanistan

  

  British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced Tuesday a package of cutbacks in core defence programmes to fund £900 million of new equipment for troops in Afghanistan over the next three years.

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 05:29 UTC

  UK November inflation rose to 1.9%, pushed by fuel prices

  

  Higher petrol prices in the United Kingdom pushed inflation upward for the second month in a row in November, official figures have revealed. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 1.9% last month from 1.5% in October, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 05:26 UTC

  Poland delays adoption of the Euro until 2015

  

  Poland's adoption of the Euro in 2015 is very realistic and more likely than in 2014, but it isn't a target date, Deputy Finance Minister Ludwik Kotecki told reporters.

• Wednesday, December 16th 2009 - 04:11 UTC

  Soybeans bumper crop forecasted in Mercosur countries

  

  A soy bean bumper crop in South America in early 2010 will ease world reserves of grains, currently at very low levels, and will also have an impact on international prices according to Oil World.