Economic News

LONDON (AFX) - The UK's self-styled 'Voice of Business' went as far as it has done in recent times to urge the Bank of England to raise the cost of borrowing once again. In its quarterly economic forecast, the Confederation of British Industry said a rate hike would help inflation get back to the 2.0 pct target. The CBI said CPI inflation, the BoE's target rate, is forecast to peak at 2.8 pct in ...

LONDON (Reuters) - The Confederation of British Industry has revised up its 2006 growth forecast for the economy, citing a faster-than-expected recovery in consumer spending, but warned another rise in interest rates is necessary to tame inflation. The country's top business group revised up its forecast for 2006 GDP growth to 2.7 percent from the 2.4 percent it predicted three months ago, sayin ...

By Brian Love and Lesley Wroughton SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Finance ministers raised the prospect on Sunday of a breakthrough in stalled world trade talks but failed to bridge differences over plans to give emerging economies more say in how the International Monetary Fund is run. Chancellor Gordon Brown said he was more optimistic after talks in Singapore about the chances of progress in the long-running trade talks, which were suspended in July because of disagreements over trade in farm goods. ...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China's inflation is currently low but the country is likely to face inflationary pressures, the head of the central bank, Zhou Xiaochuan, said. In a statement posted on the website of the People's Bank of China, Zhou said China "will likely face upward pressure in the future," without discussing a timeframe. Zhou said China's overall economic situation is good as  ...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China's inflation is currently low but the country is likely to face inflationary pressures, the head of the central bank Zhou Xiaochuan, said. In a statement posted on the website of the People's Bank of China, Zhou said China "will likely face upward pressure in the future," without discussing a timeframe. Zhou said China's overall economic situation is good as t ...

By Lesley Wroughton and Sumeet Desai SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Finance ministers raised the prospect on Sunday of a breakthrough in stalled world trade talks but failed to bridge differences over plans to give emerging economies more say in how the International Monetary Fund is run. Chancellor Gordon Brown said he was more optimistic after talks in Singapore about the chances of progress in the long-running trade talks, which were suspended in July because of disagreements over trade in farm good ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato called on policy makers on Sunday to be ready for a slowdown in the United States, despite the prospect of strong growth in the world economy, and to tackle rising price pressures. Opening a meeting of the IMF's policy-setting International Monetary and Financial Committee in Singapore, Rato said interest rates may have to rise  ...