New Zealand's central bank has cut the cost of borrowing to try to reduce the economic impact of the earthquake in Christchurch, the country's second largest city. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut the key interest rate 0.5 points to 2.5%.
Chinese trade figures released Thursday show a surprising deficit for February, as export growth slowed and import numbers remained strong. Chinese statistics released Thursday show that the country registered a trade deficit in February of 7.3 billion US dollars.
A senior Chinese leader says his country will not become a multi-party democracy or adopt other Western-style political reforms. Wu Bangguo - officially number two in the leadership structure - warned that China could face civil disorder if it abandoned its current system.
Moody's Investors Service on Thursday slashed Spain's sovereign debt rating by a notch to Aa2 with a negative outlook, saying it was uncertain about the country's ability to improve its finances.
Qatar is set to become the country with the world’s highest per capita income following on a breathless 16% growth in 2010 and a forecasted 20% this year according to the latest estimates from the IMF.
During Brazil's two decades of military dictatorship, it would have been unthinkable that a female former revolutionary would lead the country in the 21st century. That transition, from autocracy to democracy, might offer some lessons for rebels across the Arab world, Brazil’s longest serving foreign minister told a forum organised by the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies in Doha, Qatar.
Inflation and production diversification must be the top priorities of emerging economies such as Argentina warned Nobel Prize Joseph Stiglitz during an IMF sponsored forum on “Macro and growth policies at the wake of the crisis” which took place in Washington and convened top line economists and decision makers.
Walt Disney’s theme park in Shanghai will be built in a 7 square-kilometre area that the city has designated as a tourist destination, according to a draft blueprint of the project.
China’s scramble to secure long-term uranium supplies to support the rapid expansion of its nuclear power industry has led the state-owned CGNPC Uranium to make a 1.23 billion US dollars takeover bid for London-listed Kalahari Minerals.
Mexico’s Carlos Slim remains the world’s richest person for a second year with estimated assets of 74 billion US dollars, according to Forbes magazine’s annual global ranking of billionaires.