IBT Staff Reporter

France's Budget Minister Francois Baroin said on Sunday the objective of keeping the country's AAA rating was a stretch and had an impact on economic policy decisions related to cutting the deficit.

Brazilian mining giant Vale will hike iron ore prices by around 35 percent to as much as $145 per tonne starting in July, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Sunday, without saying where it got the information.

The head of the London Stock Exchange said in Italian newspaper comments on Sunday that the German government's ban on short-selling is mistaken and risks being counterproductive.

Bangladesh has blocked the Facebook social networking site because of objectionable materials it contained about the Prophet Mohammad and the country's political leaders, a telecoms regulatory official said on Sunday. The government move followed publication of caricatures of the Prophet deemed hurtful to the religious sentiments of the country's majority Muslim population, the official said...

Greece will not restructure its debt and will not need more cuts to achieve fiscal targets set in the emergency funding programme it agreed with the European Union and the IMF, its finance minister told a Sunday paper.

The deadline for a deal on crucial labor market reforms in Spain between the government, unions and business representatives has been extended for a week from the end of the month, the Labor Ministry said on Saturday.

A group of lenders to the Texas Rangers sued on Friday to put the baseball team's equity owners, controlled by private equity investor Thomas Hicks, into bankruptcy.

The future of Prudential's deal to buy AIG's Asian life insurance arm remained uncertain on Saturday, with the U.S. Treasury saying it has not considered any other deal than the existing contract on the table.

The big, fat Indian wedding is the biggest bet for gold now. With gold prices soaring to over Rs 18,000 per 10 gm in India and global markets witnessing a huge surge, demand for gold jewellery had witnessed a fall in India. But, weddings are the saving grace now. With India witnessing thousands of weddings this marriage season, gold jewellery sales are set to go up in India.

Russia and the European Union, both humbled by economic crisis, are set to brush geopolitical disputes aside at a summit next week and instead focus on brass-tacks measures to boost their economies.

The U.S. Treasury and General Motors Co may select a lead underwriter for an initial public offering for the automaker as early as next week, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.

The United Arab Emirates' economic growth is expected to accelerate to up to 3.2 percent this year and no further major restructuring of Dubai debt is seen, the Gulf country's economy minister said on Saturday.

The European Central Bank could begin exiting its phase of loose monetary policy from July, ECB Executive Board Member Juergen Stark was quoted as saying by German weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche on Saturday.

The chief executive of nationalized Dutch bank ABN AMRO said it was unlikely the state would recover the full 30 billion euros ($36.8 billion) it has spent buying and supporting the bank, sparking calls for new parliamentary hearings into the aid.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble hinted that taxes may have to rise to consolidate Germany's finances one day after coalition sources said the government may scrap a discounted sales tax on some products.

Dogged by controversies, Zimbabwe has banned diamond exports till it gets the clearance from the Kimberley Process. The government said it has imposed the ban on all diamond exports, including those from Rio Tinto unit, until gemstones from its controversial Marange fields are certified by industry regulators.

Gold prices have set on fire but the demand for gold coins seem to have emerged stronger than ever with global investors going on the buying spree last year. As per the available statistics, investors bought 228.5 tonnes of gold in the form bullion coins, up by over 195% since 2000, when the investors bought 77.4 tonnes of gold coins.

NEW YORK/DENVER - Seeking information on possible price fixing in the digital music marketplace, the U.S. Department of Justice contacted the legal departments of the major record labels as part of an initial inquiry into Apple, sources tell Billboard.

American International Group Inc believes $30 billion for its Asian unit, AIA is too low, and the U.S. insurer is not in a rush to do a deal, a source familiar with the matter said late on Friday.

Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack, who has said Wall Street's high pay packages show that the industry is out of touch with mainstream America, is receiving a 150 percent base salary increase to $2 million.

Asia is one of the more interesting gas markets in the world. Places like Thailand and its southeast Asian neighbors have seen phenomenal demand growth over the last several years. Total has said they're in Thailand for gas. (Part of the reason I believe Thai shale gas may become an interesting play over the coming years.)

The financial world is coming unglued again. Greece has pushed the E.U. to the brink. Global stock markets are tumbling. And yet, at the same time at least one economic indicator is soaring. The Baltic Dry Index. Today, the BDI jumped nearly 9%. The largest daily jump in at least the last six months.

An interesting chart from the Bank of Japan's latest monthly economic report. Japanese capacity utilization is way down. Around 20% of manufacturing facilities are standing idle. This is an improvement from the beginning of 2009, when 35% of capacity was shut down. But a marked decrease from pre-financial-crisis levels, when there was almost no excess capacity to be found.

Giants and upstarts of publishing gathered at the annual BookExpo America here this week agreed e-books will transform the business, although exactly how it will all shake out remains unclear.

Fans mobbed Apple Inc stores in Europe and Asia as the iPad went on sale outside the United States on Friday, with some shoppers having queued all night to buy one of the coveted tablet computers.

Ford Motor Co sees great options to improve its balance sheet and return to investment grade credit rating as its financial results continue to strengthen, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Friday.

U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly stalled in April after six straight months of gains, but rising income and consumer confidence pointed to solid consumption this quarter.

The House of Representatives on Friday passed a scaled-back economic-stimulus package of tax breaks and safety net spending that would raise taxes on fund managers and multinational corporations.

Stocks fell on Friday, capping off their worst month in over a year as a downgrade by Fitch of Spain's credit rating reignited worries about euro-zone debt issues.