International

• Friday, June 18th 2010 - 19:28 UTC

  World Bank calls for stronger Yuan to reduce inflation and spur domestic demand

  

  World Bank has reiterated its view that the Chinese government should allow the Yuan to strengthen against other international currencies. The bank also forecasted the Chinese economy would grow 9.5% in 2010 and 8.5% in 2011.

• Friday, June 18th 2010 - 05:46 UTC

  What went wrong with the Euro? It was like some kind of sleeping pill

  

  EU president Herman Van Rompuy blamed the past strength of the European single currency for making the Euro zone unaware of its fiscal problems, in an interview with the Financial Times.

• Friday, June 18th 2010 - 04:43 UTC

  Spanish leader advices Cameron to act swiftly and fast with budget cuts

  

  Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero recommended British PM David Cameron to implement all economic reforms “swiftly, with no delay” and the widest ranging possible.

• Friday, June 18th 2010 - 04:29 UTC

  China wants higher pay for workers; spate of strikes in foreign owned companies

  

  One of China's most influential newspapers, the official People's Daily, has called for workers' incomes to be raised. The paper says wages need to rise to protect stability and transform society.

• Friday, June 18th 2010 - 00:08 UTC

  Spain’s leading bank “one of the best” in the EU, says Rodriguez Zapatero

  

  Spanish banking giant Banco Santander SA (STD) had “one of the best” results from the stress tests conducted by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors, a spokesman for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Thursday.

• Thursday, June 17th 2010 - 22:38 UTC

  Swiss parliament agrees to tax treaty with US, which saves leading bank

  

  Swiss lawmakers approved Thursday a UBS tax treaty with the US, ending a two-year legal battle that threatened the American business of Switzerland’s largest bank. The vote removed the threat of further civil litigation against UBS and additional fallout under US criminal law.

• Thursday, June 17th 2010 - 22:29 UTC

  Irish church leaders attack “shocking” lending practices of some banks

  

  Church leaders in Northern Ireland have launched a bitter attack on the ‘shocking’ lending polices of some banks, claiming they are putting ‘decent’ businesses and people at risk.

• Thursday, June 17th 2010 - 22:25 UTC

  IMF praises Spain’s efforts to reform economy and publish banks ‘stress tests’

  

  The International Monetary Fund welcomed the results of a Spanish bond auction and said decisions by Spain and Germany to publish results of stress tests on banks will boost financial market confidence.

• Thursday, June 17th 2010 - 06:04 UTC

  Spanish government struggling to survive amid growing doubts about the economy

  

  The Spanish government Wednesday approved a reform to make the labour market more flexible, amid growing international concern over the stability of the country's economy.

• Thursday, June 17th 2010 - 05:54 UTC

  Scotch whisky matured for 64 years sold at £ 25.200

  

  A Scotch whisky matured for more than six decades sold for 25,200 pounds ($37,245) at an Edinburgh auction Wednesday as collectors vied for rare malts.