Global economic weakness more persistent-BoE's Dale

The weakening of the global economy looks more persistent than first thought and the Bank of England may have to consider further monetary stimulus if the situation worsens further, the BoE's chief economist said in a newspaper interview.

Growth was slowing in Britain's main trading partners and the confidence of the country's exporters has taken a knock, Spencer Dale told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Thursday.

Bank of Israel Cuts Growth Forecast on Global Economy Risk

The Bank of Israel cut its forecasts for economic growth this year and next, citing increased uncertainty about the global economy and a decline in the rate of growth in world trade.

Uncertainty regarding the continuation of the global economic recovery increased significantly since the previous forecast was prepared, at the end of July, which was published as part of the Monetary Policy Report for the first half of 2011. Investment banks and international entities are revising their forecasts downward, under the assessment of an increased probability of a global recession, even if one not as strong as in 2008–09. In its September outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pointed to two developments on which it based these estimates.

Global Economy is Rebalancing Down; U.S. is Short-Funding Persistent Budget Deficit According to BNY Mellon's Hoey

LONDON and NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The global economy is rebalancing down, as the stresses on the developed economies have increased. Odds therefore favor a global growth recession rather than a full-scale global recession, according to BNY Mellon Chief Economist Richard B. Hoey in his September 2011 Economic Update.

"The key to the global economic outlook is whether the resolution of the European financial stresses evolves in an orderly, semi-orderly or disorderly way," Hoey states. "We expect a semi-orderly pattern, which should be consistent with a global slowdown at a subdued pace rather than a full-scale global recession."

Global food security at risk: Thai rice subsidy could cause price turbulence

BANGKOK: A populist policy aimed at boosting the incomes of Thai farmers has raised fears of global rice price turbulence, and experts say the kingdom could just be hurting itself.

Thailand, the world’s biggest rice exporter, has vowed to boost the minimum price farmers receive by buying unmilled rice directly at 15,000 baht ($485) per ton from October. The current price is about 10,000 baht.

Global economic crisis threatens UK, says Balls

The UK economy faces a lost decade of economic stagnation due to the ‘deepening crisis’ in the world economy, shadow chancellor Ed Balls warned the Labour Party conference today.

He called on the government to implement a five-point plan to boost demand in the economy, including reversing January’s VAT rise and bringing forward more infrastructure development.

Global economy weekahead: From a soft patch to quicksand

The global economy was supposed to be better by now.

Just a few months ago, the prevailing wisdom was that growth was going through a "soft patch" caused by a combination of Japan's earthquake and unrest in the oil-producing Middle East. Once global supply chains got back to normal and oil prices receded, the second-half recovery could begin.

World powers seek to contain Europe debt crisis

WASHINGTON — Global finance officials pledged on Saturday to take bolder moves to confront a European debt crisis that threatens to plunge the world into another deep recession. But sharp disagreements about exactly what to do can't offer much reassurance to markets rocked by uncertainly in recent weeks.

The United States and other countries outside of Europe fear the economic fallout at home from the European crisis. They are raising the pressure on Europeans to settle their differences and agree on a plan to rescue heavily indebted European countries.

Finance ministers seek global economic solutions

The European debt crisis threatening the global economy with recession kept finance ministers and central bankers busy seeking ways to reduce the risk of events tumbling out of their control.

Under pressure from skeptical financial markets to produce results, the ministers sought to push forward with a program in which the Group of 20 major economies take steps to achieve their ambition of strong, stable balanced growth while wavering over helping Greece avoid a destabilizing default.

IMF Head: Downside Risks To Global Economy 'Piling Up'

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Downside risks to the global economy are compounding, creating a crisis of confidence in markets around the globe, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned Friday.

"The bad news is that there are downside risks on the horizon, and they are piling up," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told finance ministers and central bankers at the IMF and World Bank's fall meetings.

Kudrin Says Global Economy Faces a ‘Lost Decade’ of Slow Growth

The global economy is facing a decade of slow growth that will make it harder for countries to service debts, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said.

“The expectation now is that growth will be weak for three to 10 years,” Kudrin told reporters late yesterday in Washington. “We’re in for a lost decade. It’s already clearer that growth rates will be low and that the fight to keep growth from dying out will take many years. Most likely, about five to 10 years.”

Britain's FTSE plunges on fears over global economy

LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Britain's leading shares were sharply lower across the board on Thursday, tracking hefty falls on Wall Street and in Asia after the U.S. Federal Reserve gave a downbeat assessment of the economy, saying it faced "significant downside risks".

The Fed's cautious comments came as it, as expected, unveiled fresh economic stimulus measures, dubbed "Operation Twist" by the financial markets, which will see it buy more long-term Treasury securities in an effort to lower borrowing rates.

Brazil Warns A Global Economic Crisis Devastating For All

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has warned that a full blown economic crisis could be devastating for emerging countries as well as for the world's largest economies.

