CARACAS, Venezuela  Authorities temporarily halted the trading of government bonds on Tuesday and said they would seek to control Venezuela’s currency exchange rates by setting a range of permitted prices in the bond market.National Securities Commission President Tomas Sanchez said that bond trading is being suspended while new regulations are established following the approval last [...]

Wall Street’s unexplained plunge last week and Greece’s debt problems posed systemic risks and underscored the need for financial regulatory overhaul, a top U.S. lawmaker said on Sunday.GreeceSenate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd told CBS’s “Face of the Nation” program that authorities had not yet figured out the events of last Thursday, which saw the [...]

Stock prices fluctuated sharply, as they often do the day after a big slide. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 100 points in early afternoon trading, having been down as much as nearly 280 points earlier. Traders remained anxious amid questions about what caused Thursday’s sudden drop, which sent the stocks of several [...]

DENVER United States Steel Corp. continues to see improved demand for steel used in products such as appliances, automobiles and heavy industrial equipment.That improvement is slowly working its way to the steelmaker’s bottom line.The Pittsburgh manufacturer reported a narrower loss for the first three months of the year and its best result since it reported a [...]

BERLIN German Parliament at the end of last week approved the budget for 2010, with record levels of new loans. This was done because the largest countries in Europe were trying to bounce back from last year’s recession the worst in six decades.As quoted by the AFP, Saturday (20/3/2010), 313 votes from MPs who agreed [...]

ATHENS Greece must take further measures to reduce the deficit or it will face sanctions, Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted as saying by a Greek newspaper.Greece has until March 16 to convince EU finance ministers and the executive European Commission that proposed measures to cut its budget shortfall this year to 8.7 percent of gross [...]

LONDON  World markets fell Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve unexpectedly raised interest rates for emergency bank loans, triggering fears that regular borrowing costs could also move higher soon, slowing the recovery in the world’s largest economy.The central bank said Thursday it will bump up the “discount” lending rate by one-quarter point to 0.75 percent [...]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates OPEC is raising questions about how fast the U.S. economy will be able to bounce back, but is sticking to its forecast for worldwide oil demand for now.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its monthly report Wednesday that “uncertainty about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery” has the [...]

ATHENS, Greece Stock markets sank Thursday in Greece, Portugal and Spain amid worries over the European Union’s debt woes, with Greek customs and tax officials walking off the job in opposition to cutbacks aimed at digging the government out of a budget crisis that has shaken the entire EU.The 48-hour Greek customs strike is expected [...]

WASHINGTON The gap in productivity growth between the United States and Europe widened sharply as U.S. businesses were more aggressive in laying off workers and pushing their remaining employees to be more efficient, according to a business research group. Growth in productivity is the key factor in rising living standards.In a new report, the Conference [...]