Deflation threat shakes G20 amid emerging-market losses

Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi have a new reason to consider what International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde calls the “ogre” of deflation: Eroding confidence in emerging markets. Weaker growth from Brazil to South Africa risks unleashing a “disinflationary impulse through the global economy,” said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. Cheaper commodities, slower trade and sliding exchange rates in developing markets all could soften price pressures internati

Feb. 17, 2014

Eurozone growth at top end of forecasts

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The eurozone economy grew 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, enough of an improvement on 0.1 percent in the previous quarter to suggest that modest recovery remains on track, official data showed on Friday.Analysts had expected a gain of 0.2-0.3 percent. In the wider European Union, the economy expanded 0.4 percent, after 0.3 percent in the third quarter, the Eurostat statistics agency said.Compared with fourth quarter 2012, the then 17-nation eurozone economy expanded y

Feb. 16, 2014

Obama says congress must finish job on minimum wage

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama says Congress should finish the job he started by raising the U.S. minimum wage to $10.10.In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says Americans deserve to know where their representatives stand. He says if lawmakers oppose a wage hike, Americans should ask why. He says opponents have been making the same arguments for years and are always proved wrong.Obama recorded his address at the White House before leaving Friday for California. On Wednesday

Feb. 16, 2014

Obama signs debt ceiling measure into law

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AP) ― President Barack Obama on Saturday signed separate measures into law to lift the federal debt limit and restore benefits that had been cut for younger military retirees. Obama signed the bills during a weekend golf vacation in Southern California. The debt limit measure allows the government to borrow money to pay its bills, such as Social Security benefits and federal salaries. Failure to pass the measure, which the Senate passed 67-31 earlier this week and sent

Feb. 16, 2014

Pot businesses allowed to open U.S. bank accounts

The U.S. government took a step toward legitimizing the marijuana industry, allowing U.S. banks to offer accounts and other services to businesses in states where medical or recreational pot sales are legal. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued guidelines for banks intended to reduce the danger that sellers face in operating an all-cash business. The rules would also give law enforcement more information about marijuana business activity, the agency said Friday in a stateme

Feb. 16, 2014

U.S. Senate clears debt limit measure

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Must-pass legislation to allow the U.S. government to borrow money to pay its bills cleared Congress Wednesday for President Barack Obama’s signature, staving off a debt default that could have rattled financial markets and spiked interest rates. The Senate approved the measure by a near party-line 55-43 vote. All of the “aye” votes came from Obama’s Democratic allies in what amounted to a major victory for the president.The measure is required so that the government can borrow

Feb. 13, 2014

Online protest targets U.S. Internet snooping

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Google joined Internet rights activists on Tuesday in a virtual protest aimed at getting U.S. law makers to reign in online snooping.Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Yahoo-owned Tumblr were on the roster of backers of an online protest called “The Day We Fight Back.”By mid-morning here, more than 20,000 telephone calls had been made to members of the U.S. Congress to oppose privacy “intrusion”

Feb. 12, 2014

Cautious Yellen sticks to Bernanke script

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― New Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen painted a steady-as-she-goes course Tuesday as she takes the helm of the U.S. central bank from her predecessor Ben Bernanke.In her first public comments on policy since becoming Fed chair at the beginning of this month, Yellen told Congress the U.S. economy is expected to grow this year and next at a moderate pace, despite some recent poor data that has sparked fears of a slowdown.That would keep the Fed on course to slowly taper its cur

Feb. 12, 2014

House passes bill raising U.S. debt ceiling until 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) ― House Republicans backed away from a battle over the government’s debt cap on Tuesday and permitted President Barack Obama’s Democratic allies to drive quick passage of a measure to increase the government’s borrowing ability to pay its bills and avoid a default ahead of the November elections.The 221-201 vote came hours after Republican House leader John Boehner announced that his fractured party would relent.Just 28 Republicans voted for the measure, including Boehner. But 19

Feb. 12, 2014

Icahn steps back from Apple battle

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Activist investor Carl Icahn said Monday he would no longer press Apple to boost its share buyback plan after a proxy advisory firm recommended against his proposal.The billionaire said in an open letter to shareholders that Apple has already done much of what he was seeking, by repurchasing $14 billion in shares in recent weeks.Icahn’s letter said he was “disappointed” by the recommendation against his plan from Institutional Shareholder Services.But he maintained that “we do n

Feb. 11, 2014