BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Union's executive branch proposed Wednesday a system of centralized banking regulations that would ensure that taxpayers would never again have to bail out ailing banks whose collapse would threaten the wider economy.Under the European Commission proposal, banks that posed no systemic risk to the national or international economy would simply be allowed to fail. But t

June 6, 2012

TOKYO (AFP) ― European finance ministers from the Group of Seven economies vowed after emergency talks on Tuesday to respond “speedily” to the continent’s fiscal crisis, Japan’s finance minister said.“We were able to share our recognition on the European issue,” Jun Azumi was quoted by Jiji Press as saying after a conference call with his G7 counterparts. “The European side stated that they will respond to it speedily.”Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the world’s seven most industr

June 6, 2012

FRANKFURT (AFP) -- The international credit rating agency Moody’s said Wednesday it downgraded the credit ratings of six German banks, including the country’s number two Commerzbank.Moody’s said in a statement it was downgrading by one notch the credit ratings of Commerzbank, DekaBank, DZ Bank, regional banks LBBW, Helaba and NordLB in view of “the increased risk of further shocks emanating from the euro area debt crisis, in combination with the banks’ limited loss-absorption capacity.” Moody’s

June 6, 2012

   BEIJING (AP) -- China told foreign embassies Tuesday to stop publishing their own reports on air quality in the country, escalating its objections to a popular U.S. Embassy Twitter feed that tracks pollution in smoggy Beijing.   Only the Chinese government is authorized to monitor and publish air quality information and data from other sources may not be standardized or rigorous, Wu Xiaoqing, a

June 5, 2012

MADRID (AP) -- Spanish Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro Tuesday claims the amount of money needed to prop up Spain's troubled banking sector is not as excessively high and repeated the country's calls for the European Union to move faster towards establishing a banking union that would allow ailing lenders to seek help without governments intervening.Montoro declined to set a figure how much mon

June 5, 2012

PARIS (AP) -- Evidence that Europe's debt crisis is continuing to drag down economies both on the continent and in the U.S. pushed world stock markets lower Tuesday ahead of an emergency conference call about the crisis.A private discussion among finance ministers and central bank governors from seven of the world's most industrialized powers is expected later in the day. U.S. officials have said

June 5, 2012

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said the appreciating yen, the European debt crisis and slowing automobile demand in the U.S. are among concerns facing Japan’s car industry. “In the short run, the European economy and a possible slowdown in the recovery of the U.S. auto market is a concern,” though he’s optimistic on the outlook for the year, Toyoda, speaking as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, told reporters in Tokyo Monday. The yen is also a “major concern,”

June 4, 2012

Asian central banks should consider allowing more currency appreciation to contain an expansion of their balance sheets that risks spurring inflation and financial instability, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The balance sheets of nine Asian central banks surged to $6.4 trillion in 2011 from $1.1 trillion in 2001, the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS said in a report released Sunday. A high rate of increase may strain the ability of the financial system to absorb the funds and g

June 4, 2012

LISBON (AFP) -- Portugal will inject more than 6.65 billion euros ($8.2 billion) into private banks BCP and BPI, and the state-owned CGD to meet criteria established by the European Banking Authority, the finance ministry said Monday.“In all, the state will inject more than 6.65 billion euros in these banks,” though five billion euros is to come from an envelope worth 12 billion included in a financial rescue plan drawn up in May 2011, the ministry said.Portugal last year became the third eurozo

June 4, 2012

   TOKYO (AP) -- Sony's stock price has fallen below 1,000 yen for the first time since 1980 in a symptom of its decline since huge success with the Walkman three decades ago.   Sony Corp. has struggled to turn around its money-losing TV business for eight years and has been battered by competitors such as Apple and Samsung.   Sony's shares dipped to 990 yen Monday before recovering slightly on th

June 4, 2012

Japan’s Topix index fell below a level not seen since the global financial crisis and plunged toward the lowest close since 1983, after disappointing U.S. jobs data fueled concern the global economy is slowing.Toyota Motor Corp., Asia’s biggest carmaker by market value, fell 3.7 percent. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. led shippers lower after a measure of cargo rates dropped. Inpex Corp., Japan’s No.

June 4, 2012

The world economy is heading for its third straight mid-year lull after manufacturing output shrank in Europe and slowed in China, leaving the U.S. under pressure to drive global growth. A gauge of manufacturing in the 17-nation eurozone fell to a three-year low of 45.1 in May, indicating a 10th month of contraction. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to 50.4 from 53.3, the weakest production growth since December. Signs of a renewed international slowdown are mounting as Europe’s two-ye

June 3, 2012