International

• 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.

• Saturday, February 13th 2010 - 03:09 UTC

  China tightens liquidity, tells commercial banks to hike reserve levels

  

  China has ordered banks to increase their reserves for a second time this year, as lending is curbed in a bid to stop the country's economy overheating. Analysts had expected the central bank to increase reserve levels again, but were surprised it ordered a second increase so soon after January's move.

• Friday, February 12th 2010 - 04:24 UTC

  Spanish economy contracts 0.1% in last quarter and 3.6% in 2009

  

  The Spanish economy shrank by 0.1% in the last three months of 2009, making it the last major economy still in recession. INE, the national statistics agency, also said the country's GDP had contracted by 3.1% compared with the same period a year before.

• Friday, February 12th 2010 - 04:11 UTC

  Portugal keeps to the Euro and is contrary to a bail-out policy

  

  Portugal, another of the “sick” countries of the EU (and member of PIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain), said it will not abandon the Euro.

• Thursday, February 11th 2010 - 18:20 UTC

  France and Germany committed to assist Greece with debt problems

  

  European Union leaders meeting in Brussels agreed on Thursday to assist Greece with its debt problems, though EU President Herman Van Rompuy offered no details as to what that will entail.