world economy news stories on Newser

S&P Downgrades France, Italy, 7 Others

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:19:44 CST

Standard & Poor's has downgraded the government debt of France, Austria, Italy, and Spain by one notch, but maintained Germany's at the coveted 'AAA' level. The cuts, which eliminated France and Austria's triple-A status, deal a heavy blow to the currency union's ability to fight off a worsening debt crisis....

Brazil Ousts UK as World's No. 6 Economy

Polly Davis Doig — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:10:00 CST

London had better hear Brazil calling: The South American powerhouse has overtaken the United Kingdom as the world's No. 6 economic power, reports the BBC . The shift is hardly shocking, given Brazil's hefty 7.5% economic growth last year, and represents an overall slide back for traditional economic powers in...

Uh-oh: China's Economy Is on the Brink, Too

John Johnson — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:39:32 CST

Paul Krugman hopes he's being "needlessly alarmist," but most signs out of China point to an economy poised to crater, he writes in the New York Times . The main cause will sound familiar: a real estate bubble fueled by soaring prices, inflated credit, and a "shadow banking" system happy to...

Greece Leader Survives Crucial Vote

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:21:49 CDT

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has survived a confidence vote in parliament, winning a gamble on his government's survival and the danger of a devastating debt default that could spark a financial maelstrom around the world. Papandreou won 155 votes to 143, with two abstentions in the 300-member legislature.

Bailout of Ireland Looks Likely

John Johnson — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:36:30 CST

Ireland is under heavy pressure to take a bailout before its financial troubles spread to other members of the European Union, reports the Wall Street Journal . Dublin is balking because of the handcuffs and political embarrassment that would come with it, but EU authorities don't want to a repeat of...

China Passes Japan as No. 2 (or Will Soon)

John Johnson — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:55:47 CDT

The US is the world's No. 1 economy, but who's No. 2? It depends who you ask. In the English-language version of the People's Daily Online , China declares that its newly revised GDP puts it in second place over Japan. But a slew of other observers, including the Wall Street...

'Debt Bomb' Nations Could Follow Dubai Into Crisis

Rob Quinn — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:53:27 CST

Dubai's financial implosion could be the beginning of a fresh financial crisis as investors lose faith in the ability of heavily indebted countries to pay their bills. Analysts warn that in the worst-case scenario, the Dubai crisis could lead to mass defaults in emerging markets and even in heavily leveraged...

Pittsburgh Braces for Big March After 66 Arrests

John Johnson — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:19:38 CDT

Pittsburgh police are preparing for a big afternoon march today after arresting 66 people yesterday. One big difference: Today's march to protest the G-20 summit is sanctioned, and organizers are requiring demonstrators to pledge to behave. Yesterday and last night, a group of self-described anarchists tried to march downtown before...

Bruni to G8: Don't Let Recession Kill AIDS Funding

Matt Cantor — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:36:04 CDT

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy gets in the op-ed game today, urging G8 leaders who are converging on L’Aquila, Italy, to continue the commitment their predecessors made 8 years ago to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. The earlier initiative helped the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria save some 4 million people,...