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.
The European Central Bank declared Thursday that the economic contraction in Europe is coming to an end and kept interest rates on hold at 1%. However, the ECB's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, warned the recovery will be bumpy, especially in the face of high unemployment in Europe which is now 9.5%.
Arctic temperatures are now higher than at any time in the last 2,000 years, research reveals. Changes to the Earth's orbit drove centuries of cooling, but temperatures rose fast in the last 100 years as human greenhouse gas emissions rose, writes BBC environment correspondent Richard Black.
The parliamentary aide to United Kingdom Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has resigned over Afghanistan. In a letter to PM Gordon Brown, Eric Joyce called on the Prime Minister to make it clear to the British people that the Afghanistan campaign was time limited.
Britain’s main opposition Tories could be heading for a 96-seat Commons majority at the next general election, a poll has revealed. Conservative leader David Cameron currently has a 42% share of the vote, with Labour trailing on 28% and the Liberal Democrats on 17%, according to the YouGov survey for The Sun newspaper.