South Africa’s Economy Expands 2.1% in Fourth Quarter

South Africa’s economy, the continent’s largest, grew at a faster pace in the final quarter of last year than the previous three months as manufacturing and agricultural output expanded, the statistics agency said.

Bernanke signals continued support for low rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve's low interest-rate policies are giving key support to an economy still burdened by high unemployment, Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday.

Osborne Says Markets Back Him as He Shrugs Off U.K. Cut

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said investors have backed his fiscal and economic plans as he cast aside concerns about his policy after the U.K. lost its top credit rating.

Egypt insists food supply secure as wheat imports dive

CAIRO/LONDON (Reuters) - Egypt's wheat imports are sharply down this year as it endures economic and political crisis, but state and private buyers insist they still have funds to keep the nation supplied with its staple bread.

Afghan cabinet gives preliminary approval to delayed mining law

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's cabinet gave preliminary approval to a long-delayed package of laws to govern mining, which officials hope will become a key driver of the troubled country's economy, the government said on Saturday.

January borrowing figures beat forecasts but deficit target in doubt

George Osborne's hopes of cutting Britain's budget deficit this year are hanging in the balance despite the government running a bigger than expected surplus last month.

Egypt to start rationing subsidised fuel in July

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will implement its delayed plans to ration subsidised fuel through a system of smart cards at the beginning of July, the country's minister of petroleum and mineral resources said on Monday.

Global economy weekahead: Looking for more green shoots

LONDON: A raft of business surveys this week will be combed over for confirmation of hopes that a dire fourth quarter of 2012 marked the cyclical trough for the world economy.

Can European credit markets break the range?

LONDON: Does anybody have even the faintest idea where European credit markets are going next? Answers on a postcard please.

Despite improvement Chinese currency still undervalued: Lew

WASHINGTON: Despite improvement in the valuation of Chinese currency, the Treasury Secretary-nominee, Jack Lew, has said that it remains undervalued, asserting that the Obama Administration would continue to push China in this regard.

German Economy Contracted at End of 2012

FRANKFURT — The German economy shrunk the most in three years during the last quarter of 2012, as exports fell and companies invested less in new equipment, according to official figures published Thursday.

Russia plans $25-$30 billion oil-for-loans deal with China

LONDON/MOSCOW: Rosneft is seeking to borrow up to $30 billion from China in exchange for possibly doubling oil supplies, making Beijing the largest consumer of Russian oil and further diverting supplies away from Europe.

Barack Obama to focus on economy, guns, immigration

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will be looking across a vast partisan divide on Tuesday night as he reports to Congress and the nation, hoping he can bend recalcitrant lawmakers to join him in a second-term drive to boost taxes to raise government spending power and to reform laws on gun ownership and immigration.

China asks US to lift sanctions against defence firm

BEIJING: The US today imposed sanctions on a Chinese defence firm, prompting a strong reaction from China which sought immediate lifting of the punitive action.

Turkey to clear IMF debt by May: Tayyip Erdogan Story Comments Share

ISTANBUL: Turkey is set to make a "clean break" with the International Monetary Fund by paying off its remaining debt by May, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

US trade deficit narrows to near three-year low

The US trade gap with the rest of the world fell to $38.5bn (£24.3bn) in December, a near three-year low, according to the Commerce Department.

Europe takes key role in Italy's elections

ROME: The European Union -- for better or worse -- has taken a key role in the campaign ahead of Italy's elections this month, which are being closely watched across Europe for signs of instability.

Mark Carney signals Bank of England economic policy shakeup

Mark Carney, the Canadian headhunted by George Osborne to run the Bank of England, has told MPs he expects to undertake a thorough review of the UK's economic policy regime when he arrives at Threadneedle Street in July.

Greek economic mood slips in January; tough 2013 in store

ATHENS: Greeks became more pessimistic in January about their economic prospects, a survey showed on Wednesday, with a core sentiment reading holding close to a two-year high but well down on pre-crisis years.

China wades cautiously into Asian "currency war"

SHANGHAI: Chinese authorities have responded to the dramatic fall in the Japanese yen and other Asian currencies in recent weeks by tightening their grip on the yuan and beating back market pressure for the Chinese currency to appreciate.

France on track to meet 0.8 percent growth target: minister

PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici on Sunday said the government believed it could reach its 2013 economic growth target of 0.8 percent.

EU budget deal far from certain, says Angela Merkel

Talks over the European Union’s next seven-year budget will be “very difficult”, Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor has said, as she warned that an agreement was far from certain.

US adds 157,000 jobs in January but unemployment rate climbs to 7.9%

The US unemployment rate edged up to 7.9% in January as the number of new jobs came in below expectations, in a further indication of the fragility of the economic recovery.

China's first AP 1000 nuclear power reactor getting ready

BEIJING: China's first nuclear power reactor using US-based Westinghouse Electric AP 1000 technology is expected to begin operations in October 2014, the manager of a Chinese nuclear power company said today.

Small island, big problem: how Cyprus troubles the euro zone

BRUSSELS: Just when European leaders thought they were getting to grips with three years of economic turmoil, along came Cyprus, a seemingly small problem but one that cannot be ignored.