UNEMPLOYMENT

Consumer prices in Japan climbed a bit for the first time in five months, but the inflation rate remained well below the Bank of Japan’s target of 2 percent.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 267,000 for the week ended Dec. 19.

Spain gears up for a weekend election with Mariano Rajoy's ruling People's Party expected to win, but perhaps fall short of the strong majority needed to deal with a high unemployment rate and other pressing issues. Ciara Lee reports.

The Democratic presidential candidate is among those who say slow wage growth has shut many Americans out of the U.S. economy’s recovery.

Some fear that higher interest rates could result in fewer job openings and less upward mobility for blacks and Hispanics in the U.S.

Japan dodged recession with the release of its revised third quarter GDP figures as more companies are heeding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s call for increased capital expenditure. Correspondent Meg Teckman reports.

Japan shares rose as much as 0.1 percent after the government revised third-quarter economic growth upward.

The government is scheduled to release revised third-quarter GDP data Tuesday and economists expect a small expansion.

The U.S. created 211,000 jobs in November, a result that sets the stage for a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike later this month.

In congressional testimony Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the job market is nearly healthy enough to justify raising interest rates.

Figures from the European Union showed that unemployment fell to 10.7 percent in October -- its lowest since January 2012.

Despite Japan's unemployment rate dipping to a two-decade low, drops in consumer spending and incomes kept inflation way below its 2 percent target.

Economists have attributed the recent weakness in home sales to rising prices rather than a weak economy.

Turkey's lira fell Tuesday amid news that the country shot down a Russian plane and announced a new cabinet that's expected to tackle the country's already struggling economy.

Data released Thursday showed that Japanese exports fell for the first time in over a year in October -- the latest in a series of weak data coming from the world's third-largest economy.

As the U.S. economy improves and the unemployment rate falls, Kohler workers strike for a better contract.

In the July-September period, the GDP of the world’s third-largest economy shrank by an annualized 0.8 percent, according to government data released Monday.

Asian financial markets, the first to open since the attacks Friday night, were down Monday morning.

It costs about $25 for an African migrant to send $200 to his or her family in Africa -- money that could be spent on much-needed necessities such as food, clothing and healthcare.

Federal Reserve officials including Chairwoman Janet Yellen are scheduled to speak Thursday, and with a rate hike looking likely, their remarks will be closely scrutinized.

As employment in the U.K. expands to a record high, the Bank of England is mulling its first rate hike since 2007.