US economy shrinks a surprise 0.1% in fourth quarter

The US economy unexpectedly shrank at an annualised rate of 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2012, initial official estimates indicate.

Euro zone lending falls for 8th month

FRANKFURT: Loans to companies and households in the euro zone contracted for the eighth month running in December, showing low official borrowing costs are having little success in reviving investment and spending.

Carney Says Flexible Central Banks Not ‘Maxed Out’ on Policy

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said central banks have room to ease monetary policy further if needed and can be flexible in meeting inflation targets.

UK GDP: Economy shrank at end of 2012

The UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the last three months of 2012, further fuelling fears that the economy could re-enter recession.

Italy's crisis-hit Monte dei Paschi: half a millennium in banking

SIENA, Italy (Reuters) - When the Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank was founded in 1472, Michelangelo was not born, Columbus had still to discover America and Henry VIII of England had yet to split from the church of Rome.

Bernanke Seen Pressing On With Stimulus Amid Debate on QE

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his fellow policy makers will probably forge ahead with their unprecedented bond buying when they meet next week, even as they pick up a debate that began in December on when to end the purchases.

Germany, France seek unity on Europe

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and France will produce joint proposals on improving economic coordination in the European Union this spring, the countries' leaders said Tuesday, downplaying recent differences as they marked the 50th anniversary of a landmark reconciliation accord.

Depressed banking sector raises spectre of triple-dip recession

British banks suffered a loss of business in December, adding to fears that a slowdown in activity across several sectors of the economy at the end of 2012 will push the UK into a triple-dip recession.

ECB: Number of Euro-zone Financial Institutions Down in 2012

FRANKFURT--The number of commercial banks, credit unions and other monetary financial institutions in the euro zone continued to decline in 2012, the European Central Bank said Monday.

World Economic Forum: Reviving growth tops agenda for global elite in Davos

GENEVA: Reviving the global economy and the conflicts in Syria and Mali will top the agenda as world leaders and business chiefs meet this week in the Swiss ski resort of Davos for its annual gathering of international power brokers.

Fed official alleges Geithner may have alerted banks to rate cut

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the summer of 2007, as storm clouds gathered over the world's financial system, then-New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner allegedly informed the Bank of America and other banks about the possibility the U.S. central bank would lower one of its critical interest rates, according to a senior Fed official.

Hong Kong Takes a Second Look at Changes to Corporate Database

HONG KONG — The second-highest official in Hong Kong said Wednesday that the government was reviewing a proposed rule change that had triggered a groundswell of worry among global banks, accounting firms, investors and media companies who fear the loss of a powerful tool against corruption in China.

World Bank Cuts Growth Forecasts as Developed Nations Lose Steam

The World Bank cut its global growth forecast for this year as austerity measures, high unemployment and low business confidence weigh on economies in developed nations.

Euro-zone debt crisis enters challenging new phase

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Rallying European stocks and bonds reflect a growing belief that both the euro zone and the European Central Bank are at last taking the correct policy actions to combat the region’s debt crisis.

World stocks higher on China recovery optimism

BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets rose Monday on optimism that China's economic recovery is firmly taking root.

Rival EU camps turn up pressure on UK's Cameron

(Reuters) - European Union supporters and opponents turned up the pressure on British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday as a poll showed most Britons wanted a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU although the number supporting withdrawal had fallen.

Warren Buffett: US banks won't cause problems for economy

OMAHA: Billionaire Warren Buffett says that US banks are stronger than they've been in years, and won't derail the economy.

Special Report: How Mario Draghi is reshaping Europe's central bank

(Reuters) - The banker now in charge of rescuing the euro wants his top staff to take Sundays off. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, eschews long meetings and refrains from lecturing his colleagues, senior ECB officials say.

Fitch issues warning against China's growth model

BEIJING: Global ratings agency Fitch has warned that China's "investment-driven growth model" faces increasingly serious constraints due to heavy debt financing by local governments.

Looser bank buffer rules no panacea for Europe woes

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - A move by global regulators to give banks more time and flexibility to build up cash reserves will do little to support a recovery in Europe, where recession-hit companies and households have scant appetite for more debt.

Spanish banking unions brace for more job cuts

MADRID: Spanish banking unions are braced for thousands more job cuts this year, starting with redundancies at Spain's largest bank Santander after its merger with subsidiary Banesto.

Retail Chains' Race for Russia

Thanks to relative political stability and strong oil and gas prices, Russia's retail turnover more than quintupled from 2001 to 2011 and now exceeds US$600 billion annually.

Deposits stable in euro zone periphery in November: ECB

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Consumers and firms' deposits in banks in troubled euro zone member states remained mainly stable in November, European Central Bank data showed, indicating that worst fears of bank collapses or even a euro zone exit are receding.

US fiscal cliff deal to slow growth: Economists

WASHINGTON: The political deal to pull the US away from the " fiscal cliff" will still hit economic growth and efforts to generate jobs, economists said Wednesday, but the country will avoid a feared recession.

After volatile year, area investment advisers are optimistic for 2013

If you've put in a worried call to your financial adviser recently, or just felt a little motion-sick watching the markets rise and fall, you're not alone.