The amount of cash Swiss commercial banks hold with nation's central bank rose more than expected in the week to December 14, a sign that investors are getting less anxious over Eurozone's financial woes.
Home sellers in London and other U.K. cities cut their asking prices by the most this month in five years, due to the inflow of supply and seasonal factors, which had a negative effect on the pricing power.
Manufacturing activity in the New York region shrank for a fifth consecutive month, as new orders dropped and the labour market remained weak, the New York Federal Reserve said in a report on Monday.
Eurozone trade surplus increased unexpectedly in October, a sign that the indebted bloc is regaining its competitive edge.
The sentiment of Japanese manufacturers worsened in December, as the country slipped into recession, while the global slowdown and territorial tensions with China hit the export-reliant economy.
Swiss economy is widely expected to continue its expansion in the next year, however, at a slower pace due to the global slowdown and growing uncertainty over the Eurozone debt crisis.
The Standard's & Poor's became the third of the major credit rating agencies, which put the U.K.'s top AAA rating on "negative outlook".
Consumer prices in the world's biggest economy dropped significantly in November due to the sharp drop in petrol prices, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Eurozone services and manufacturing sector contracted in December, however, at a slower pace, showing some signs of improvement, the research group Markit said Friday.
The world's third biggest economy is going to have parliamentary elections on Sunday, a sign that a major policy shift towards delivering higher growth and inflation may be seen soon.
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