German economy ‘to shrink by 6%’
Germany’s economy will shrink by 6% this year and continue to contract in 2010 according to a forecast from the country’s leading economic think tanks.
The estimates, compiled by eight institutes for the German Economy Ministry, also predicts that the rate of unemployment will hit 10% next year. More
Obama to prod credit card firms on fee practices
Obama has joined a push by lawmakers to rein in credit card practices that his aides have labeled as “abusive” and plans to air some of his concerns at a White House meeting with 13 executives from top banks and companies that issue the cards. More
Credit-Card Reforms Being Pushed by Obama, Congress
The Obama administration is conferring with lawmakers on legislation to rein in practices by the credit card industry that have been criticized as deceptive, a U.S. official said Wednesday.
“We are working closely with Congress on legislation that will promote simplicity, require transparency, demand fairness, and ensure accountability—so that we can strengthen consumer protections against abusive and deceptive practices,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. More
Barclays expects ‘deep’ recession in the UK
The UK recession will be “deep and prolonged”, the chief executive of Barclays will tell shareholders at the bank’s annual general meeting later.
“It seems likely that we’re going to be living in difficult times, at least for another year,” John Varley says. More
Canadian Central bank set to unveil key strategy
With the Bank of Canada’s key lending rate at a record low 0.25 per cent, the central bank is expected to unveil Thursday what other measures it might take to loosen credit markets and tackle the deeper-than-expected recession.
The bank’s much-anticipated monetary policy report, to be released at 10:30 a.m. EDT, will likely include the Bank’s views on more unorthodox approaches, such as “credit and quantitative easing,†to deal with the prolonged economic crisis. More
Demand for UK manufactured goods falls at fastest rate for 30 years
Demand for UK manufactured goods plummeted at its fastest rate for 30 years over the past three months, the Confederation of British Industry said today although firms are now hoping that the worst may be over.
In its latest industrial trends survey, the employers organisation said that 60% of firms reported a fall in the volume of new orders in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter, and 13% reported an increase. The resulting balance of -47% is the lowest since October 1980. More
