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Persisting political crisis in Pakistan, which got worse with the withdrawal of support to the government by two key allies and the assassination of a popular provincial governor, point to a serious governance failure and can further halt the strained IMF standby program aimed at restoring fiscal health, an analyst has said.

John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has said 2011 will be a pivotal year for the global economic recovery and for international policy cooperation, adding that it's also a crucial year for the Fund as it will try to address these principal challenges.

Perhaps the surprising good health of Pakistan’s equity market shows how disconnected financial trading markets can be from the state of the society they reside in.

The economy of Singapore surged by an astounding 14.7 percent in 2010, primarily driven by a surge in manufacturing activity, versus a 1.3 decline in the prior year, making it Asia’s fastest-growing economy.

Greece is in talks with commercial banks on extending the repayment of its outstanding debt, in line with a similar plan to stretch out paying back its EU/IMF bailout, an Athens weekly reported on Friday.

The dollar's share of known global currency reserves slipped in the third quarter, while total central bank holdings hit a record $9 trillion, International Monetary Fund data showed on Thursday.

South Korea, among other countries, would be a better candidate than South Africa to join the BRIC group of prominent emerging market nations, said Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and the man who first coined the “BRIC” term.

The Gold Price in Euros has risen more than 38% so far in 2010. The Gold Price in Swiss Francs has also hit record highs. It looks as if the SNB will have to revoke its decision to stop intervening, says Steven Barrow, chief currency strategist at Standard Bank in London today.

China is willing to help countries in the euro zone return to economic health and will support the International Monetary Fund element of a bailout package for the bloc, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Cote d'Ivoire's disputed president, Laurent Gbagbo, has announced that he would be willing to engage with the rival faction of Alassane Ouattara. In a televised address, he announced that the international community had declared a war on the African nation. The incumbent president also called on the Opposition to leave Abidjan's Golf Hotel and return to their homes.

The Hong Kong property market -- fueled by strong capital inflows -- soared almost 20 percent so far this year.

China on Tuesday offered support to Europe's efforts to deal with the peripheral debt crisis and said Beijing will not cut down its holdings of European sovereign bonds.

Just over half of Irish people support a multi-billion euro EU/IMF rescue package but 56 percent believe the country has surrendered its sovereignty by accepting the assistance, a poll published on Saturday said.

Moody's Investor Services on Friday downgraded debt-stricken Ireland's rating by five notches, citing the country’s troubled banking sector, uncertain economic outlook and decline in the Irish government's financial strength.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that its board of governors had approved reforms that will shift more voting power to emerging-market countries like China.

The International Monetary Fund approved a 22.5 billion euro loan for Ireland on Thursday and said it was open to renegotiating parts of the bailout package with a new government provided its overall targets were adhered to.

Many experts in the private sector favor expanding the size of the 750-billion euro European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which was created to bail out European countries under sovereign debt pressures.

Greek unions have again staged strikes and demonstrations to protest the government’s austerity measures, including changes in labor laws and widespread cuts in wages.

Ireland's parliament approved a multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout package on Wednesday in the face of opposition threats to renegotiate the deal to force losses on some senior bondholders in Irish banks.

Employment rates remained mostly stable in the euro area during the third quarter, dropping only by 0.2 percent, while unemployment rate in the U.K. touched its highest since the beginning of the year.

Ireland's main opposition party said on Wednesday it was obscene that a multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout package protected senior bondholders in Ireland's banks at the expense of stretched taxpayers.

Ireland's main opposition party wants to renegotiate the country's EU/IMF bailout to make holders of senior bank debt not covered by a government guarantee share the cost of bailing out the sector.

Ireland's parliament will vote on a controversial multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout loan on Wednesday, putting pressure on opposition parties critical of the aid package ahead of a general election early next year.

The rise in income uncertainty and the 1997 pension reform measures have been largely responsible for the recent rise in China's savings rate. Other factors include health care costs and astronomical real estate prices.

The finance minister of debt-troubled Portugal is in Beijing, China to try to convince Chinese government authorities to purchase Portuguese government bonds.

An Irish delegation led by former prime minister John Bruton has travelled to the Middle East, gauging the interest of Arab investors, including sovereign wealth funds, in buying some troubled Irish banks, as the Dublin government seeks foreign investors for financial investment.

The International Monetary Fund postponed approving a multi-billion euro loan for Ireland on Friday after Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he would seek parliamentary approval for the bailout.

The International Monetary Fund postponed approving a multi-billion euro loan for Ireland on Friday after Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he would seek parliamentary approval for the bailout.

A day after Germany rejected the proposal to establish a common market for eurozone sovereign bonds, EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn called for a coordinated action to repair the damage of the debt crisis afflicting the region.