WASHINGTON Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said in an interview that aired on Sunday on the eve of the unveiling of his tax plan that a “large segment” of U.S. taxpayers would have a zero rate if he wins the White House. Trump’s campaign has ... More »
WASHINGTON Blasting hard-line conservatives as “false prophets,” U.S. House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday said Congress will avoid a government shutdown this week and he will push through as much unfinished legislation as possible before leaving at the end of... More »
WASHINGTON Republican lawmakers jockeyed for position on Sunday in the race to replace House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner as conservatives sought to exert influence over the election and push their party’s leadership further to the right. The House ... More »
NEW YORK U.S. pensions may add $21 billion to $26 billion in stocks and sell $19 billion to $24 billion in bonds in the third quarter as they seek to rebalance their portfolios as the stock market has fared poorly in the quarter, according to UBS analysts. Wit... More »
LONDON Britain is considering selling the Channel 4 public broadcaster as part of its drive to pay down debt, a government official has accidentally revealed. An official was photographed on Thursday outside No. 10 Downing St, the residence of Prime Minister D... More »
ATHENS Greek leftist Alexis Tsipras stormed back into office with an unexpectedly decisive election victory on Sunday, claiming a clear mandate to steer Greece’s battered economy to recovery. The vote ensured Europe’s most outspoken leftist leader would remain... More »
ATHENS Greek Prime Minister-elect Alexis Tsipras has reaffirmed his dominance on the political landscape, but now faces the daunting task of building consensus in a fractious society traumatized by years of austerity, local media said on Monday. On the morning... More »
SINGAPORE Asian shares and emerging currencies fell on Monday after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates at record lows raised fresh concerns about growth globally, particularly in China. European markets were set to follow suit, with fin... More »
NEW YORK Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, said Thursday that the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold off on a rate hike reflects policymakers’ reluctance to add to international financial fragility. The Fed kept interest rates unchang... More »
NEW YORK Jeffrey Gundlach, the widely followed investor who oversees DoubleLine Capital, said on Thursday the biggest surprise from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to keep rates unchanged was policymakers’ focus on recent global economic and financial deve... More »
LONDON A year after Mario Draghi said European Central Bank interest rates had reached bottom, euro zone money markets are discounting a fair chance they could be lowered again – regardless of rising interest rates across the Atlantic. The low bank-to-bank len... More »
TOKYO Asian shares rose in choppy trade on Monday after Chinese markets were hit by soft economic data, while the dollar sagged as investors questioned whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will be confident enough to raise rates for the first time in almost a deca... More »
PARIS France is on the right path with reforms the Socialist government has undertaken but needs to go farther, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said on Sunday. Lagarde, who was finance minister in the government of conservative former presi... More »
NEW ORLEANS A last-minute action by the Louisiana Supreme Court saved New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu from being placed under weekend house arrest over a decades-old dispute with local firefighters who are owed $75 million in back wages. The standoff arose fr... More »
We may well not get a global recession in the coming year or two but if we do, bank on one thing: an inadequate policy response. Citibank Chief Economist Willem Buiter attracted attention this week with a call for a 55 percent chance of a global recession some... More »
LONDON Investors pulled another $19 billion from equity funds over the past week as they sought safety in government bond funds, which have enjoyed the longest run of inflows in four years, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch said on Friday. The exodus from emerging... More »
FRANKFURT Economic growth in the euro zone is still too weak to create a sufficient number of jobs, European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure told a French newspaper group EBRA on Friday. “Growth is still not strong enough to create a sufficie... More »
BRUSSELS International creditors expect the first review of Greek reforms under the latest bailout to start in October, bringing changes to a memorandum of understanding signed with Athens and paving the way for debt rescheduling talks, euro zone officials sai... More »
BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the euro zone economy was in better shape than a year ago and said reform efforts by countries like Spain and Ireland had paid off. “If we look at the euro zone as a whole, we can say that there is ... More »
ATHENS Turned down for a 10,000 euro ($11,100) loan, George Sarris is one of hundreds of thousands of small business owners shunned by Greek banks. Pointing to the parliament building overlooking his small cafe in Athens’ Syntagma Square, the 35-year-old blame... More »
TOKYO Asian stocks were subdued on Monday, lacking clear direction as Shanghai shares see-sawed in and out of the red after the Chinese markets resumed trading following a four-day long weekend. Spreadbetters forecast Britain’s FTSE .FTSE, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI... More »
CERNOBBIO, Italy U.S. computer company Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N) is considering increasing investments and hiring new workers in Italy after years of downsizing, because, it says, it has faith, for the first time in a while, that the country is on the mend. “The... More »
