GDP

In urban China, poor people (and there are many of them) still have tough, despite the country’s stellar headline economic growth.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia - jointly the world's biggest oil producer alongside Russia, and so far immune to the civil unrest sweeping North Africa and the Middle East - returned from hospital treatment abroad to announce a near US$38 billion package of new housing projects, a 15% pay-rise across the board, and the kingdom's first-ever unemployment insurance.

Hundreds of foreign rescuers will join exhausted New Zealand teams Thursday in an increasingly desperate search of quake-shattered buildings in central Christchurch as time runs out to find survivors buried under rubble.

In the muggy forest of central Liberia, a gang of workers is inching its way along a railway track, cut long and straight through an otherwise impenetrable mesh of trees and vines. The drone of insects is interrupted by a high-pitched drill and the clang of hammers as workers put the finishing touches to the perfectly aligned steel tracks.

Violence has broken out in Greece as a nationwide general strike against the government’s austerity programs and budget cuts has led to clashes between stone-throwing protesters and police firing tear-gas.

South African resource-heavy stocks slipped on Tuesday as Libyan unrest prompted an equities sell-off while the rand firmed against the dollar, recovering from earlier losses as better-than-expected GDP data boosted the currency.

South Africa's economic growth came in higher than expected in the fourth quarter, boosted by stronger growth in the mining and agricultural sectors, according to data released on Tuesday.

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday lowered Japan’s debt Aa2 rating outlook to negative from stable, saying political stalemate in the country will restrict efforts to tackle the nation’s debt.

Germany’s public debt rose sharply last year, mainly pushed up by the government’s financial support for the ailing banks.

Thailand's economy emerged from a brief recessionary spell in the fourth quarter, recording 1.2 percent growth in gross domestic product.

Investors are likely to focus on major economic data to be released during the week to gauge the strength of recovery in the world’s largest economy. The main focus will be housing and economic activity, while rising Middle East tensions are expected to weigh on markets.

The index showing business confidence in Germany continued to improve further in February, posting gains for the ninth consecutive month.

With growing inflation in China, policymakers are facing tough decisions. This column argues that if the government is to curb inflation without allowing for the deflation of the tradables, it should do so through sector focused policies.

It's too early to be sure, but signs that China's current account surplus will keep shrinking as a share of national output could draw some of the venom from the debate on global economic imbalances preoccupying the G20.

You can't really blame financial hacks for getting things so wrong, so often. Because every financial decision you now make is a speculation on interest rates. And so pretty much every story a financial journalist might choose to write must start and end with the same speculation, built on the inaction of each monthly central-bank vote.

Criticism of China's exchange-rate policy continues throughout the US. This column argues that the US is in fact the exchange rate manipulator, due to its ongoing quantitative easing. What the US needs to do for a sustainable turnaround is to learn from other successful economies like China and Germany - not de-rail them.

There are now increasing concerns that rising Treasury yields will begin to push stock prices lower and punish new entrants to the equity market. Our view is that there is still plenty of room for risk-free interest rates to rise without having a negative impact on the current equity rally.

The World Bank will consider loaning Kenya $400 million before the end of the fiscal year to upgrade informal settlements and road projects, the bank's head in Nairobi said on Thursday.

China aims to expand its medical coverage to include 90 percent of its urban population by the end of 2011, China's State Council, the cabinet, said on Thursday, in an effort to strengthen the country's weak social safety net.

Does the unemployment rate is really improving as the US labor force participation rate has been trending downward since 2000?

Minutes from the Jan.25-26 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) reveal that central bank members had slightly improved their outlook on the U.S. economy, but still decided to maintain their program to purchase $600-million in bonds.