Chinese policymakers insist that the yuan is now market-driven. Foreign critics roll their eyes and retort that the currency is still politically driven

The Bank of Japan is not doing enough to fight deflation and one possibility is for the central bank to buy more government bonds, a campaign aide to a ruling party powerbroker challenging Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. But lower house lawmaker Banri Kaieda, an aide to Ichiro Ozawa, also said that the BOJ alone […]

Japan’s growing dependence on China for growth grates with concerns over its expanding military reach, deepening a dilemma over how to engage with its giant neighbour even as the two trade places in economic rankings. But while the interdependence raises the risks for the world’s second- and third-biggest economies if relations sour, it also boosts […]

Russia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are home to the wealthiest expats, with Eurozone countries falling behind when it comes to paying for foreign expertise, according to a survey of expats. The third annual report commissioned by HSBC Bank International found finances among expats were generally positive with two-thirds, or 66 percent, saying they have more […]

World stocks fell on Tuesday in markets dominated by concerns the US economy is sliding back into recession, prompting further flows into safe-haven assets. The yen – favoured for carry trades at times of economic stress – hovered back near 15-year high against the dollar after investors brushed off Japan’s attempt to weaken the currency, […]

Romania’s government is in a precarious state as it struggles to defend austerity measures mandated by the IMF

The base price for Russian natural gas is still disadvantageous for Ukraine despite a new deal reached last April and the Kiev government will press Moscow to bring it down, Ukraine’s prime minister claims. “We have set as a goal a revision of the extremely unfavourable agreement with the Russian Federation and we will continue […]

South African President Jacob Zuma has called for greater investment in his country from China, as South Africa seeks to narrow its trade deficit with Beijing and bring growth to its sluggish economy. South Africa is looking for expanded trade that will help it meet its development needs, especially by improving infrastructure and livelihoods, Zuma […]

The International Monetary Fund is to review Pakistan’s budget and macroeconomic prospects following catastrophic flooding during talks with senior Pakistani officials in Washington. The meetings are set to focus on the future of Pakistan’s $10.66bn IMF programme agreed upon in 2008, which faced hiccups over meeting the fiscal deficit target even before the floods hit. […]

Life insurer Friends Provident, now part of the British group Resolution, sees a rise in employee benefits in the Middle East as a springboard to growth in the region’s nascent insurance industry, an executive said. “The main focus is on the United Arab Emirates and we are currently speaking to another territory about getting a […]

Peru’s Finance Minister Mercedes Araoz will be replaced in a cabinet shuffle this week, three sources in the ruling party and close to the government have unveiled. One of the sources said Ismael Benavides, who once led one of Peru’s largest banks, will be the new finance minister and that a swearing in ceremony was […]

The winner of Australia’s election on Saturday will have the rare opportunity to re-shape the leadership of the central bank, with almost the entire board coming up for reappointment in the next three years. The terms of eight of the nine Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board members, including the governor, expire between December and […]

The British government may find it hard to stick to a coherent strategy as ministries scramble to cut spending by up to 40 percent on Treasury orders. Prime Minister David Cameron, who took office in May, says shrinking the record peacetime deficit from 11 percent of GDP to almost nothing within five years is the […]

Germany’s RWE, Europe’s fifth-largest utility, warned government plans to introduce a nuclear fuel tax in Germany would keep a lid on its earnings and dividends for years to come. The statement makes RWE the first utility to detail the effects of a tax on the fuels of nuclear power stations, which Berlin plans to claw […]

Bank of Ireland plans to move away cautiously from state support by showing it can raise debt outside a government guarantee and gradually repay taxpayers’ funds over several years, it has announced. Ireland’s biggest bank by market value has become the first major Irish bank to replenish its capital from partly private sources, an exercise […]