Economic News

LONDON (AFX) - Gold prices edged lower, extending yesterday's falls, as the dollar remained well-supported while oil prices fell to their lowest points this year, reducing gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation. At 12.28 pm, spot gold, which earlier touched an intra-day high of 621.00 usd, was quoted at 617.30 usd, down from 620.40 usd at the time of the COMEX market close in New York yesterd ...

Changes to the way tax officials deal with large companies are expected to be announced by the chancellor later. Gordon Brown will say he fully accepts the recommendations of Sir David Varney, who has been reviewing tax affairs of big corporations. CBI head Richard Lambert has said high business taxes and the "aggressive" way HM Revenue & Customs pursued them, was driving multinationals out of the UK. Mr Brown is expected to announce measures to reassure businesses. It follows criticism by s ...

LONDON (AFX) - The dollar remained well-supported from tough talk from the US Federal Reserve even though most of the economic news out of the US this week has been weak. The minutes to the last rate-setting meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, when the key Fed funds rate was left unchanged at 5.25 pct showed that inflation remains the "greatest" worry for policymakers. Since t ...

Nick Goodway, Evening Standard17 November 2006 Chancellor Gordon Brown today announced wide-ranging changes to make HM Revenue & Customs more responsive to the needs of big business. WANT TO KNOW MORE? GUIDES: Tax guides EXPERTS: Tax experts ADVICE & TIPS: Tax OTHER STORIES RTL linked to £5bn move for ITV Market report: Friday latest Market report: Yesterday's tra ...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Consumer confidence climbed to a two-month high as a good jobs climate, lower fuel bills and the outcome of the midterm elections brightened peoples' feelings about the economy and their own financial fortunes. The RBC Cash Index, based on the results of the international polling firm Ipsos, showed that confidence clocked in at 92.4 in November. That was up from 83.1 in October ...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the 20th Century, died Thursday at 94, his family said. Friedman won the Nobel prize in economics in 1976 for his path-breaking work that served as an effective counterweight to the other economic colossus of the century, John Maynard Keynes. Friedman championed individual freedom, unfettered markets and a sm ...

This is Money16 November 2006 The Pre-Budget Report (PBR) will be presented to the House of Commons on Wednesday 6 December, the Chancellor announced today. HEIR APPARENT: The economy is in rude health but the Chancellor faces a challenge with public finances WANT TO KNOW MORE? Economy faces climate 'calamity' Climate change: Global warning £24bn tax windfall 'spent' 30-second guide to ... Brown's debt pains QUIZ: The Budget and the Chancellor OTHER STORIES Nati ...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Consumer prices, helped by another huge decline in gasoline pump prices, fell for a second straight month in October, providing more relief to Americans battered earlier in the year by soaring energy costs. The Labor Department reported Thursday that consumer prices dropped by 0.5 percent last month, matching the September decline. It was the first back-to-back drops in the ...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - Consumer prices, helped by another huge decline in gasoline pump prices, fell for a second straight month in October, providing more relief to Americans battered earlier in the year by soaring energy costs. The Labor Department reported Thursday that consumer prices dropped by 0.5 percent last month, matching the September decline. It was the first back-to-back drops in the Con ...

The dollar edged slightly higher against the euro and yen Thursday after a government report showed capital inflows into the U.S. in September were sufficient to cover the trade deficit for the month. The Treasury Department said net long-term capital flows into the U.S. fell to $65.1 billion in September from a revised $114.4 billion in August. The trade deficit narrowed 6.8% in September to $ ...