G-20 close in on imbalance indicators

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, right, meets with, from left, People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa during the opening of the G20 Finance summit at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Friday, Feb. 18, 2011. Finance chiefs of the world's dominant economies were close to agreeing on how to track dangerous imbalances in the global economy, part of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations' efforts to prevent another financial crisis. - Photo by AP.

PARIS: Finance chiefs of the world’s dominant economies are close to agreeing on how to track dangerous imbalances in the global economy, part of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations’ efforts to prevent another financial crisis.

European Union Monetary Affairs chief Olli Rehn said he was confident that there would be agreement ”to identify and address global imbalances,” but that discussions on the precise indicators were still continuing.

Davos highlights economic power shift to East, South

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Adviser Min Zhu (L to R) Wipro chairman Azim Premji, Professor of Economics Nouriel Roubini, Time International editor Michael J. Elliott, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell and Ernst & Young CEO and chairman James S. Turley attend a session untitled “What Is the New Economic Reality?” on the opening day of the World Economic Forum annual meeting on January 26, 2011 in Davos. - Photo by AFP.

DAVOS, Switzerland: Power in the global economy is shifting from the advanced world to Asia as recovery takes hold, Davos analysts said Wednesday, as political and business elites began their annual meeting.

“What is really happening is a slowdown of the western world and the growth of the emerging markets. This is a complete shift in the balance of power,” Azim Premji, chairman of Indian software major Wipro, told the opening panel.

Asia to lead world recovery but on hot money: IMF

China's allegedly undervalued yuan has been the target of strong complaints from the United States and Europe, who say Beijing is unfairly gaining a trade advantage by cheapening its exports. – File Photo

JAKARTA: Asia is leading the global recovery but must beware of inflation and “excessively easy” domestic finance fuelled by foreign capital inflows, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

The Fund's latest economic outlook for the Asia-Pacific region said growth would moderate in 2011 in the advanced economies while remaining “particularly strong” in China, India and Indonesia.

Donors call for stronger economic reforms

BRUSSELS: Leading donor nations on Friday pressed Pakistan for stronger economic reform, including measures to widen the tax base to generate more funds for post-floods reconstruction.

All international donors wanted a “safe, secure, stable and prosperous Pakistan”, said European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton who co-chaired a meeting of the “Friends of Democratic Pakistan” with Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

China overtakes Germany as top world exporter

Saturday, January 09, 2010
FRANKFURT: China and its population of 1.3 billion has overtaken Germany, population 82 million, as the world’s top exporter, trade figures from the German national statistics office showed on Friday.

From January to November, Chinese exports were worth 1.07 trillion dollars, while German data showed that exports from Europe’s biggest economy amounted to 734.6 billion euros, or 1.05 trillion dollars.

Japanese executives see slow economic recovery

Wednesday, January 06, 2010
TOKYO: Japan’s business leaders warned on Tuesday the economy was unlikely to recover until the second half of this year as the nation faces the threat of being overtaken by China as the world’s second largest economy.

“Unfortunately, the Japanese economy has yet to be on course to sustainable recovery,” Fujio Mitarai, chairman of Japan Business Federation, told a joint news conference after a New Year party with the nation’s top executives.

World stocks mixed as debt worries linger

LONDON: World stock markets lacked direction Thursday as worsening government finances in the West and weak economic figures in Japan continued to shake investors’ confidence in a global recovery.
 
In morning trading in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.2 per cent higher at 5,213.72, Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 per cent to 5,664.64 and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.7 per cent to 3,757.39.

In Asia, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 1.4 per cent to 9,862.82. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 0.2 per cent to 21,700.04, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.1 per cent to 1,652.73.

Gold falls 1.2pc as dollar strengthens

Wednesday, December 09, 2009
LONDON: Gold prices extended losses, dropping 1.2 percent in Europe on Tuesday to a session low of $1,142.30 an ounce, as the dollar strengthened against the euro after Fitch downgraded Greece’s credit rating.

Spot gold hit a low of $1,142.30 and was bid at $1,146.30 an ounce at 1353 GMT, against $1,156.90 late in New York on Monday.

In that session it fell to a two-week low of $1,135.80, having touched a record $1,226.10 on Dec 3.

ILO says 43 million workers may lose jobs globally

GENEVA: As many as 43 million workers risk dropping out of the world labour market or moving into long-term unemployment if governments revoke economic stimulus measures too soon, the International Labour Organisation said on Monday.
 
An early exit from support measures taken in the financial crisis could postpone a recovery in employment for years, the United Nations agency said in its latest World of Work report.

The report does not contain a forecast for unemployment over a specific timeframe, as data are incomplete.
In September, the ILO said unemployment in 2008 and 2009 could rise by 39-61 million from 2007 levels to a record 219-241 million.