Italy to cut spending, sees risks of protests: Report

MILAN: Italy will resume public spending cuts to find resources for tax cuts to kick start growth, Economy Minister Fabrizio Saccomanni told daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

Eurozone needs 'faster' integration: French President Francois Hollande

BRUSSELS: French President Francois Hollande on Friday called for eurozone countries to go "further and faster" in an integration process that should also include a "social dimension".

EU reaches political deal on seven-year budget

A political deal on the EU's hotly contested seven-year budget has been struck, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has announced.

Abe Recovery Pits Graduate Jobs Against Senior Savings

In the heart of Tokyo on a March afternoon, Akitsugu Yamamoto, clean-cut and clad in a dark business suit, is looking for a job at an employment agency whose name translates as New Grad Hello Work.

Rise in euro zone yields does not pose immediate risk: Officials

LONDON: A rise in euro zone borrowing costs, driven by the prospect of less US monetary stimulus, does not pose an immediate threat to struggling euro zone countries' ability to service their debt piles, officials said on Tuesday.

BIS: Central banks must end 'whatever it takes' policy

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) says banks have done their bit to help economic recovery and now governments must do more.

Angela Merkel feel-good election manifesto draws fire

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel was Monday set to promote her party manifesto for elections three months away, amid criticism from her coalition partners that the costly list of feel-good pledges contradict her commitment to budget discipline.

Barack Obama taps former IMF official as national security deputy

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Friday appointed Caroline Atkinson, a former journalist who has worked at the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Bank of England, to be deputy national security adviser for international economics.

Switzerland parliament rejects deal to expose US tax-dodgers

GENEVA: Swiss lawmakers rejected Wednesday a deal proposed by Washington to expose American tax dodgers and halt a raft a US lawsuits provided that Swiss banks that helped stash the cash pay massive fines.

Japan says G8 stance is sign of approval for 'Abenomics'

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese cabinet ministers welcomed the Group of Eight summit's stance on Tokyo's sweeping stimulus policies as a vote of confidence in the government's strategy to end 15 years of entrenched deflation and revive a lackluster economy.

South Korea Tightens Capital Flow Checks to Catch Tax Dodgers

South Korea is strengthening supervision of foreign exchange transactions as President Park Geun Hye broadens her country’s part in a global crackdown against tax evasion.

Britain presses its territories on tax action before G8

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron will press Britain's overseas tax havens to sign up to an international transparency treaty in London on Saturday, before he meets leaders of G8 economies to push for coordinated global action on tax avoidance and evasion.

UN: India to be world's most populous country by 2028

India looks set to overtake China as the world's most populous country from 2028, according to the United Nations.

IMF warns US Fed over potentially messy QE exit

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund on Friday urged the Federal Reserve to prepare carefully its exit from its QE stimulus program, warning of the challenges in unwinding its easy-money policy.

EU to allow France bigger say in trade talks with US

BRUSSELS: The European Commission, which normally negotiates trade deals on behalf of EU members, is ready to give European governments a much greater say on cultural issues in free-trade talks with the United States, an EU source said on Thursday.

France clips wings of 'chick' entrepreneurs

PARIS: France trimmed tax breaks and other advantages for small entrepreneurs on Wednesday, saying the benefits introduced under former President Nicolas Sarkozy had failed to help business start-ups and were open to abuse.

World shares fall on Japan stimulus disappointment

World share indexes have fallen after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) held off taking new measures to calm markets. BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank would consider fresh steps if borrowing costs spike in the future, but opted against further action now.

Greece Seeks an Edge as Troika Returns to Athens

ATHENS — The international lenders overseeing Greece’s bailout were back in Athens on Monday for their latest audit, with Greek officials hoping that dissent in the lending group might allow them new negotiating room.

Eurozone crisis is over: Francois Hollande

TOKYO: The crippling debt crisis that has ravaged Europe for years is finished, France's President Francois Hollande has declared, despite high unemployment and lingering recession on the continent.

Barack Obama suggested to help Nawaz Sharif on economy and ties with India

WASHINGTON: The Obama Administration needs to come out with innovative steps to help Nawaz Sharif, the new Prime Minister of Pakistan in his endeavor to improve relationship with India and fix the country's fragile economy.

Barack Obama staunchly defends US government surveillance programs

SAN JOSE: President Barack Obama on Friday staunchly defended U.S. government programs conducting surveillance of Americans' phone and Internet activity, insisting that they were conducted with broad safeguards to protect against abuse.

World food output growth to slow: UN/OECD

BEIJING: Growth in global agricultural production is expected to slow in the coming decade, the UN food agency and the OECD said in a joint report today, warning threats to food security remain.

French will accept pain for reform gain: Survey

PARIS: Nearly three-quarters of French want President Francois Hollande to push further ahead with economic reforms and are ready to make personal sacrifices as long the pain is fairly distributed, a survey by pollster BVA found on Wednesday.

Swiss must meet US "diktat" over tax: Josef Ackermann

GENEVA: Switzerland has no choice but to bow to a US ultimatum and sidestep its banking secrecy laws to end an investigation into how Swiss banks helped wealthy Americans to evade taxes, former Deutsche Bank head Josef Ackermann said.

OECD urges Italy to cut labour taxes to ease unemployment

TRENTO: Lower labour taxes and measures to help young people find work are needed to help pull Italy out of recession, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's chief economist said on Sunday.

Abe Offers $32 Billion to Africa as Japan Seeks Resources

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged 3.2 trillion yen ($32 billion) to Africa as his government seeks to catch up with China in pursuing resources, markets and influence on the continent.

Lending to UK businesses drops sharply in April - BoE

Bank of England figures showed on Friday that net business lending dropped nearly £3bn after a £545m contraction in March, and was 4pc down on the year, dealing a blow to hopes that investment might spur growth.

Australian interest rates seen on hold, data flurry eyed

SYDNEY: Australia's central bank is considered almost certain to keep its cash rate steady next week, while a batch of economic data will be picked apart for evidence that record-low rates are providing enough stimulus to offset an imminent peak in the mining investment boom.