International

• Saturday, February 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Reviving the damaged financial system

  

  Restoring financial health will require a three-pronged approach, involving the continued provision of ample liquidity and term funding support from central banks, dealing promptly and aggressively with distressed assets, and recapitalizing viable institutions with public funds.

• Saturday, February 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  UK manufacturing output declined 10% in twelve months

  

  Manufacturing output declined at its fastest rate since 1981 in December, underscoring the fragile state of the UK economy, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it fell 10.2% from a year earlier as recession hit the sector.

• Friday, February 6th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  UNESCO calls for preservation of HMS Victory wreck

  

  The head of the United Nations cultural agency today called for the preservation of a British man-o-war sent to the bottom of the English Channel by a storm in 1744 with all hands and, it is said, a sizeable gold treasure.

• Friday, February 6th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Global organizations warn of protectionist “tendencies”

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of the world's five leading financial organizations pledged Thursday in Berlin to increase cooperation as part of a joint effort to combat the global economic recession and called on all countries to resist “protectionist tendencies”.

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Spain unemployment rate 14.4% or 3.3 million jobless

  

  Unemployment in Spain, which has the highest jobless rate in the European Union, rose by the most in at least 13 years in January in the 10th monthly increase totalling 3.3 million out of jobs, reported this week the Labour ministry.

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  UK trade unions win first labour “protectionism” case

  

  UK oil refinery workers who walked out in a dispute over foreign labour have agreed to return to work. Hundreds of workers at the Lindsey Oil Refinery, in North Lincolnshire, voted to end their unofficial industrial action after accepting a deal drawn up by union officials and companies at the heart of the row.

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Bank of England cuts rate to 1%, and hopes for the best

  

  The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted on Thursday to reduce the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.5 percentage points to 1.0%. This marks the fifth interest rate cut since October, as the BoE seeks to encourage more lending and stimulate the UK economy which is officially in recession since December. Base rates stood at 5% last October.

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  More snow storms cause transport havoc in frozen UK

  

  More snow has fallen across a frozen UK amid warnings that some councils face dwindling salt supplies to help keep traffic moving. Travellers have faced fresh delays as up to five inches of snow fell in some parts with south Wales, western England, the Midlands and counties to the north of London worst hit.

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Mining giant BHP Billiton half year profits fall 25%

  

  Global mining giant BHP Billiton, which also has interests in the Falkland Islands oil industry, has seen its half-year profits fall by a quarter, saying it had been hit by “a rapid deterioration in market conditions”.

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Bankers bonus and perks cap controversy reaches UK

  

  UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has told the Royal Bank of Scotland that it risks alienating ordinary people if it gave its traders and bosses “exorbitant” bonuses.