CERNOBBIO, Italy A common euro zone budget should initially be funded through joint debt issuance and taxpayers’ money should only be used at a later stage, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday. France wants the euro zone to have its own jo... More »
NEW YORK Stocks edged higher on Wall Street in another volatile session on Thursday while the euro fell 1 percent on a darkening euro zone outlook as investors grew cautious ahead of the closely watched U.S. monthly jobs report. Global stock markets rallied ea... More »
BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday that Spain’s economic development showed that the euro zone was tackling its crisis well. “Spain is the best example that we’ve done a lot of things quite right in Europe,” Schaeuble said at a b... More »
HONG KONG Global financial markets looked set for another rough week on Monday, with stocks and commodities falling ahead of data that could give clues on when the U.S. will raise interest rates and surveys which are likely to point to further weakness in Chin... More »
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. Central bankers from around the world are telling their American counterparts that they are ready for a U.S. interest rate hike and would prefer that the Federal Reserve make the move without further ado. In private and in public at last wee... More »
ACCRA Ghana faced down the first major challenge to an IMF austerity program on Monday when doctors suspended a three-week strike but a bigger test of President John Mahama’s commitment will come next year as he fights for reelection. The International Monetar... More »
NEW YORK Traders priced in a more than 1-in-2 chance the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in October after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart suggested the Fed could consider such a move. In over-the-counter trading, overnight ind... More »
BERLIN A Greek exit from the euro zone was a possibility and remains a threat if Athens does not fulfill the conditions of its third bailout agreement, the head of the European Stability Mechanism said on Thursday. “This threat as a possibility must always be ... More »
BERLIN French Economy Ministry Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday developments in China pose a risk that should not be underestimated. He was speaking at an event with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the German capital. (Reporting by Andreas Ri... More »
LONDON Volatile global markets got some respite from the latest blood-letting on Tuesday as bargain hunters nudged up Asian and European stocks, though China, at the center of the rout, was smashed again. The dollar and oil prices saw their first rises in five... More »
(James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own) By James Saft (Reuters) – Future risk-adjusted returns look poor from here, but if the Federal Reserve deploys its safety net they will be worse still. Monday’s savage markets selloff inev... More »
BlackRock Inc’s (BLK.N) chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income, Rick Rieder, believes the window for the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates is closing, he said in an interview on Monday. While Rieder hopes the Fed will still begin raisi... More »
NEW YORK Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, said Monday that turmoil in stock markets was creating opportunities for investors, but could prevent the Federal Reserve from hiking interest rates next month. El-Erian also said that equity mar... More »
BRUSSELS/ATHENS Euro zone finance ministers have agreed to lend Greece up to 86 billion euros ($96 billion) after Greek lawmakers accepted their stiff conditions despite a revolt by supporters of leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Assuming approval by the ... More »
SHANGHAI China’s currency fell to a four-year low on Wednesday, slumping for a second day, after a central bank devaluation on Tuesday, and government sources believe the yuan may be allowed to slide even further to help the country’s exporters. The yuan trade... More »
NEW YORK Stocks, the U.S. dollar, and emerging market currencies around the world remained under pressure for a second day on Wednesday after China’s yuan weakened again, a day after the country devalued its currency. Major Wall Street averages pared losses by... More »
LOS ANGELES Parent education loans can help your child attend the college of her dreams — and sink any dreams you had of ever retiring. The grim reality is that the federal PLUS loan program allows parents to borrow far more than they can comfortably, or even ... More »
China’s massive foreign currency reserves are dwindling at a more than half-trillion-dollar annual pace, a trend which may tighten global credit conditions. China’s central bank said its reserves fell by $43 billion in July to $3.65 trillion, in the first ever... More »
ATHENS Greece and its international lenders reached a multi-billion euro bailout deal on Tuesday to keep the nation in the euro zone and prevent financial meltdown, officials said. Here are some of the details of what Greece is required to do for up to 85 bill... More »
ATHENS Greece hopes to conclude negotiations with international creditors by early Tuesday at the latest, a Greek official said as talks continued in Athens on a new multi-billion euro bailout. Greece’s finance and economy ministers were locked in negotiations... More »
ATHENS Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday that Greece was close to concluding a deal with lenders on a multi-billion-euro bailout, which he said would end doubts over its place in the euro zone. The comments were the latest in a series of unusuall... More »
ATHENS Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday Greece is close to concluding a deal with lenders on a multi billion euro bailout, which he said would end doubts over the country’s presence in the euro zone. “We are in the final stretch of conclud... More »
