Global Economy | featured news

A further lifting of U.S. sanctions on Myanmar, which could come during a visit by officials to Washington this week, would be crucial to opening its long-isolated economy, a senior Myanmar government official said.

The crushing defeat follows elections that rejected austerity policies in Greece, France and Italy, severely weakening Chancellor Merkel's hand at her first talks with FranCois Hollande, the new French President, in Berlin tomorrow (TUES).

China's central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Saturday, freeing an estimated 400 billion yuan ($63.5 billion) for lending to head-off the risk of a sudden slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy stuttered unexpectedly in April with lower than expected output data, softening retail sales and easing prices suggesting economic headwinds might be stiffer than thought, requiring more robust policy responses to counter them.

The anti-austerity backlash - as seen at the polls in France and Greece - is already shaping a new debate in Europe... Europe's leaders will address a conundrum that divides economists: can you have austerity and growth at the same time?

Germany and the European Commission on Tuesday called on EU nations to stick to their promised budget cuts despite mounting voter discontent, but promised some new efforts to boost growth to alleviate economic hardship.

The economy may be king on the American campaign trail, but as President Obama sets out on his re-election bid and Mitt Romney tries to unseat him with a free-market-centered message, foreign policy is clearly creeping back into the mix.

Centre-left and protest parties score well in Italy's local elections amid widespread discontent with the government's austerity drive.

Investors nervous about the changing political winds in Europe initially drove down the euro and sent stock markets falling across the region Monday morning, though markets were bouncing back later in the day following renewed signs of strength in the German economy.

There has been a great deal of austerity-bashing -- that is to say Germany-bashing -- this French election season. Buoyed by his success in the first round, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande declared last Thursday: "It is not for Germany to decide for the rest of Europe." Vowing to reset Europe on a growth path, he said, "we're not just any country, we can change the situation."