China's Wen urges more support for growth BEIJING (Reuters) - China's premier called for additional efforts to support growth on Sunday, signaling Beijing's willingness to take action after a recent series of economic indicators suggested that the world's second-biggest economy will slow further in the second quarter. "We should continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy while giving more priority to maintaining growth," Premier Wen Jiabao said in comments reported by state news agency Xinhua. Chinese exports rose by 4. ...
TOKYO (Reuters) - Markets recovered some ground on Monday after heavy losses last week, but investors remained wary about the euro zone despite world leaders calling for Greece to stay in the monetary union and for Europe to balance austerity with growth. G8 leaders meeting at the weekend vowed to take all necessary steps to combat financial turmoil and revitalize a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis, but they offered no specific prescription for debt-crippled Greece which holds fresh elections next month. ...
Australia to seal trade deal with Malaysia CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia will sign a free trade agreement(FTA) with Malaysia on Tuesday in a move it hopes will add new momentum to stalled bilateral trade talks with other key Asian trading partners. Australia is still negotiating free trade deals with South Korea, Japan and China, with progress in reaching agreement with Beijing and Tokyo slow. The deal with Malaysia, which will be Australia's sixth FTA, will be signed in Kuala Lumpur, said a spokesman for Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson. ...
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The chief executives of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd are used to running the show at their global tech empires, but they will be in for a different experience when they arrive at a San Francisco federal courthouse on Monday. Apple's Tim Cook and Samsung's Choi Gee-sung, whose companies are embroiled in bitter patent litigation, have been instructed by a federal judge to appear for court-supervised mediation. A joint court filing in April said that "as directed by the Court, Apple and Samsung are both willing to participate" in the discussions. ...
Weaker euro zone nations need more support from core: UK LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone can protect its currency if its stronger countries provide more support for the weaker to help them deal with their problems, British finance minister George Osborne said in a newspaper on Sunday. The future of Europe's 17-country single currency bloc is under threat from a political stalemate in Greece, which could lead to its departure from the monetary union at unknown costs to the financial system and global economic stability. ...
U.S. banking laws unable to stop JPMorgan loss: Republican Boehner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. banking reforms could not have prevented JPMorgan Chase & Co's trading losses, and those involved in the activities that went awry should be held accountable, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said in an interview aired on Sunday. "I don't believe there's anything in Dodd-Frank (financial reform law) that would've prevented this activity at JPMorgan," said Boehner, the top Republican U.S. officeholder. He made the comments Friday in an interview for ABC's "This Week. ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Normally a big decline would set up Wall Street for a technical rebound. But that may not be the case this week, even after the market posted its worst weekly loss for the year and the S&P fell for six straight sessions. With the corporate earnings season drawing to an end and recent U.S. economic data raising doubts about the pace of growth, the S&P 500, which is down 7.3 percent so far in May, could decline further this week as concerns about the financial health of Europe persist. ...
"The Avengers" continues to muscle out everything else Hollywood throws at it, easily sinking naval rival "Battleship" and other new releases.
China state-run businesses to invest 350 billion yuan in Chongqing BEIJING (Reuters) - Thirty of China's biggest state-owned businesses have signed contracts worth about 350 billion yuan ($55.3 billion) with the southwestern municipality Chongqing, Chinese media reported on Sunday, in a sign of Beijing's determination to bolster confidence in the city formerly run by ousted leader Bo Xilai. Since the fall of the once high-flying Chinese official, media reports and some investors have questioned whether Chongqing's debt-laden economy is also headed for trouble. ...
