Iran and Venezuela plan to stand up against imperialist foes by strengthening bilateral cooperation on a range of issues, including nuclear power, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said over the weekend.
World Trade Organization (WTO) has given its long-awaited ruling on the biggest trade dispute in its history. The decision, which is officially confidential, is over whether the European Union gave illegal subsidies to plane-maker Airbus as the US argues.
United Kingdom Chancellor Alistair Darling is set to unveil plans within the next few months to halve the Government's spending deficit over four years, his deputy at the Treasury said.
Profits of the top 500 Chinese corporations in 2008 exceeded that of their United States counterparts. Gains for the full year in 2008 totalled 1.21 trillion Yuan (177.17 billion US dollars), much more than the 98.9 billion USD from the top 500 US firms in the same period.
The Group of 20 finance ministers have pledged to maintain stimulus measures such as extra government spending and low interest rates to boost the global economy.
The latest Centre of Public Studies (CEP) poll, released Thursday, shows Chilean presidential candidate Sebastián Piñera of the conservative Alianza coalition maintains a nine-point lead over Senator Eduardo Frei in a hypothetical first-round presidential election.
Leading economist Nouriel Roubini who predicted the global financial crisis said Friday in Italy that he expects a slow recovery for advanced economies, but emerging economies may experience a quicker more robust growth.
A cap on bonuses paid to London City bankers would be “enforceable” UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling warned on Friday. Proposals to curb excessive pay and bonuses are being pushed by European nations at the two-day meeting of Finance ministers from the G20 group of major economies being hosted by Mr. Darling in London.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown paved the way for an earlier-than-expected withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan as he called for training of Afghan forces to be accelerated.
The Bank of England on Friday held interest rates at 0.5% as expected, but expanded its quantitative easing program by £50 billion to £175 billion. In a letter to the chancellor Alistair Darling, Bank of England governor Mervyn King said the move was essential to meet the central bank’s long term inflation target of 2% or 1% either side.