EBRD expresses hope over eurozone debt

LONDON (AFP) ― The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expressed optimism on Monday that the worst of the eurozone debt crisis was over, but trimmed the 2013 growth forecast for its investment region in the ex-Soviet bloc.The EBRD cut the growth forecast for the countries where it operates to 3.1 percent this year, the London-based institution announced in its latest economic outlook report.That compared with the previous estimate in October of 3.2 percent gross domestic product gro

Jan. 22, 2013

BOJ sets 2% inflation target

TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a “monetary regime change” Tuesday as the central bank bowed to government pressure, setting a 2 percent inflation target aimed at helping the country emerge from its prolonged bout of deflation.“This opens a passageway toward bold monetary easing,” Abe told reporters after the Bank of Japan and government jointly announced the inflation target and plans for “open-ended” central bank asset purchases similar to the strategy followed by the U

Jan. 22, 2013

Bank cuts could leave premium flight seats empty

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Singapore Airlines Ltd. are spending $207 million fitting flat-bed seats and larger TV screens in business-class. Finding passengers to fly them may be a challenge. Sales at the front of the cabin fell short of its expectations in December, Cathay Pacific said last week, as the Hong Kong-based carrier this month introduced promotional business-class fares. Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s biggest, offered 28 percent discounts on return premium tickets to Hong Kong

Jan. 21, 2013

Iraq finds extra billion barrels of oil

BAGHDAD (AFP) ― Iraq said on Sunday it has discovered deposits of crude equivalent to one billion barrels of oil after the first exploration work by state-owned firms in almost 30 years.The deposits were found after exploration in Maysan province, in southern Iraq near the border with Iran, and could potentially make a significant addition to Baghdad’s already substantial reserves.“Exploration began in Maysan, south of (provincial capital) Amara” last year, oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad tol

Jan. 21, 2013

Beijing smog rules would shut factories

The city of Beijing proposed rules that would shut down factories and take cars off the road when smog reaches dangerous levels, as officials stepped up efforts to address pollution that reached record levels this month. Under the new rules, drivers could face 3,000 yuan ($482) in fines if their vehicles exceed emissions limits, while the construction of new cement and steel plants would be outlawed. A draft was posted on the Beijing government’s website Jan. 19 and the public will have until Fe

Jan. 21, 2013

Toyota to pick Uchiyamada as next chairman: Nikkei

Toyota Motor Corp. will probably pick Takeshi Uchiyamada, who led the development of the Prius hybrid car in 1990s, to replace Fujio Cho as the company’s next chairman, Nikkei reported Monday, without citing anyone.Cho, 75, will become a senior adviser, though a final decision will be made at a board meeting in June, Nikkei said. Uchiyamada, currently vice chairman at Toyota, may also become vice chairman of the Keidanren, Japan’s largest business lobbying group, Nikkei said.While President Akio

Jan. 21, 2013

Investigators probe 787 battery maker

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japanese and American safety inspectors were Monday probing the company that makes batteries for Boeing’s Dreamliner after the aircraft’s worldwide fleet was grounded over safety fears.Aviation regulators were focusing on the lithium-ion batteries as the cause of a glitch that forced an All Nippon Airways flight into an emergency landing last week.Despite the investigation shares in GS Yuasa, which manufactures the batteries for the Dreamliner’s advanced electronics systems, were u

Jan. 21, 2013

Bank of Japan calls for more easing

TOKYO (AFP) ― The Bank of Japan on Monday began its first policy meeting since the new premier took office with a pledge to pressure it into aggressive monetary easing to revive the long-suffering economy.The two-day meeting is widely expected to see the central bank launch another round of easing, and bow to government demands that it set a two-percent inflation target in a bid to vanquish the deflation that has haunted the world’s third largest economy for years.If the BOJ inflates its 101 tri

Jan. 21, 2013

Fed underestimated financial crisis in ’07

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal Reserve officials in 2007 badly underestimated the scope of the approaching financial crisis and how it would tip the U.S. economy into the deepest recession since the Great Depression, transcripts of the Fed’s policy meetings that year show.The meetings occurred as the country was on the brink of its worst financial crisis since the 1930s. As the year went on, Fed officials shifted their focus away from the risk of inflation as they slowly began to recognize the severi

Jan. 20, 2013

Greece recovering, needs more cash

ATHENS (AP) ― Greece has salvaged its economic recovery program following months of political uncertainty but still faces “enormous” challenges and will need new financial support from fellow eurozone states, the International Monetary Fund said Friday. The IMF issued its views in a 260-page report after it approved this week a long-delayed $4.3 billion loan installment to Greece. Poul Thomsen, headed of the IMF’s mission to Greece, said the government’s implementation of its reforms program had

Jan. 20, 2013

IMF sees improved world outlook

WASHINGTON (AP) ― International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Thursday that the threat of financial collapse in the global economy appears to have eased. But she warned that developed economies still need to follow through on financial reforms and debt reduction. “We stopped the collapse. We should avoid the relapse. And it’s not time to relax,” she told a news conference on her outlook for 2013. Lagarde said that big economic powers, including the United States and European countri

Jan. 18, 2013

U.S. executives call for raising retirement age to 70

WASHINGTON (AP) ― An influential group of business CEOs is pushing a plan to gradually increase the full retirement age to 70 for both Social Security and Medicare and to partially privatize the health insurance program for older Americans. The Business Roundtable’s plan would protect those 55 and older from cuts but younger workers would face significant changes. The plan unveiled Wednesday would result in smaller annual benefit increases for all Social Security recipients. Initial benefits for

Jan. 17, 2013