International

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:20 UTC

  Darling defends cautious approach to tackling budget deficit

  

  Chancellor Alistair Darling has defended his approach to tackling the UK's budget deficit. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Darling said he disagreed with economists who had called for more aggressive action to close the deficit.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:17 UTC

  Eurostat orders Greece to disclose details of currency swaps

  

  European Union regulators ordered Greece to disclose details of currency swaps after an inquiry by the country’s Finance Ministry uncovered a series of agreements with banks that it may have used to conceal mounting debts.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:12 UTC

  Pro-growth, pro-jobs, European Central bank next vice-president

  

  Euro-zone finance ministers meeting Monday in Brussels nominated Portugal’s Vitor Manuel Ribeiro Constancio to become the next vice president of the European Central Bank, improving the chances of Germany’s Axel Weber to take the top job next year.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:10 UTC

  Think tank praises UK for not having joined the Euro

  

  Britain's unemployment rate would be twice as high and the recession would have been even deeper if we had joined the euro, a think tank has claimed.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:04 UTC

  Euro zone ministers insist Greece must consolidate public finances

  

  Greece could unveil more cost-cutting proposals if its current efforts do not work fast enough, the head of the 16-nation Euro-zone has said. Jean-Claude Juncker said Greece had agreed to outline additional measures in March if necessary.
  His comments came following a meeting of Euro-zone finance ministers.

• Monday, February 15th 2010 - 06:02 UTC

  Wall Street helped Greece to hide mounting debts, claims The New York Times

  

  Wall Street tactics have worsened the financial crisis shaking Greece and undermining the Euro by enabling European governments to hide their mounting debts, The New York Times reported Sunday.

• Monday, February 15th 2010 - 05:56 UTC

  Japan retains position as world’ second largest economy

  

  Japan's economy grew by 4.6% last quarter on an annualized basis, beating expectations and helping the nation keep the mantle as the world's second-largest economy. China's economy is widely expected to overtake Japan sometime this year.

• Saturday, February 13th 2010 - 07:48 UTC

  On Sunday arrives the Year of the Tiger when “fortune favours the brave”

  

  Sunday is widely dubbed “Double Happiness” day in the Chinese world -- a rare occasion when the New Year festival, launching the Year of the Tiger, coincides with Valentine's Day.

• Saturday, February 13th 2010 - 07:12 UTC

  China/Peru free trade agreement becomes effective March first

  

  The free trade agreement between Peru and China will become effective next March first, following the green light from Beijing’s all powerful Council of State, said the Peruvian Foreign Trade and Tourism ministry in an official release.

• Saturday, February 13th 2010 - 07:08 UTC

  Germany falters and France expands modestly in fourth quarter

  

  Germany's recovery from recession faltered in the final quarter of 2009, according to preliminary figures released on Friday. The German economy failed to grow at all in the last three months of the year, with GDP unchanged compared with the previous quarter.