LONDON (AFP) ― The Bank of England is to issue plastic banknotes for the first time in its history, it announced Wednesday, with Winston Churchill gracing the first run.The polymer note, carrying a value of 5 pounds ($8.2), is to be released in 2016, Britain’s central bank said in a statement, and will feature World War II prime minister Churchill.A new 10 pound note featuring novelist Jane Austen to be issued a year later will also be made of polymer.More than 25 other countries have flexible p

Dec. 19, 2013

The Federal Reserve has decided to reduce its stimulus for the U.S. economy because the job market has shown steady improvement. The shift could lead to higher long-term borrowing rates for individuals and businesses.The Fed's decision amounts to a vote of confidence in the economy six years after the Great Recession struck. It signals the Fed's belief that the U.S. economy is finally achieving consistent gains.The central bank said in a statement after its policy meeting ended Wednesday that it

Dec. 19, 2013

President Barack Obama met with a group of technology executives including Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook and Yahoo! Inc.’s Marissa Mayer as the administration is under pressure to curb broad government spying on communications.Heading into the White House meeting, the executives intended to press Obama to act on the changes to surveillance policies proposed in a letter sent to the president and lawmakers last week, according to a representative of one of the companies, who asked not to be identified bec

Dec. 18, 2013

Japan reported the biggest November trade deficit on record as imports climbed 21.1 percent from a year earlier, supported by demand ahead of a sales-tax increase in April. The shortfall of 1.29 trillion yen ($12.6 billion) reported Wednesday by the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo compared with the 1.35 trillion yen median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 32 economists. Exports climbed 18.4 percent, as shipments to China bounced back from a year earlier. A record run of monthly deficits shows

Dec. 18, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Google Glass on Tuesday announced updates to the software in its Internet-linked eyewear to allow users to snap pictures by winking.The new feature, which promises to escalate privacy concerns already being voiced about the high-tech gadget, came as one of an array of improvements.“We’ve got a new setting that lets you quickly and easily capture the moments you care about with a simple wink of the eye,” Google Glass posted on its Google+ social network page.“We’re starting

Dec. 18, 2013

Asian growth matching the lowest this year since 2009 may receive a boost in 2014 as developed markets from the U.S. to Europe accelerate, according to the manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, Pacific Investment Management Co. Four of Asia’s five largest economies outside Japan are slowing as regional expansion stalls at 6.23 percent for a second year, economist forecasts compiled by Bloomberg show. Shipments from China to the U.S. are poised to increase at the slowest pace since 2008 this

Dec. 18, 2013

MOSCOW (AP) ― Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday opened his wallet in the battle with the European Union over Ukraine’s future, saying Moscow will buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian government bonds and sharply cut the price of natural gas for its economically struggling neighbor. The announcements came after Putin held talks in Moscow with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is facing massive protests at home for his decision to shelve a pact with the EU in favor of closer ties

Dec. 18, 2013

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a willingness to resist political encroachment has been a key strength of the Fed during its first century as the U.S. central bank. “One value that strikes me as having been at least as important as any other has been the Federal Reserve’s willingness, during its finest hours, to stand up to political pressure and make tough but necessary decisions,” Bernanke said Monday in Washington at a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Fed. He didn’t disc

Dec. 17, 2013

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Emirates president Tim Clark said he is carefully watching developments at alliance partner Qantas, but ruled out throwing a financial lifeline to the embattled Australian flag carrier, in comments reported on Monday.Earlier this month, Qantas forecast a half-year loss of up to A$300 million ($269 million) and said it would axe 1,000 jobs, leading to a credit downgrade from Standard & Poor’s, which cut its rating to “junk” status.Qantas blamed its predicament on record fuel costs

Dec. 16, 2013

A Chinese manufacturing index unexpectedly fell to a three-month low as output gains eased and employment weakened, suggesting the world’s second-largest economy is vulnerable to a slowdown. The preliminary reading of 50.5 for a Purchasing Managers’ Index released Monday by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics compares with a final figure of 50.8 in November and the 50.9 median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 11 analysts. A number above 50 indicates expansion. Monday’s report may signal

Dec. 16, 2013

Investors are dumping gold-backed exchange-traded products at the fastest pace since the securities were created a decade ago, mirroring the steepest price drop in 32 years. Holdings in the 14 biggest ETPs plunged 31 percent to 1,813.7 metric tons since the start of January, the first annual decrease since the funds started trading in 2003, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The removals erased $69.5 billion in the value of the assets as prices fell by the most since 1981. A further 311 tons will

Dec. 16, 2013

Joerg Asmussen is to leave the European Central Bank’s Executive Board for a government position, depriving President Mario Draghi of a key German ally. Asmussen, 47, will become deputy labor minister in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government and will shortly resign from his post at the ECB, he said in a statement distributed by the Frankfurt-based institution Sunday. Asmussen has been on the six-person Executive Board, which implements monetary policy for the euro area, since January 2012

Dec. 16, 2013