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 [...]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it lost $5.2 billion during the final three months of 2009 as consumers struggled to make their mortgage and credit card payments and the bank repaid its government bailout money.Bank of America said its loss, which reflected payment of preferred dividends, compared with a loss of $2.4 [...]

WASHINGTON  Members of the U.S. Congress begin 2010 scrambling to reduce the double-digit U.S. jobless rate, knowing their own jobs will be at stake in the November election if they fail to deliver.With about one in 10 Americans out of work, the highest percentage in 25 years, President Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats — who control [...]

SEATTLE  From a TV soap opera advocating savings in the Dominican Republic to banking by motorbike in Ethiopia and India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s most recent grants to promote global development have a decidedly more creative bent.But the ingenuity of the recipients of the $38 million in grants announced Wednesday did not result [...]

WASHINGTON  A top White House economic adviser says reducing the country’s 10 percent unemployment rate is essential to reining in the growing budget deficit.At the same time, Christina Romer is declining to predict what the jobless rate will be this fall when members of Congress face re-election.More jobs were lost last month after slight gains [...]

LONDON  European and U.S. stock markets recovered some earlier losses Thursday, helped by a string of upbeat trading updates from U.S. retailers a day ahead of crucial jobs data.In Europe, Germany’s DAX index closed down 14.97 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,019.36 while France’s CAC-40 closed 7.13 points, or 0.2 percent, higher at 4,024.80. The [...]