The Swiss National Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.0%, meeting analysts' expectations.
The U.K. factory orders index and the expectations improved significantly in December, suggesting companies are getting more optimistic about the economic outlook.
New applications for the unemployment benefits in the world's biggest economy fell more than expected last week, adding to evidence that the labour market is on the path of recovery.
Eurozone finance ministers agreed on a deal on rules for supervising region's banks, marking the first bold action to tackle the problems together.
Industrial output across the Eurozone surprisingly fell in October, another reason to believe that region's recession is getting worse. The seasonally adjusted industrial production in the 17-member Eurozone slipped by 1.4% from the previous month, the European Statistics Office Eurostat, said Wednesday. Analysts, however, expected a 0.2% increase. At the same time, the industrial output in the Europe's biggest economy
Machinery orders in the world's third biggest economy rose for the first time in three months, a sign that companies expect to see some improvement in the economy in the next year. According to the Cabinet Office, Japan's core machinery orders rose 2.6% in October, from September, when they had dropped 4.3%. However, core orders, which are considered to be
Expectations for the Swiss improved slightly this month, suggesting the economy is stabilising after a brief contraction earlier this year. The report from Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) and Credit Suisse showed that their index, which is designed to predict future economic activity, improved by 12.4 points, reaching -15.5, the highest level since May. The index is recovering from
The number of unemployed people in the U.K. dropped the most in 11 years last month, while jobless claims fell more than expected, suggesting the resilience of the labour market in the face of weak economic performance. The unemployment rate stood at 7.8%, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous three months, as 82,000 less looked for the job, totaling
While the White House and congressional Republicans are still discussing a deal to prevent a so-called "fiscal cliff", the Federal Reserve was widely expected to announce a fresh round of quantitative easing during its Wednesday meeting in order to boost the flagging economy. The Fed extended stimulus through supplementary monthly $45 billion large purchases of Treasuries in addition to the
Confidence among German investors soared to the 7-month high in December on speculations that the Europe's largest economy will gain momentum in the next year. According to the ZEW Center for European Economic Research, its index, which measures investor and analyst expectations, unexpectedly rocketed to 6.9 this month, up from minus 15.7 in November. At the same time the gauge
The U.S. trade gap widened in October, however, less than initially was expected, as exports slumped at the fastest pace in four years and outweighed a drop in imports. The Commerce Department said that the trade deficit climbed 4.9% to $42.2 billion, from a revised $40.3 billion in September. Exports from the world's biggest economy tumbled 3.6%, the most since
The U.K. home prices fell surprisingly in November after several months of improvement, adding to concerns that the economy is not on the path of recovery yet. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that a house-price gauge slipped to minus 9 from minus 7 in October, indicating that more surveyors saw a drop in values rather than increase. In
The Swiss biggest bank will charge fees to bank clients, who are holding Swiss franc cash accounts starting from December 21, suggesting clients should keep franc balances as low as possible. UBS decided to impose negative interest rates on institutional clients following a similar move by Credit Suisse, which was done in the previous week. A move by nation's two
The total quantity of domestic currency in circulation and deposited in banks in Japan dropped in November, the BoJ said on Tuesday. Japan's M2 money stock was up 2.1% on year in November, totalling 819.4 trillion yen and posting a slower pace than a 2.3% increase in the previous month. In the meantime, the broader M3 money stock, which also
The world's third biggest economy sank into recession, posting two consecutive quarters of contractions, meeting analysts' expectations. Japanese gross domestic product shrank by 0.9% in the July-September period, after a 0.03% contraction in the previous quarter. On a yearly basis, the economy contracted by 3.5% in the three months through September. The weak economic performance is adding to signs that
The amount of cash Swiss commercial banks hold with nation's central bank fell slightly in the week to December 7, a sign that investors are getting less anxious over Eurozone's financial woes. Sight deposits of domestic banks declined to 292,764 million francs last week, down from 293,104 million a week earlier. At the same time, the tendency remains negative, proving
The U.K. is going to hold the referendum on the nation's membership in the European Union, the Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday. People will be offered two choices, either new, looser relationship with the EU or a British exit. Cameron's willingness to stay in the 27-member bloc created some tensions in his own Conservative Party. In the meanwhile, Cameron
The Federal Reserve is likely to announce on Wednesday that it will continue buying Treasury securities in order to stimulate growth in the 2013. Moreover, the Fed may expand its asset-purchase programme, known as Quantitative Easing, to $85 billion worth of securities per month. Before easing up the stimulus programme, the Fed wants to see a big improvement in the
Investor confidence about the Eurozone economic outlook improved for the fourth consecutive month in December, boosted by the ECB's pledge to save the common currency, the Sentix research institute said Monday. A gauge, which measures sentiment in the euro-area economy, improved to -16.8, up from -18.8 in November, however, still remains below the 0 threshold, which separates optimism from pessimism.
Japanese leading indicators rose more than expected in October, indicating some positive signs for the world's third largest economy. The Cabinet Office said that nation's index of leading economic indicators, which is designed to predict the direction of the economy, advanced to a seasonally adjusted 92.5, up from 91.6 in the preceding month. The reading came above analysts' expectations of
The reserves held by the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly for a second straight month in November, as the nation's currency hovered above the 1.20 per euro cap, which was imposed by the central bank in September 2011. The SNB held 424.826 billion Swiss francs ($456.16 billion) in foreign currency in the last month, compared with a revised 426.769 billion francs
British manufacturing output contracted more than initially expected in October, reinforcing fears that the economy will shrink again at the end of this year. Manufacturing output shrank by 1.3% in October after stagnating in September, and was 2.1% lower from a year ago, posting the biggest drop since June, the figures from Office for National Statistics showed. The overall industrial
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level since December 2008, while payrolls rose more than expected in November, a positive sign that the labour market in the world's biggest economy is finally on the path of recovery. The country added 146,000 jobs in November, as the economy seemingly shrugged off super storm Sandy. At the same time the
The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday, however, a majority of policy makers in the region are showing willingness to cut the rate. The reduction is likely to be seen early next year if the economy does not pick up. In the meanwhile, Germany and Austria suggested that an improvement is unlikely, forecasting scant growth