World Economic News

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was unanimous in voting for another £75bn of quantitative easing (QE) to support the weak UK economy.

Minutes from the MPC’s meeting earlier this month show members considered injecting between £50bn and £100bn.

The committee cited a sharp deterioration in the international outlook as a key factor.

The vote for more QE marked a sharp turnaround in… more...

Brazil’s central bank has cut the country’s key interest rate to 11.5% from 12%, citing the continuing slowdown in the global economy.

The bank cut rates at the end of August, after raising them five times this year to combat rising prices.

Despite the inflation rate rising to 7.3% in September, all seven members of the bank’s rate-setting committee voted for the latest cut.

Last… more...

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has said it is looking to curb the rise of shadow banking and private lending in the country.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of CBRC, said the commission was taking measures to ensure such activities do not put the financial system at risk.

There have been concerns that private loans are hurting the government’s effort to control lending.

Some estimates put… more...

Local councils have borne the brunt of UK jobs cuts over the past year, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The accountancy firm’s study was issued to mark the one year anniversary of the government’s Spending Review.

PwC says 240,000 fewer people worked in the public sector in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the same period the previous year

It says local… more...

Greece is braced for a second day of a general strike and mass protests as parliament takes a final vote on tough new austerity measures.

Protesters are gathering outside parliament in Athens, a day after 100,000 people marched against the cuts and police clashed with demonstrators.

The measures, including tax hikes and pay cuts, are needed to convince the EU and IMF to continue bailout loans… more...

France has been given a warning over its top AAA credit rating by Moody’s, one of the main rating agencies.

Moody’s warned that it may change its “stable” outlook on the rating to “negative” in the coming months, saying that the government’s financial strength “has weakened”.

If Moody’s does make the change, it stops short of a downgrade.

France’s finance minister said the government would… more...

Russia has signed a free-trade deal with seven other former Soviet republics that will scrap export and import tariffs on a number of goods.

The agreement was announced following talks in St Petersburg. The other signature countries are Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan.

No details have yet been revealed about what goods will be included.

Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan may join by… more...

China has reduced its holdings of US debt to their lowest level in a year, after the US’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

China sold $36.5bn (£23.2bn) in US Treasuries or bonds to cut its holding to $1,137bn in August, latest data by the US Treasury department showed.

In August, S&P cut the US’s credit rating to double A+ from triple A… more...

A general strike is under way in Greece, grounding flights, halting most public services and shutting offices and shops.

The 48-hour strike comes as parliament prepares to vote on the latest round of austerity measures, including more tax hikes, pay cuts and job losses.

Greece is struggling to reduce a huge government deficit amid fears it may default and set off a eurozone crisis.

The… more...

Moody’s has downgraded the rating of Spain’s government bonds.

The ratings agency cut Spain two notches, two days after Standard & Poor’s took the same decision.

Moody’s said it had cut the rating because there had been no credible resolution to the eurozone debt crisis.

It also said that the debt crisis and difficulties faced by Spanish banks wanting to borrow money meant it had… more...