The Hungarian government’s economic action plan to be published after a release of its report on the budget will contain steps to improve the financial situation and structural changes, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced. “It cannot be about…an adjustment, about patching up (the economy)…measures aimed at improving the financial situation must be linked with […]

The number of foreign firms bought by British companies fell to its lowest in more than 20 years in the first three months of 2010, official data shows. The Office for National Statistics said spending by UK firms on foreign acquisitions fell to £192m in the three months to March, the lowest since records began […]

Irish airline Ryanair brought forward plans to pay its first dividend since being floated in 1997 as it swung back to a full-year profit ahead of most rivals and expected to grow earnings further this year. Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier earlier said it could end its no-dividend policy around 2013 when it will scale back […]

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been quoted as saying economic growth was dependent on global security and that governments should be aware of this when cutting defence budgets. Rasmussen said in an interview that pressure on governments to reduce budget deficits would undoubtedly lead to cutbacks in defence spending but urged NATO countries […]

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told future Chinese leaders that the Obama Administration will cut its budget deficit once it is sure the economy is safely growing. In a speech to about 30 middle-aged cadres at the Central Party School, Geithner said Washington is aiming to steadily lower its deficit as a percentage of national […]

China struck a conciliatory note at the opening of talks with the US by vowing to spur domestic demand and keeping a guarded opening to exchange rate reform, which the Obama administration says is needed to rebalance the global economy. The US treaded softly on the subject and welcomed Beijing’s long-standing pledge to reform the […]

The Bank of Japan has outlined a loan scheme aimed at supporting growth industries and upgraded its assessment of the economy, but said Europe’s debt debacle needed watching for its impact on the global economy. The eurozone’s struggle to limit the fallout from the Greek debt crisis and the yen’s ensuing rise against the euro […]

Kenya expects economic growth to accelerate to between four and five percent this year, helped by the likely recovery of the global economy and as favourable weather conditions boost agriculture, its planning minister says. East Africa’s biggest economy expanded by 2.6 percent in 2009, up from a revised 1.6 percent in 2008, the government said, […]

ICAP, the world’s biggest interdealer broker, reported a good start to its financial year, helped by active and volatile markets, when posting a better than expected five percent drop in full-year pretax profit. Concerns about Greece and other peripheral European sovereign debt and a 750 million euro rescue package have led to wide swings in […]

Japan’s Nikkei average fell 2.2 percent to a 10-week closing low on May 17 as the euro’s tumble to a four-year trough chilled investor sentiment and fanned worries that the eurozone’s fiscal woes could slow global economic growth. Exporters such as Canon Inc were hit as the yen advanced, while trading houses were hurt by […]

Donor countries have pledged a record $4.25bn over the next four years for the Global Environment Facility, the world’s largest public green fund that helps developing countries tackle climate change. The commitments by 30 donor countries during a session in Paris is a 52 percent increase in new resources for the facility. GEF Chief Executive […]

Annualised inflation in Ghana fell to 11.66 percent in April from 13.32 percent in March, the statistics office has announced, a greater than expected drop that offers hope for further rate cuts later this year. The drop is the 10th consecutive fall, takes inflation to its lowest level since December 2007 and is another step […]

US market watchdogs and six major exchanges have agreed that new safeguards were needed to curb trading when markets are plunging, including circuit breakers for individual stocks, a source familiar with regulators’ talks said on May 10. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro, the leaders of major stock and option exchanges, and broker-dealer watchdog, […]

The European Central Bank will buy eurozone government bonds to help support fractured markets, abandoning firm resistance to full-scale asset purchases in light of Greece’s debt crisis. The ECB said in a statement that the step, dubbed the ‘nuclear option’ by many economists, was justified because of government promises to meet strict budget targets and […]

Freddie Mac, the second-largest provider of US residential mortgage funds, has asked for an additional $10.6bn in federal aid after it lost $8bn in the first quarter. The company warned it would continue to need billions more in government funds because the housing market remains fragile. The loss was $6.7bn before a $1.3bn dividend payment […]