Business and Finance news

Russia’s economy may contract by a “very serious” 7.5 percent this year as dependence on energy exports left the country more vulnerable to the global financial crisis than expected, President Dmitry Medvedev said.
“I must admit that we sunk below our lowest expectations,” Medvedev said in an interview to be broadcast today at 9 […]

Ashoka Mody, an assistant director of the International Monetary Fund’s European department, was in critical condition today after he was shot in the garage of his Bethesda, Maryland home last night, police said.
Mody, an economist originally from India, has worked at the IMF for eight years and is mission chief to Germany and […]

Japan’s broadest indicator of economic health rose for a fifth month in August as global stimulus spending helped the country emerge from its worst postwar recession.
The coincident index, a composite of 11 indicators including factory production and retail sales, climbed to 91.4 in August, the highest since November, from a revised 89.8 a […]

An Australian court has ruled that local governments can pursue financial claims against collapsed U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in Australia and elsewhere, a firm that is funding the litigation said on Monday.
IMF (Australia) Ltd said the Federal Court ruled on Friday in favor of town councils and others which had lost money in […]

The U.K. housing market may have stabilized after more surveyors reported a gain in home values than a drop for the first time in two years, a report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed.
The number of respondents surveyed saying prices rose in August exceeded those reporting declines by 11 percentage points, […]

Can hundreds of stock-selling insiders be wrong?
The stock market has mounted an historic rally since it hit a low in March. The S&P 500 is up 55%, as U.S. job losses have slowed and credit markets have stabilized.
But against that improving backdrop, one indicator has turned distinctly bearish: Corporate officers and directors […]

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said he is “not worried” about the emirate’s ability to repay at least $4.52 billion of debt this year, boosting property developer Nakheel’s bonds to a year-high.
“I assure you we are alright, the U.A.E. is alright, and we are not worried,” Sheikh Mohammed told reporters […]

Chile’s central bank will probably keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low for a second straight month as policy makers wait for signs that an economic recovery has taken hold.
Bank President Jose De Gregorio and the rest of the five- member policy committee will maintain the rate at 0.5 percent, according […]

The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, but the prior period’s figure was revised up, according to a government report on Thursday that highlighted the fragility of the labor market.
Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 570,000 in the week ended Aug. […]

Europe’s manufacturing and service industries unexpectedly returned to growth in August for the first time in over a year, suggesting the economy is gaining strength.
A composite index of both industries rose to 50.4 from 47 in July, higher than an initial estimate of 50 published on Aug. 21, Markit Economics said today. It […]