The number of housing starts in the world's biggest economy soared to a four-year high, a sign nation's property market is gaining momentum. The U.S. Census Bureau said that starts rose 3.6% to an 894,000 annual rate, expanding at its fastest pace since July 2008. On a yearly basis, housing starts soared 42%, while the rate still remains far below
Eurozone finance ministers are expected to approve the next 33 billion euros of bailout fund needed by Greece to avoid bankruptcy. However, the money is unlikely to be disbursed before December and the deal on two-year delay to Greece's austerity programme may need further talks as well. Greece's reforms and fiscal consolidation were thrown off the course by two subsequent
The Bank of Japan is likely to expand its asset-purchase programme, as opposition's leader Shinzo Abe, which is expected to become the next prime minister, claimed his readiness to force the BoJ to buy the bonds from the government. Japanese central bank has already eased its monetary policy twice during the last two months by 21 trillion yen in order
The amount of cash Swiss commercial banks hold with nation's central bank rose slightly in the week to November 16, a sign that investors are getting less anxious over Eurozone's financial woes. Sight deposits of domestic banks jumped 0.4% to 292.700 billion francs last week, up from 291.522 billion a week earlier. Despite the improvement, the tendency remains negative, proving
The U.K. property market is showing some signs of recovery, as home sellers in London increased asking prices for a third consecutive month in November, report by Rightmove Plc (RMV) showed on Monday. Nationally property prices rose 2% from a year ago, posting the biggest gain since November 2007. Prices in the U.K. added 1.2% to an average of 483,709
Sales of previously owned homes in the world's biggest economy rose more than expected in October, indicating improvement in the property market helped by cheap borrowing costs. The number of purchases of existing homes added 2.1% to a 4.79 million annual rate in October, up from 4.69 million in September, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.
The amount of loans at Spanish banks that fell into arrears soared to a new high in September, due to the damage caused by the collapse of country's property market. According to the Bank of Spain, the proportion of Spanish banks' bad loans jumped 10.7% (to 182 billion euros), compared to a 10.5% increase in the ratio the preceding month.
Japanese government downgraded its economic outlook for the fourth consecutive month, as slump in exports and weak domestic demand threaten to tip the country into a recession by the end of this year. This is the longest streak of downgrades since global financial crisis, however, the government has raised its outlook for the global economy for the first time since
The Swiss National Bank will continue enforcing the cap it imposed on the nation's currency to stave off the recession and avoid the risk of deflation, the SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan said on Friday. However, the Swiss currency still remains highly valued and represents a burden for the economy. The bank was defending its 1.2 cap by selling francs against
Britain's economy is facing risks of further instability and slowdown and is likely to slip into its first triple-dip recession in the last quarter of this year. Nation's gross domestic product is expected to fall by 0.1% in the three months through December, and will expand only by 1% in 2013, while the inflation rate will be around a 2%
Industrial output in the world's biggest economy declined in October, hit by the super storm Sandy, which knocked out power in the Northeast. The Federal Reserve said industrial production contracted 0.4% last month, down from a 0.2% gain in the preceding month. Economists had expected output from the factories to rise 0.2%, however, the Fed said the storm cut total
The eurozone trade surplus rose to 11.3 billion euros in September, up from 9.9 billion euros in the preceding month, a positive sign for the struggling economy. However, current account, which includes income flows, and unilateral transfers, narrowed in September, due to the significant drop in income. The European Central Bank said current account surplus declined to 800 million euros,
The eurozone economy returned to recession, as the output across the region was hit by the deepening sovereign debt crisis. According to the Europe's statistics office, Eurostat, GDP of the 17-nation bloc shrank by 0.1% between July and September, after contracting by 0.2% in the prior quarter. The eurozone slipped into a recession for the second time since 2009, when
Japan scheduled fresh elections on December 16, as country's Prime Minister is going to dissolve parliament on Friday. As Noda's party looks certain to lose, the leader of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, is likely to become Japan's next leader. Earlier this week, both parties agreed on pushing ahead with the legislation authorizing the issuance of deficit
Swiss stocks turned lower on Thursday, dragged down by disappointing data from the eurozone and the U.S., which added to signs that the global economy is slowing. President Barack Obama is negotiating with Congress to reach a deficit-reduction deal, while the unemployment claims surged to the highest level since April 2011. In the meanwhile, eurozone economy entered its second recession
Retail sales in the U.K. fell more than expected in October, as shoppers cut back on clothing and food, adding to concerns that the British economy is likely to fall into a triple-dip recession. Sales, including fuel, erased 0.8%, down from a 0.5% gain in the preceding month. At the same time, analysts had expected retail sales volume to decline
The number of people who applied for U.S. jobless benefits rose more than expected in the week ended November 10, however, as the Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the labour market, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. Initial applications for unemployment benefits soared 78,000 to 439,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 14,000 to 375,000. The four-week moving
Swiss investor confidence improved slightly this month, however, still remains in the negative territory, suggesting the economy may struggle to gain the momentum. According to the ZEW Center for European Economic Research, its index, which reflects the expectations of the future economic performance, rose to minus 27.9 in November, up from minus 28.9 in the previous month. At the same
Japanese largest manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corp., is going to recall 2.77 million vehicles worldwide in order to fix shaft and water-pump defects. While the defect had caused no accidents and could each be fixed in an hour, it can cost several millions to fix the issue. It is already second multi-million car recall in two months. However, despite a dramatic
The number of people, who filed applications for jobless benefits in the U.K., rose at its fastest pace in more than a year in October. The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that jobless benefit claims soared 10,100 to 1.58 million, up from an 800 increase in the prior month. In the meanwhile, the overall unemployment rate came at
Americans cut their spending at retail businesses in October, as automobile purchases were slammed by the super storm Sandy. The Commerce Department said that sales dropped 0.3% last month, after a 1.3% increase in September, posting a first loss after a three-month shopping spree. At the same time, wholesale prices lost 0.2% last month, after rising 1.1% in September, while
Output from the eurozone factories tumbled to the lowest level since January 2009 in September, a sign region's debt crisis is deepening. Industrial output slumped 2.5% on month in September, down from 0.9% increase in August. On a yearly basis, industrial production was 2.3% lower than in September 2011. The contraction in data adds to expectation that eurozone's economy will
Japanese industrial output tumbled in September, due to the weak domestic demand and exports, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday. Nation's industrial production dropped a seasonally adjusted -4.1% from the same reading in the preceding month. The weak data are putting more pressure on the BoJ to expand its stimulus programme to bolster economic growth, as
Producer and import prices in Switzerland advanced slightly last month, helped by the Swiss National Bank's policy of keeping the local currency from becoming overly strong. The Federal Statistical Office said producer and import prices rose 0.4% in October from a year earlier, up from a 0.3% rise in the previous month, but below analysts' expectations of a 0.5% increase.