Palash Ghosh

The Conference Board reported that its index leading economic indicators (LEI) for the U.S. increased by 0.5 percent in October to 111.3, following an 0.5 percent increase in September, and a 0.1 percent increase in August.

Shares of auto giant General Motors (NYSE: GM) are up almost 9 percent in early trading after yesterday’s blockbuster initial public offering that was estimated to have 30 percent greater demand than initially expected. The offering is the biggest in U.S. history

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that economic activity in its member countries will gradually pick up steam over the coming two years, but the recovery will be uneven and unemployment will remain persistently high.

A U.K. industry taskforce has called on the British government to act now to protect the economy against a potential new threat of rising oil prices.

Stocks finished mixed in choppy trading, after four days of losses, as investors become worried that Ireland will likely receive a huge bailout to clean up its banking system and repay its debt.

Ireland is “inching closer” to some kind of bailout package from the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Jan Randolph, director of sovereign risk at HIS Global Insight in London.

A congressional advisory panel has recommended that politicians in Washington D.C. pressure the Obama administration into more forceful action against China for keeping its currency artificially undervalued and, thereby, worsening the trade deficit of the U.S.

President Obama’s call to make the U.S. an exporting powerhouse (i.e., double their volume within five years), is a plausible goal, according to Milton Ezrati, senior economist and market strategist at Lord Abbett.

About 17.4 million households in the U.S. had difficulty providing enough food due to a lack of resources in 2009, roughly the same pace as in 2008, according to a report from The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Stocks plunged on concerns that Ireland might need a bailout from the European Union/IMF and a slowdown in China may hurt its demand for commodities.

U.S. stocks are sliding on fears over inflation in Asia and the growing likelihood that Ireland’s battered economy may need a cash bailout from the European Union (EU).

The world’s low-income countries coped much better during the global financial crisis than in past global downturns, according to a new study from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

There are now five unemployed workers for every job opening in the U.S., according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a Washington D.C.-based think tank.

How much was accomplished at the just-concluded G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea likely depends upon whom you are asking. While some observers feel the summit cannot really do anything to address the fundamental differences between diametrically opposed economies (see: U.S. vs. China), others feel that progress of any such summit has to be measured in slow, patient doses.

Paulson & Co., the hedge fund managed by John Paulson, reduced its positions in key financial holdings Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) in the third quarter

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved a tad in November, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).

The European Union (EU) cannot survive if it fails to solve the debt crisis plaguing the continent, warned EU president Herman Van Rompuy.

IB Times interviewed Michael Yoshikami, president of YCMnet Advisors of Walnut Creek, Cal. To get his views on the recently completed G20 summit in Seoul, Korea.

The leaders of the G20 countries completed their summit in Seoul, South Korea with an agreement to push for “market-determined” currency exchange rates, to enhance exchange rate flexibility, and to establish a timetable to lay out “indicative guidelines” for global economies to confront trade imbalances by the first half of next year.

The G20 statement differs little from [that of ] the October meeting. The statement calls for market-determined exchange rates, gradual adjustments in imbalances and condemns trade protectionism

There has been “big progress” in the negotiations between world political leaders as they seek to hammer out an agreement and compromise on major economic issues on the final day of the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea.

At the closing plenary session of the G20 business summit in Seoul, South Korea, David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, praised the host country’s miraculous economic advances and also highlighted some major themes underlying the purpose of the G20.

The joint statement by participating companies at the G20 business summit in Seoul, Korea, as of Nov. 11, 2010

The Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, championed infrastructure investments across both the emerging markets and developed nations as a key part of maintaining a global economic recovery.

In a wide-ranging and rambling speech during a luncheon at the G20 Business summit in Seoul, Korea, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel called for a “sensible” exit strategy from the global credit crisis.

One of the most interesting – and perhaps under-reported -- aspects of the G20 summit in Seoul is the four female political leaders in attendance. According to press reports, no prior G20 summit has had this many women heads of state.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed to increase trade and investment between the two countries in a meeting prior to Thursday’s opening of the G-20 summit in Seoul.

The president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, has called for more corporate investment into Africa and other poverty-stricken regions of the world, as part of a comprehensive program to encourage the private sector to spur sustained global economic growth.

One of the greatest challenges facing the developing world lies with their limited access to quality healthcare, a situation that threatens to jeopardize or undermine economic growth in these nations.