Canadian job creation seen sharply lower in December

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's job market is expected to slow markedly in December to reflect the sluggish economy and employers' fears about the U.S. fiscal crisis following outsized gains of over 50,000 jobs in two of the previous three months.

Italy Sells Bonds as Borrowing Costs Hold Near Two-Year Low

Italy sold 5.9 billion euros ($7.8 billion) of bonds today with rates holding near the lowest in two years amid optimism caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti will play a role in the next government.

Back To The Economy Of The '90s? Not So Fast

Throughout the debate over taxes and the "fiscal cliff," there's been a lot of looking backward — to the 1990s. The economic expansion of the 1990s was the longest in recorded American history.

Turkey Central Bank Unveils New Tool to Limit Bank Debt Risk

Turkey’s central bank announced a new policy tool today to limit risks of excessive debt in the banking system by placing higher reserve requirements on banks that fail to meet specified leverage ratios.

Fragile Egypt economy overshadows Mursi's vote win

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will have little time to savour victory in pushing through a new constitution as it may have cost the Islamist leader broader support for urgent austerity measures needed to fix the creaking economy.

U.N. Security Council authorizes military mission in Mali

United Nations (CNN) -- The United Nations Security Council on Thursday authorized a military peacekeeping mission in Mali to help the once-stable country retake its vast northern region from Islamist rebels.

North Korea leader urges development of bigger rockets

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has ordered the development of bigger rockets, state media said Saturday, after Pyongyang sparked international condemnation with a long-range rocket launch.

Japan says economy's condition stable, but weak

TOKYO: Japan's economic condition stopped worsening, the outgoing government said on Friday in a monthly report, but it remains weak enough to justify a nudge from monetary and fiscal stimulus planned by the newly elected administration.

IMF Staff Rejects Audit Findings on Foreign Reserve Focus

The International Monetary Fund staff rejected criticism by an internal auditor that the organization focused too much on countries’ foreign assets accumulation and said the report “misconstrues the motives of the fund.”

ECB'S Praet says France must cut spending and reform

PARIS (Reuters) - France must cut spending to meet its budget deficit target and undertake structural reforms to boost competitiveness, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Peter Praet said on Tuesday.

Hopes rise for "fiscal cliff" deal as Obama, Boehner meet

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama and top Republican John Boehner met at the White House on Monday as hopes rose that Washington will be able to head off steep tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the economy into recession next year.

China to continue property market control policies in 2013 to check excessive speculation

BEIJING: China's new leadership today said it would continue the nation's property market control policies next year in order to keep a check on excessive speculation, which in the recent past made housing virtually un-affordable for middle and low income groups.

Canada November inflation still well below target

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian inflation likely remained tame in November as gasoline prices fell and economic growth remained sluggish, keeping pressure off the Bank of Canada to resume raising interest rates.

Merkel sets limits on euro zone risk-sharing

BRUSSELS: European leaders agreed on Friday t o press on with further steps to tackle t hei r debt crisis bu t German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw out a proposal to boo st risk-sharing with a fund to help eur o zone states in trouble.

Boehner: White House willing to "slow-walk" up to "fiscal cliff"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner on Thursday again rejected President Barack Obama's demand for increased power to raise the U.S. debt and charged that the White House seems willing to "slow-walk our economy right up to the 'fiscal cliff.'"

IMF needs to do more to detect global financial risk: Report

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund must do more to quantify financial risks around the world and monitor how each country's policies impact its neighbors, IMF staff said on Tuesday.

Syrian economy to shrink 20 percent in 2012: IIF

BEIRUT (Reuters) - War-ravaged Syria's economy will shrink by a fifth in 2012 and all its foreign reserves could be spent by the end of next year, a global finance industry association said on Monday.

Global shares fall, euro slides as Monti deepens Italy uncertainty

(Reuters) - The euro slipped towards a two-week low on Monday while shares and Italian bond prices also fell after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's decision to resign deepened euro zone uncertainty.

Obama says he's ready to work with Republicans to avoid "fiscal cliff"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, accused by Republican House Speaker John Boehner of pushing the country toward the "fiscal cliff," said on Saturday he was ready to work with congressional Republicans on a comprehensive plan to cut budget deficits as long it included higher taxes on the wealthy.

Eurozone will continue to muddle through

Over the coming 18 months, prospects for economic activity in the euro area are bleak. Within the recently published Goldman Sachs Euro Area Outlook note, we forecast that the current recession will extend well into next year, with at best sub-trend growth envisaged for 2014.

German industrial orders recover in October

BERLIN (AP) — Industrial orders in Germany rebounded strongly in October, growing by 3.9 percent compared with the previous month, sending an unexpectedly hopeful signal about the strength of Europe's biggest economy.

UK Treasury chief juggles budget as outlook dims

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Treasury chief George Osborne said Wednesday that the recovery of the U.K. economy is taking longer than he had hoped and warned more spending cuts will be needed to get public finances under control.

Portugal does not seek Greek-style debt deal: Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho

LISBON: Portugal will not seek changes to obtain lower interest rates on its bailout loans as Greece received and is respecting targets laid down by creditors, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Tuesday.

US charges 'Big Four' accountants over China

The US financial regulator has charged the Chinese units of five accounting firms - including the so-called Big Four - over refusing to hand over auditing data on China-based companies.

We are coming after wealthy tax dodgers, George Osborne said today

George Osborne has prepared the ground for a damaging admission in Wednesday's autumn statement that lower than expected growth means he will breach the second of his fiscal targets, on reducing debt as a proportion of national income by the end of the parliament.

German VDMA: Foreign Demand Keeps German Machine Orders in Plus

German plant and machinery orders grew again in yearly terms in October, the country's engineering association VDMA said Thursday.