BOJ set to keep easing bias as gov renews pressure
The Bank of Japan may sound less pessimistic about the economy on Tuesday but it will likely keep its bias skewed towards further monetary easing, with the finance minister pressuring it again to do its utmost to fight deflation. But it remains ready to ease monetary conditions in the future, such as by buying more […]
Gates says US recovery to take years, taxes rise
Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, has said the US economy could take years to recover from recession and predicted taxes will have to rise to bring the federal budget into balance. Speaking on ABC’s Good Morning America, Gates also warned against too much government intervention and urged President Obama to focus policy on long-term […]
Ahmadinejad says new budget less dependent on oil
Ahmadinejad, who faces opposition protests seven months after his re-election, also said Iran “will have good news over production of 20 percent enriched fuel in February”. “This news will make the Iranian nation and other independent nations happy,” he told reporters in parliament after presenting the budget to parliament. Critics accuse Ahmadinejad of squandering the […]
Obama threatens fight with banks on new risk rules
President Obama threatened to fight Wall Street banks on Thursday with new proposals to limit financial risk taking, sending stocks and the dollar tumbling. “If these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have,” he told reporters at the White House, flanked by his top economic advisers and lawmakers. “We should no […]
China’s future inflation is a present headache
Chinese inflation remains tame, but prices have been creeping up in the past few months and policymakers may not only have to step up their rhetoric but also the pace of monetary tightening to prevent Wang’s fears from becoming a reality. “I really worry that prices may rise more quickly in the future, especially for […]
US airlines top estimates, outlook hits shares
Continental projected a drop in its unit revenue for January, surprising investors who expected revenue per available seat mile (RASM) numbers to improve as it has been doing in the last few months. The projections were driven by a slow recovery of business traffic and stronger-than-expected leisure demand in December, executives said. “We are seeing […]
Kenya fiscal stimulus may still be needed
There are signs the global economy is rebounding but Kenya should keep assessing its economic performance before reducing or removing its fiscal stimulus, the World Bank’s country director said recently. Kenya put in about one percent of its GDP as fiscal stimulus in its 2009/10 budget after suffering the triple shocks of post-election violence, drought […]
China tries to curb lending and avoid overheating
Chinese authorities ordered some big banks to curb lending for the rest of January, intensifying their efforts to prevent the world’s third-largest economy from overheating. The news weighed down stocks in Asia and Europe and oil fell towards $78 a barrel on fears that demand in China, the world economy’s main source of growth, may […]
Japan Inc set to file for bankruptcy
Japan Airlines Corp is set to file for one of the country’s largest ever bankruptcies on Tuesday, marking the failure of the former state-owned carrier that once symbolised Japan Inc’s international aspirations. JAL, Asia’s largest airline by revenues, will remain in the skies under a state-backed restructuring plan as it tries to free itself from […]
Uganda awaits formal oilfield deal from firms
Uganda’s oil minister said Kampala was waiting for documents about the sale of Heritage Oil’s assets, and stressed that neither Heritage nor partner Tullow Oil had consulted the government on the deals. Tullow has exercised a right to buy Ugandan oil fields from Heritage, potentially derailing ambitions to expand in Africa by Italy’s Eni, which […]
