United States
GDP -1.6%
Inflation 0.2%
Unemployment 8.1%
Markets -10.7%
Gallon of gas $1.99
Interest Rates 0% to 0.25%
Challenges Home prices have plummeted since the summer of 2007, devaluing many of banks’ holdings that were backed by mortgages. To prevent further losses, banks largely stopped lending. The economic downturn that ensued led the economy to shed 4.4 [...]
Archive for the ‘Global Recession’ Category
A financial crisis, 10 countries, 10 solutions
July 14th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Tags: brazil, China, financial crisis, germany, iceland, india, japan, mexico, rusia, UK, us
more...Japan Central Bank Keeps Interest Rate Unchanged
June 12th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Japan’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady Tuesday but introduced new steps to spur lending and ease the strains of an increasingly painful recession.
The Bank of Japan’s eight-member policy board voted unanimously to leave the key overnight call rate target unchanged at 0.1 percent, as widely expected.
With interest rates close to zero, the [...]
Tags: central bank, interest rate, japan, recession
Mortgage crisis robbing seniors of golden years
June 7th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Howard Weiss is 77 and scared.
This year, the semiretired distributor from Phoenix ran into financial problems and stopped making his mortgage payments. He was told his home was scheduled for a foreclosure auction in May.
CHART: Seniors feeling poorer
So Weiss scraped together more than $2,000 to stave off the foreclosure. He’s still trying to figure out [...]
Recession hindering Brits from saving, finds Scottish Widows
June 3rd, 2009 by Financial Writer
The recession is seriously affecting British consumers’ ability to save money, a new poll conducted by Scottish Widows has discovered.
According to the survey, 85 per cent of respondents said that they simply do not have the spare money required to start saving - a figure which has increased from 50 per cent since last year’s [...]
Tags: Deep Recession, UK
GM bankruptcy: End of an era
June 1st, 2009 by Financial Writer
After years of losses, the troubled automaker is forced into bankruptcy. GM is set to close a dozen facilities and cut more than 20,000 jobs.
General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday, a move once viewed as unthinkable that became inevitable after years of losses and market share declines capped by a dramatic plunge in [...]
Tags: Global Recession, USA, World Financial
UN General assembly resechudle conference on world financial, economic crisis.
May 27th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The General Assembly this morning announced its decision to reschedule the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development to 24 to 26 June, from its previously-scheduled dates of 1 to 3 June, and, on another matter, appointed Gönke Roscher of Germany to the Committee on Contributions to a term [...]
Tags: Global Recession, World Financial
Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns
May 22nd, 2009 by Financial Writer
In the 12 months ended March 31, U.S. malls collectively posted a 6.5% decline in tenants’ same-store sales, according to Green Street Advisors Inc., a real-estate research firm. The recent slump was led by an average 7.3% sales drop at Simon Property Group Inc., the operator with the largest number of mall locations.
The industry’s woes [...]
Tags: commercial industry, Global Recession, USA
Taiwan to set up petrochemical zone in Quanzhou
May 20th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan has started making preparations for the set-up of Taiwan petrochemical industry zone in Quangang petrochemical industry park in Quanzhou City of Fujian Province, the Shanghai Securities News reported.
According to the local government, the Taiwan petrochemical industry zone will involve a total investment of US$6 billion, covering an area of 4.6 [...]
Tags: Petrochemical, Quangang petrochemical industry, Taiwan News
Gas prices to rise 3.4 cents a litre today
May 20th, 2009 by Financial Writer
Liberal MP and gas price watchdog MP Dan McTeague is warning drivers to expect a 3.4 cent a litre increase in the price of regular gas today.
That brings the average price in the Toronto area to 97.7 cents per litre, but closer to the dollar a litre mark in Montreal and Vancouver. The price of [...]
Tags: Canada News, Gas Prices, Toronto Economy
U.S. Financial System Healing
May 20th, 2009 by Financial Writer
The U.S. financial system is healing, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday, but contractions in Japan’s and Mexico’s economies showed the path to a global recovery could be long and tough.
The U.S. Federal Reserve said it saw modest improvements in the U.S. economy last month, but cut its forecast for economic growth over the [...]
Tags: Global Recession, Money News, USA