International

• Wednesday, June 17th 2009 - 06:53 UTC

  British Airways battling for survival calls on staff to work for nothing

  

  British Airways, which reported a record annual loss last month, said it had asked its staff to work for free as part of the company's battle for “survival” in tough market conditions.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2009 - 05:30 UTC

  UK inflation in May fell to 2.2% from 2.3% in April

  

  United Kingdom annual inflation slowed again in May as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to 2.2% from 2.3% in April, reported the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The less-than-expected decline means the figure remains above the Bank of England's target of 2%. However, the annual inflation reading was the lowest since January 2008.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2009 - 05:15 UTC

  Westminster expenses: ban on MPs employment of close relatives

  

  Hundreds of British MPs could be forced to stop employing close relatives after Harriet Harman admitted the practice threatened public confidence in politics. The Commons Leader warned the public would no longer tolerate the suspicion that members were using allowances to line their families' pockets

• Wednesday, June 17th 2009 - 05:12 UTC

  BRIC members meet to demand greater voice is world financial affairs

  

  The world's newest economic grouping, BRIC is to hold its first summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg beginning Tuesday. BRIC is named after its four member states - emerging giants Brazil, Russia, India and China; they account for 13% of global GDP and 40% of world population.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2009 - 13:16 UTC

  Lula da Silva calls for new world economic order

  

  Brazilian President Lula da Silva urged unions and workers on Monday to take advantage of the global financial crisis to help forge a new world economic order. He also criticized multilateral organizations for having no plans to address the current global crisis.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2009 - 13:14 UTC

  “Regulation of globalization is the central issue”

  

  French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned of political and social unrest unless there is greater regulation of the globalized economy. He argued that the current system of “speculation and dumping” cannot continue. “We have to overhaul everything,” he said. He called for a larger role for social institutions in financial regulation.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2009 - 13:12 UTC

  ECB anticipates further write downs: 283 billion USD by end of 2010

  

  The European Central Bank (ECB) warned on Monday that the crisis facing the banking sector is not over, despite unprecedented government efforts to support banks.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2009 - 13:06 UTC

  Spanish banks downgraded; Madrid announces 99 billion Euros rescue fund

  

  Moody's Investors Service on Monday cut the senior ratings of 25 Spanish banks, citing expectations of further capital pressures. As well as broader economic pressures, the banks' asset quality indicators continue to point towards a further significant deterioration, Moody's said.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2009 - 11:09 UTC

  Lula da Silva promises to teach lessons how to address an economic crisis

  

  President Lula da Silva said that Brazil is overcoming the current global crisis and is in a position to teach other countries how to address the adverse economic situation.

• Tuesday, June 16th 2009 - 10:59 UTC

  The US dollar still “all mighty” for some time to come

  

  The dollar has risen after Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said it would not be replaced as the world's reserve currency in the near future. Earlier in the week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan had both questioned the dollar's status.