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ECB to help businesses, says top central banker

Agence France-PresseMay 18, 2013 01:15
The European Central Bank is exploring ways to directly help small and medium-sized companies as a way to boost the recession-hit eurozone economy directly, said Benoit Coeure, A member of the bank's executive board. Coeure, speaking at a conference south of Paris, did not say how exactly the policy would work and stressed that the ECB would not intervene to replace "other actors" including struggling banks burdened by non-profitable assets. Coeure said the ECB "can only act within its mandate" and would allow the transfer of private sector risk onto its balance sheet.

Major currencies flat amid dull US data

Agence France-PresseMay 16, 2013 18:45
The dollar, euro and yen traded broadly flat Thursday, despite fresh data signaling Japan's exit from recession and US numbers that underscored that underscored weaknesses in the US economy. At 2200 GMT, the euro was at $1.2886, compared to $1.2884 late Wednesday. The dollar was at 102.22 yen compared to 102.23 yen, while the euro was unchanged at 131.72 yen. The yen failed to hold onto early gains that followed official data in Tokyo showing Japan's economy exited from recession in the first quarter, expanding 0.9 percent from the previous quarter.

US retail sales rise in April on purchases of autos, clothing; lower gas prices a factor

The Canadian PressMay 13, 2013 14:00
WASHINGTON - Lower-priced gas allowed Americans to step up their spending at retailers in April, from cars and clothes to electronics and appliances. The rebound from a weak March suggests consumers remain resilient in the face of higher taxes and could continue to drive economic growth this spring. Retail sales edged up 0.1 per cent in April from March, the Commerce Department said Monday. That's an improvement from a 0.5 per cent decline in March, which was the largest drop in nine months.

ING's first quarter earnings rise on asset sales; bank operations improve marginally

The Canadian PressMay 8, 2013 09:34
AMSTERDAM - Dutch financial company ING Groep NV reported Wednesday that its first-quarter earnings rose as it sold businesses and improved profit margins at its banking arm. Its insurance arm reported a loss. Net profit was 1.80 billion euros ($2.36 billion), compared with 728 million euros in the same period a year ago. This quarter's figure includes 940 million euros in net gains on divestments, mostly from the sale of its life insurance business in Asia.

Italian economy to shrink 1.4% this year, grow 0.7% next

Agence France-PresseMay 6, 2013 05:15
Italy's economy is forecast to shrink by 1.4 percent this year and grow by 0.7 percent next year while unemployment will rise to a record high of 12.3 percent in 2014, figures from the national statistics agency ISTAT showed on Monday. The 2013 forecast is sharply down on the 0.5 percent contraction of gross domestic product (GDP) which the agency had forecast last November. ISTAT said that the change was the result of a reduction in domestic demand, only partially offset by external demand. Import growth was also expected to remain negative.

Dollar slips despite strong US jobs report

Agence France-PresseMay 3, 2013 18:00
The dollar fell against the euro Friday despite a strong US April jobs report that otherwise sent stock markets and oil prices soaring. Analysts said that an increased interest in risk assets in Europe were to blame in part for the sharp reversal of the greenback's gains that followed the release of the employment sector data.

World stock markets mixed ahead of US government unemployment report for April

The Canadian PressMay 3, 2013 01:45
BANGKOK - World stock markets were mixed Friday as investors held back ahead of the release of the U.S. government's monthly unemployment report. European stock markets were largely flat before the U.S. Labor Department's release of nonfarm payrolls for April. Britain's FTSE 100 rose marginally to 6,464.54. Germany's DAX rose 0.1 per cent to 7,970.94. France's CAC-40 slipped less than 0.1 per cent to 3,857.51. Wall Street futures fell slightly. Dow Jones industrial futures dropped less than 0.1 per cent to 14,749 and S

ECB cuts key rate by quarter point to record low 0.50%

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 08:15
The European Central Bank pared back its key interest rates on Thursday as calls mount across the eurozone to focus on growth rather than austerity. As widely forecast by analysts, the ECB trimmed its central "refi" refinancing rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a new record low of 0.50 percent. The central bank also cut its marginal lending facility by half a percentage point to 1.00 percent. But it held the interest rate on the deposit facility unchanged at zero percent.

US stocks end mixed after mediocre US growth

Agence France-PresseApril 26, 2013 18:01
US stocks Friday ended mixed after a mediocre report on US economic growth and the latest batch of uneven corporate earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.75 (0.08 percent) to 14,712.55. The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 2.92 (0.18 percent) to 1,582.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 10.72 (0.33 percent) to 3,279.27. Friday's results came as the Commerce Department reported first quarter growth of 2.5 percent, above the previous quarter's level, but below the 2.8 percent analysts had forecast.
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