ATHENS Greece’s stock market closed with heavy losses on Monday after a five-week shutdown brought on by fears that the country was about to be dumped from the euro zone. Bank shares plummeted 30 percent before loss limits kicked in to stop investors selling a... More »
ATHENS Greece’s stock market plunged nearly 23 percent on Monday when it opened after a five-week shutdown brought on by fears the country was about to be dumped from the euro zone. The main Athens stock index .ATG plunged in its worst ever one-day performance... More »
ATHENS Greek blue-chip stock index futures opened sharply down on Monday ahead of the stock market’s open, with the nearest contract ATFQ5 expiring on August 21 down 18 percent at 202 points, after falling 15.2 percent on the first trade. The stock market will... More »
HONG KONG/TOKYO An index of Asian shares outside Japan fell close to this year’s lows on Monday thanks to a deepening selloff in commodities and fresh concerns over slowing growth in China, while the dollar held its ground against a basket of currencies. In li... More »
BERLIN French finance minister Michel Sapin has criticized his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble for suggesting that Greece could temporarily leave the euro zone, but said the Franco-German relationship is “not broken”. In an interview with German business... More »
NEW YORK Investors worldwide pulled $1.2 billion out of precious metals funds in the week ended July 29 on expectations for higher U.S. interest rates and weakness in Chinese shares, data from a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report showed on Fr... More »
LONDON U.S. equities’ share in global portfolios fell to the lowest in at least five years and U.S. bond allocations were also cut as nervous investors started readying themselves for the first Federal Reserve rate rise in almost a decade. But while U.S. asset... More »
ATHENS Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, struggling to contain a revolt in his left-wing Syriza party, said on Wednesday that his government would not implement reform measures beyond those agreed with lenders at a euro zone summit this month. Tsipras faces... More »
ATHENS Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday that his government would not implement reform measures beyond what was agreed with lenders at a euro zone summit earlier this month. “I know well the framework of the deal we signed at the euro zone... More »
BERLIN A Greek exit from the euro zone would cause “utter chaos” but would have to be accepted if Athens was not willing to implement reforms, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian ally Horst Seehofer told German newspaper Die Welt on Wednesday. “No one can pred... More »
PARIS European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Wednesday that talks on a third bailout plan for Greece were taking place in “good conditions” and that the risk of an exit of Greece from the euro zone was gone. “Grexit is beh... More »
BERLIN The German government’s panel of independent economic advisers favors creating an insolvency mechanism for euro zone states and says countries should be able to leave the single currency as a last resort. The Greek crisis has called into question the fu... More »
NEW YORK Global equity markets dropped on Friday and copper fell to a six-year low as weaker-than-expected data from China and the euro zone exacerbated concerns over global economic growth. Brent and U.S. crude oil futures settled at their lowest since March ... More »
ATHENS The Greek government submitted legislation to parliament on Tuesday required by its international lenders to start talks on a multi-billion euro rescue package. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until Wednesday night to get those measures adopted in the... More »
LONDON Britain’s government is asking some departments to prepare to cut day-to-day spending by as much as 40 percent by the 2019/20 tax year, in a major spending review launched by Conservative finance minister George Osborne on Tuesday. The finance ministry ... More »
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush vowed on Monday to cut government spending and more tightly limit lawmakers’ connections with lobbyists if he reaches the White House, part of an attempt to separate himself from a large pack of R... More »
PARIS French President Francois Hollande called on Sunday for the creation of a euro zone government and for citizens to renew their faith in the European project, which has been weakened by the Greek crisis. Reviving an idea originally put forward by former E... More »
BERLIN German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel criticized Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in a television interview to be broadcast later on Sunday for suggesting that Greece could quit the euro zone temporarily. Schaeuble has said that Greece could take a ... More »
BRUSSELS The latest paroxysm of Greece’s debt crisis has exposed growing rifts in the euro zone which, unless addressed soon, could lead to the break-up of European monetary union, the EU’s most ambitious project. The most worrying sign for European leaders is... More »
NEW YORK Morningstar Inc said DoubleLine Capital’s flagship Total Return Bond Fund is “not ratable” for a second straight year, citing a lack of information about the firm’s investment process, succession planning and risk controls. The Chicago-based investmen... More »
BERLIN German lawmakers gave their go-ahead on Friday for the euro zone to negotiate a third bailout for Greece, but a warning from Chancellor Angela Merkel that the alternative was chaos failed to prevent a hefty rebellion in her own party. The Bundestag, the... More »
(This column has been corrected to fix spelling of co-author’s name to Straehl in seventh paragraph) By James Saft More »
BERLIN German lawmakers gave their go ahead on Friday for the euro zone to negotiate a third bailout for Greece, heeding a warning from Chancellor Angela Merkel that the alternative to a deal with Athens was chaos. The Bundestag lower house of parliament, whos... More »
