International

• 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 - 00:46 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.

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 00:41 UTC

  China replaces the US as the world’s largest energy consumer

  

  China has become the world's largest energy consumer having overtaken the United States, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, October 13th 2010 - 00:40 UTC

  Chinese oil company sets foot on shale oil and gas field in Texas

  

  Chinese oil company CNOOC has agreed to pay just over one billion US dollars for a 33% stake in a South Texas shale oil and gas field. CNOOC announced the deal with Chesapeake Energy Corporation, which will also see it fund 75% of Chesapeake's share of the costs until an additional 1.08 billion has been paid.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 20:10 UTC

  New UN Security Council members expected to push strongly for reforms

  

  Germany, India, South Africa and Colombia have won two-year seats on the UN Security Council as non veto power members. Portugal got the other available place when Canada withdrew its bid after the second round of voting at the UN General Assembly in New York.

• Tuesday, October 12th 2010 - 19:29 UTC

  UK wants to sell Brazil 11 naval bases, but is a late starter behind France and Italy

  

  Britain is ramping up efforts to sell about 11 new naval vessels, including frigates, to the Brazilian Navy in a bid to catch up with marketing efforts launched by France and Italy, according to a recent article from DefenseNews.

• 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.