Hollande: Eurozone crisis is over

TOKYO (AP) ― French President Francois Hollande sought reassure Japanese business leaders Saturday that the eurozone debt crisis is over but acknowledged that steps to boost the region’s growth and competitiveness need to be taken.In a speech on the final day of his visit to Japan, Hollande said that the potentially destructive debt crisis has served to “reinforce” Europe and foster greater integration of the 17 member economies that use the euro currency.He said authorities are developing tools

June 9, 2013

ECB holds rates but ‘ready to act’

FRANKFURT (AFP) ― The European Central Bank held its key rates unchanged, as widely expected, at a policy meeting here Thursday, but ECB chief Mario Draghi insisted the bank stood “ready to act” to give the eurozone’s economy a much-needed shot in the arm.With the euro area still mired in its longest recession ever, the ECB’s governing council voted to keep the bank’s key “refi” refinancing rate steady at an all-time low of 0.5 percent, after cutting it by a quarter of a percentage point last mo

June 7, 2013

‘Japan won’t intervene in market after surge in yen’

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said that the government won’t intervene in the currency market for now after the yen strengthened by the most in three years against the dollar. “We are carefully watching, but we don’t have any immediate intention of taking any action, such as intervention,” the finance minister told reporters in Tokyo Friday. The yen jumped 0.5 percent to 96.49 per dollar as of 11:38 a.m. local time. Japan’s currency surged 2.2 percent Thursday, adding to the headwinds of a

June 7, 2013

Abenomics won’t be ‘magic bullet’ for Japan, says Johnson of MIT

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies to stem deflation and spur growth won’t be a “magic bullet” that shakes the nation’s economy out of stagnation, said Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While Abe’s efforts are “significant,” an aging population, heavy debt loads and a lack of immigration will continue to hobble the Japanese economy, Johnson, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said in an interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom

June 6, 2013

IMF admits ‘notable failures’ in Greek bailout

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The International Monetary Fund acknowledged on Wednesday that it made “notable failures” in the Greek bailout, underestimating how much the austerity measures it pushed would pinch the country’s already faltering economy. The IMF made the unusually frank admission in an evaluation of how it handled Greece’s debt crisis, which triggered financial turmoil across the eurozone. The Greek economy has been kept afloat for the past three years by rescue loans from Europe and the IMF

June 6, 2013

Porn app for Google Glasses faces hurdles

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― The makers of a porn app for Google’s Internet-linked eyewear were modifying the software Tuesday in response to a move by the company to keep sex off the new devices.Google evidently updated its Glass developer rules over the weekend, ahead of the release of an application on Monday by California-based MiKandi.“Although the app is still live and people are using it, at this point we must make changes to the app in order to comply with the new policies,” MiKandi chief execu

June 5, 2013

China to probe EU wine after solar duties imposed

BEIJING (AFP) ― Beijing has begun an anti-dumping probe into European wine, the commerce ministry said Wednesday after the EU imposed tariffs on solar panel imports from China, in a dramatic broadening of the trade dispute. “The Chinese government has initiated an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation procedure into wines from the European Union,” commerce ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said in a statement.China is the EU’s second-largest trading partner, but the move is a major widening

June 5, 2013

Wal-Mart offers refunds to dissatisfied shoppers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in an effort to sell more groceries, is reminding customers that it offers full refunds on fruits and vegetables. Shoppers are required to present only receipts for full refunds, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart said Monday in a statement. To ensure quality, the world’s largest retailer said independent auditors will conduct weekly store checks. Wal-Mart wants to persuade customers their money is well-spent and that the produce is as good as it is elsewhere, said Eli Po

June 4, 2013

U.S. auto sales roar back in May

DETROIT (AP) ― Full-size pickups once again dominated U.S. auto sales in May, as small businesses ― increasingly confident in the economy ― raced to replace the aging pickups they held on to during the recession. Car buyers, too, were lured by low interest rates and Memorial Day sales. Overall, U.S. consumers bought 1.4 million vehicles in May, up 8 percent from the same month a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. The results suggest the auto industry will remain a bright spot in an economy th

June 4, 2013

Roubini: Gold falling to $1,000 by 2015 on global recovery

Gold may fall toward $1,000 an ounce by 2015 as the economic recovery curbs demand for bullion that rallied the past 12 years, said Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics and international business at New York University. A lack of inflation and better returns from other assets such as equities are two of six reasons why prices will trend lower, according to an article written by Roubini and published June 1 on the commentary website Project Syndicate. The metal fell 16 percent to $1,403.62 in

June 4, 2013

3-D printing goes from sci-fi fantasy to real life, industries

SAN MATEO, California (AP) ― Invisalign, a San Jose company, uses 3-D printing to make each mouthful of customized, transparent braces. Mackenzies Chocolates, a confectioner in Santa Cruz, uses a 3-D printer to pump out chocolate molds. And earlier this year, Cornell University researchers used a 3-D printer, along with injections of a special collagen gel, to create a human-shaped ear. Once a science-fiction fantasy, three-dimensional printers are popping up everywhere from the desks of home ho

June 3, 2013

China output shrinks more than thought

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s manufacturing activity shrank more than first reported in May, HSBC said Monday, confirming the first contraction in seven months.The British banking giant’s final purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reading for May came in at 49.2, the bank said in a press release, the lowest for eight months and worse than the preliminary 49.6 announced on May 23.A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.The HSBC and central government PMIs are both widely watched indicators o

June 3, 2013

ECB’s Draghi sees signs of stabilization in ‘challenging’ economy

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that while the economic outlook in the euro area is “challenging,” he still expects a recovery this year. “There are a few signs of a possible stabilization,” Draghi said in a speech in Shanghai today, according to a text provided by the Frankfurt-based central bank. “Our baseline scenario continues to be one of a very gradual recovery starting in the latter part of this year.” After reducing the ECB’s benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0

June 3, 2013

Central bank group warns markets ‘under a spell’

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ― Investors have ignored poor economic news as stocks have risen, leaving markets now vulnerable to unsettling volatility and potential losses, an organization of the world’s central banks said Sunday. The Bank for International Settlements said central banks’ policies of record low interest rates and monetary stimulus had helped investors “tune out” bad news ― every time an economic indicator disappointed, traders simply took that as confirmation that central banks would

June 3, 2013