She added that the global financial situation could also cause a "serious rupture." when speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Euro-Zone Bonds Would Aid Global Economic Stability - CEPR

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- A group of leading economists Monday backed the issuance of euro-zone bonds, not as a way of resolving the currency area's fiscal crisis, but as way of making the global monetary system more stable.

In a report published by the Center for Economic Policy Research, the economists also recommended that swap agreements between leading central banks be made permanent, that the International Monetary Fund be allowed to borrow in the bond markets to boost its lending capacity, that foreign exchange reserves be pooled, and said capital controls should be used to curb "excessive and volatile" investment flows to developing economies.

Brazil's Tombini Urges Global Economic Coordination To End Crisis

LISBON -(Dow Jones)- Central Bank of Brazil President Alexandre Tombini Monday gave a strong warning to matured economies that unless they coordinate efforts to control the sovereign-debt crisis, the global economy will head toward a severe slowdown.

"The economic scenario is extremely complex, and if we don't do anything, it will deteriorate further in the next months," Tombini said at a conference of central banks of Portuguese-speaking countries.

BI prepares measures to anticipate slowing growth

The central bank is preparing a number of measures to anticipate a global economic slowdown triggered by the recent US and European debt crises, as Indonesia gears up to feel the impact next year.

Among the measures are the formation of the Financial System Security Network, the formulation of a crisis management protocol and the strengthening of the ASEAN+3 cooperation, Bank Indonesia (BI) leading researcher Suhaedi said on Tuesday in Jakarta.

Why China would love ‘President Rick Perry’

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — China must be secretly rooting for a guy like Rick Perry as the next U.S. president. They’d love competing against an America led by another Texas governor who talks from a big hat, loves war spending and tea parties, thinks the Fed chairman is acting “treasonous,” believes Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and admits he’s an antiscience, antievolution, anti-intellectual who will turn back the clock to the 19th century frontier Wild West.

Yes, China’s rooting for a guy who will not only make Washington “inconsequential” for all Americans, he’ll make America “inconsequential” in a world where China knows that its competitive edge and economic growth all hinge on investing in science, innovation and intellectuals with a vision of the future.

Japanese PM vows to tackle fiscal mess, revitalize quake-hit regions

TOKYO, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday his government's primary focus is on revitalizing regions devastated by the March disasters and rescuing the nation from its dire financial predicament.

In his first major policy speech given at a special session of the Diet in Tokyo, Noda, Japan's third prime minister in two years, struck an emotional chord, vowing to deliver a watertight strategy by the end of this year to kick start the nation's sluggish economy and enhance restoration efforts in the wake of the March disasters that pummeled key infrastructures and left 20,000 people dead or unaccounted for.

Lower economic growth forces down IEA oil demand projections

Dimmer global economic growth assumptions and lower-than-expected oil demand during the third quarter in developing countries have driven down expected worldwide oil demand growth, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest monthly Oil Market Report.

However, stronger-than-expected oil demand in the developed countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), mostly in the US, as well as power generation demand in Japan, anticipated Libyan demand recovery, and demand strength in the Middle East offset some of the demand weakness, IEA said.

Stocks flat, euro slips on economic worries

NEW YORK: Global stocks were little changed and the euro fell on Thursday as worries over worsening economic conditions in Europe and the United States clamped down appetite for riskier investments.

Nervous investors piled back into gold, German and US government bonds and other assets perceived as safe havens.

Geithner: Global economy threatened by politics

The biggest problem facing the global economy is not economic but political, according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

In an op-ed to be published Friday by the Financial Times, Geithner argues that "political paralysis" is the biggest threat to continued economic recovery, and calls on policymakers both domestic and abroad to step up to the plate.

U.S. Stocks Plunge on Global Economic Fears

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted as low as 300 points this morning as Europe's debt crisis thickens and the U.S. service industries continues its anemic growth. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index has fallen for a third day today, down 2.5 percent. CNN Money emphasizes the economic woes in Europe:

Stocks in Europe were also under pressure. The DAX in Germany fell 1.3% and France's CAC 40 was down 1.3%. Britain's FTSE 100 held modest gains. European markets plunged Monday amid ongoing worries that unresolved debt problems in Greece may be spreading to larger nations such as Italy and Spain.

World Bank, China Advance Work on China Economy’s Future

The FINANCIAL -- BEIJING, September 5, 2011 – China and the World Bank are making significant progress on a joint report on how the world’s second largest economy can move to a path of sustainable growth in the face of today’s challenging global economic situation, said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

Commenting in Beijing on a weekend workshop with senior Chinese officials and outside experts, Zoellick said there was agreement that China would have to rebalance its economy, improve the environment, reduce inequality and advance the quality of life for its people while at the same time maintaining rapid growth.