BRUSSELS The head of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Friday he was “certain” there would be problems with Greece in the years to come after the euro zone’s bailout fund decided to open talks with Greece on a third bailout program. “It’s not going to ... More »
ATHENS The Greek opposition party To Potami will not enter a national unity government with the ruling Syriza party, but will support a solution for the nation’s interests, a party official said on Monday. Euro zone leaders argued late into the night with near... More »
PARIS There is a “shared desire” among euro zone heads of state to keep Greece in the single currency, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Monday. He spoke after euro zone leaders argued late into the night with near-bankrupt Greece at an... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone leaders at a summit in Brussels were reviewing a draft proposal from their finance ministers that sets out conditions for Greece to open negotiations on a bailout. The following is a summary of the paper, seen by Reuters. * Greece to pass by... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone leaders told near-bankrupt Greece at an emergency summit on Sunday it must enact key reforms this week to restore trust before they will open talks on a financial rescue to keep it in the European currency area. Leftist Prime Minister Alexis... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone leaders at a summit in Brussels were reviewing a draft proposal from their finance ministers on Sunday that sets out conditions for Greece to open negotiations on a bailout. Following is the draft of the paper, seen by Reuters. Square bracke... More »
ATHENS With banks shut and the economy seizing up, some Greek newspapers like the Empros daily on the island of Lesvos are running out of paper and could be forced to stop sales altogether until the banks open again. The island’s biggest selling newssheet, Emp... More »
BRUSSELS/ATHENS Greece faces a last chance to stay in the euro zone on Tuesday when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras puts proposals to an emergency euro zone summit after Greek voters resoundingly rejected the austerity terms of a defunct bailout. With Greek bank... More »
ATHENS Euclid Tsakalotos, the mild-tempered professor who was appointed as Greece’s new finance minister on Monday, is a clear change in style from his combative predecessor Yanis Varoufakis. The 55-year-old Tsakalotos studied at prestigious private London sch... More »
TOKYO Most Asian stocks drooped on Tuesday as Chinese equity markets went into a fresh tailspin, fraying investor nerves already strained by uncertainty hanging over the future of Greece and the European currency union. Chinese shares fell more than 5 percent ... More »
NEW YORK Greece’s sound rejection of a bailout at a referendum on Sunday increased the chances it may leave the euro zone, but Athens and its creditors could still reach a deal, said a top strategist for BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager. “It do... More »
THE HAGUE Greece’s ‘No’ vote has made discussions with its creditors more difficult, but the aim remains to keep the country in the euro zone, the head of the bloc’s finance ministers said on Monday. “It doesn’t bring us closer to a solution right away. In fac... More »
ZURICH Greece has proposed a tax amnesty in an effort to collect revenue on billions of euros that its citizens are believed to have quietly stashed in Swiss bank accounts, the NZZ am Sonntag paper reported. The plan, which still needs Greek parliamentary appr... More »
NEW YORK Investors pulled $3 billion in assets from Pacific Investment Management Co’s flagship fund in June, compared with $2.7 billion the previous month, in another sign Pimco is stabilizing since last fall’s departure of star manager Bill Gross. The Pimco ... More »
ATHENS The head of the European Commission made a last-minute offer to try to persuade Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to accept a bailout deal he has rejected before a referendum on Sunday which EU partners say will be a choice of whether to stay in the e... More »
NEW YORK Puerto Rico’s governor on Monday called for the commonwealth to be allowed to restructure its debts under U.S. bankruptcy code, while a newly appointed adviser to the U.S. territory said it is “insolvent” and will soon run out of cash. Governor Alejan... More »
HONG KONG Asian shares held near five-month lows on Tuesday after Chinese stocks took another leg down while safe-haven assets received a boost as investors nervously awaited further developments in the deepening euro zone crisis. China’s stocks .SSEC tumbled ... More »
TOKYO U.S. stock futures edged up and the euro sagged in early Asian trading on Tuesday as Greece lurched toward defaulting on a debt payment due later in the session, raising the likelihood of the cash-strapped nation’s exit from the euro zone. Greece will no... More »
ATHENS Tens of thousands of Greeks rallied on Monday to back their leftwing government’s rejection of a tough international bailout after a clash with foreign lenders pushed Greece close to financial chaos and forced a shutdown of its banking system. With a po... More »
NEW YORK Jeffrey Gundlach, a widely followed investor who oversees DoubleLine Capital, said in an interview on Monday his firm had purchased “lots of Treasuries and Ginnie Maes” on Friday, ahead of new developments in the Greek and Puerto Rico crises. The U.S.... More »
WASHINGTON The fuse may be lit for a Greek exit from the euro zone but the fallout in the United States is expected to be modest and not enough to throw the Federal Reserve’s likely September rate hike off course, said former Fed officials and outside analysts... More »
LISBON The euro zone needs to strengthen cooperation to avoid contagion in financial markets as no country is immune to the consequences of a potential Greek exit from the single currency, Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Monday. “Nobody c... More »
