Economic News

(Updating to add further BCC comment) LONDON (Thomson Financial) - A combination of slowing growth and high inflation will make 2008 a difficult year for the UK economy, a leading business lobby said. In its Quarterly Economic Survey for the fourth quarter, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the outlook has darkened for both the manufacturing and services sectors. The services sector i ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer prices rose in 2007 at the fastest pace in 17 years as motorists paid a lot more for gasoline and grocery shoppers paid higher food bills. However, falling prices for clothing and new cars offset some of those gains. The Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose by 4.1 percent for all of 2007, up sharply from a 2.5 percent increase in 2006. Both energy and ...

NEW YORK (AP) - The bill for America's excessive borrowing during the housing boom has arrived, and more people are having trouble paying it. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., two of the nation's largest banks, on Wednesday joined a growing chorus warning that the subprime mortgage mess is just the start of a sweeping lending crisis. And some fear  ...

By Adrian Croft LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown heads to India and China on Thursday to try to boost trade with their fast-growing economies and offset the impact of the credit crunch that is hitting growth elsewhere. The economies of China and India, where domestic demand is expected to play a bigger role than in the past, are expected to power ahead this year as growth in Europe a ...

This is Money17 January 2008, 9:20am Vote | Video | Data The outlook for the UK economy is bleak and the Bank of England must bring forward interest rate cuts, a leading business body claimed today. WANT TO KNOW MORE? How are exchange rates determined? Interest rates: Latest coverage POLL: Will the UK go into recession - two quarters without economic growth - in 2008? OTHER STORIES Supermarkets face cheap alcohol ban Market report: Thursday latest Euro offic ...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian employment rose for the fourteenth straight month in December, the longest period of jobs growth for 27 years, as unemployment fell to near 33-year lows reflecting strong economic growth and supporting the argument for higher interest rates, economists said Thursday. The number of employed people rose a seasonally adjusted 20,100 to 10.6 million in December ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Financial) - Malaysia's economic growth could slow to 4-5 percent in 2008 if there is a recession in the US, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) said Thursday. "That forecast is based on the premise that the recession will be mild and last for only a couple of quarters," said MIER executive director Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem. "Growth could be ...

BUDAPEST (Thomson Financial) - Gross average Hungarian wage growth picked up again in November, climbing to 9.3 pct on an annualised basis compared to 8.6 pct in the preceding two months, official data showed today. The Hungarian central bank sees wage growth as a key indication of inflation expectations in the economy when setting interest rates, with higher growth indicating increased expectati ...

By Adrian Croft LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown travels to China and India in the next few days, knowing that boosting trade with the fast-growing countries could be vital at a time when the credit crunch hits growth elsewhere. China and India's economies are expected to power ahead this year while growth in Europe and the United States takes a knock. That makes the Asian giants in ...