Telefonica SA (NYSE: TEF), Europe's largest telecommunications operator by revenue, will sell part of its stake in China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) for $1.4 billion to reduce debt as the eurozone debt crisis stresses Europe's economy and corporations based there.
This week's data releases could reignite hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon provide more policy stimulus. May's producer price index and consumer price index should show that inflationary pressures are easing, with the latter falling below the Fed's 2 percent target rate. Retail sales and industrial production figures for May are likely to come in on the soft side, as well.
Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) Monday said that India could lose its investment grade rating due to its weak GDP growth rate and political roadblocks to economic policymaking.
Standard & Poor's said on Monday that India could become the first of the so-called BRIC economies to lose its investment-grade status, sending the rupee and stocks lower, less than two months after cutting its rating outlook for the country.
Futures on major U.S. indices point to a higher opening Monday following the agreement by the eurozone finance ministers to lend Spain 100 billion euros ($125 billion).
Asian markets rose Monday as investors were encouraged by the announcement of the Spanish bank aid deal and a report of less worrisome data from China over the weekend.
Crude oil futures rallied Monday as market participants welcomed Europe's plan to provide financial assistance to Spain to properly restructure its troubled banks.
Stock markets in China and Hong Kong gained Monday as sentiment was buoyed on news that the euro zone will provide financial assistance to help Spain's troubled banks.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose Monday as euro zone finance ministers Saturday agreed to provide Spain with aid while May exports in China grew above expectations.
China's easy money and Spain's hard choice to accept a bailout of its cash-strapped financials sector appear to have market participants feeling pretty chipper in the early going on Monday.
Many analysts anticipated China's balance-of-trade figures for May would be OK, but the customs numbers reported Sunday were better than that expectation: Year on year, the country's exports rose 15.3 percent, and its imports rose 12.1 percent.
China is preparing to launch a manned space flight to an orbiting space laboratory in the middle of this month, according to state media reports and China's human spaceflight agency.
Pro-regime forces were held responsible once again for killing dozens of civilians, including women and children, across Syria in an attack Saturday, a human rights watchdog group reported.
North Korea said Saturday it had no plans to conduct a third nuclear test, but lashed out at South for trying to rattle its nerves.
Israel received about 4,600 asylum applications from Africans last year, according to the U.S. State Department. About 3,700 were rejected, while only one was approved. The others are pending.
The rupee weakened on Friday on worsening global risk sentiment, but posted its first weekly gain against the dollar in more than two months as the local currency recovers from oversold conditions.
Asian stock markets reported their first weekly gains in six weeks amid hopes that major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, might act to tackle deteriorating global economic conditions.
Asian markets rose this week amid hopes that policy makers would take concrete measures to tackle the financial crisis and regain the economic growth momentum.
China's inflation cooled in May, giving Beijing more wiggle room to loosen policy and stimulate growth. Its consumer price index rose by 3 percent, and its producer price index fell by 1.4 percent.
African governments -- and international animal-rights organizations -- contend the Chinese luxury consumer's appetite for ivory is driving a new wave of illegal killing of one of their continent's most iconic animals.
Adam Opel GmbH, an aging European subsidiary of the General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), is hoping Chinese sales will be a panacea for miserable performance in the European market.
As we have long expected, China is beginning to decelerate.