Portugal has become the latest country to introduce austerity measures, after both Greece and Spain took similar steps to stabilize public finances in the face of massive debt.
The number of US homes being repossessed hit an all-time high last month, but is set to start falling, says the body that tracks the figures. Banks took control of 92,432 properties in April, up 1% from March, and a 45% rise from a year earlier, said RealtyTrac.
Eight banks are facing a US investigation into the rating of their mortgage products, the BBC understands. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is looking at whether the relationship between the banks and credit rating agencies was manipulated to gain better ratings for risky securities.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CEO James Gorman denied allegations the US bank misled investors about mortgage derivatives it sold them. The firm is being probed by US prosecutors over whether the bank misled clients when it sold them collateralized debt obligations as its own traders bet that the value of the securities would drop, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
United States trade deficit rose to a 15-month high in March as rising imports underlined the economy's recovery. Figures from the Commerce Department showed the gap between imports and exports rose 2.5% to 40.4 billion US dollars.
Under pressure from Europe to deliver (shape up or ship out) Spain's PM has outlined a plan to tackle the country's budget crisis, amid concerns that problems afflicting Greece may spread across the Eurozone.
United States shares closed lower on Tuesday as global stock markets stalled on niggling worries over European debt problems. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index closed down 0.34% following a turbulent day's trading, and a nearly 4% rise on Monday.
Argentine Economy Minister Amado Boudou held a meeting Tuesday with 40 international investors at the New York Palace Hotel, within the framework of his United States road show to encourage bondholders to join the Government's debt-swap.
European countries saddled with debt should focus on cutting deficits in the wake of policy makers' unprecedented efforts to contain the region's sovereign-debt crisis, said John Lipsky from the International Monetary Fund.
“With no new international order in sight following the crisis, the only certain thing is that the model of development which caused it can not continue”, said Brazilian economist Maria da Conceição Tavares during a magisterial conference before the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC, in Santiago de Chile.