China reveals huge rise in gold reserves
China revealed on Friday that it built up its gold reserves by three quarters since 2003, making it the world’s fifth largest holder of bullion.The move comes as European central banks continue to sell their gold and the International Monetary Fund has discussed selling some of its bullion reserves. More
Demand for U.S. durable goods falls 0.8 per cent
The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that orders for durable goods dropped 0.8 per cent last month, about half the 1.5 per cent decline that economists expected. A rise in orders for commercial and military aircraft helped cushion weakness elsewhere. More
Canadian Dollar Gains on Absence of Immediate Easing Comment
The central bank said in a Monetary Policy Report released today that it’s ready to purchase debt if the outlook for the economy worsens further, a situation it doesn’t anticipate, and said any specific moves would be announced at regular policy meetings starting June 4 More
Ford Shares Rise after smaller than expected loss
Ford Motor Co posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss and said it was on track to at least break even in 2011 and did not expect to seek U.S. government loans, sending its shares up more than 22 percent.
The company also said on Friday that it had burned through $3.7 billion of automotive sector cash in the first quarter, a sharp drop from the second half of last year, and ended March with $21.3 billion in gross cash. More
Spain’s jobless rate soars to 17%
The Bank of Spain recently predicted the jobless rate would reach 19.4% in 2010, as the recession took hold. More
British economy shrinks at fastest rate for 30 years
Official figures show GDP fell by 1.9% in the first three months of this year, the sharpest quarterly decline since 1979, the year Margaret Thatcher came to power. More
Swiss Franc Little Changed as Hildebrand Calls for ‘Patience’
The Swiss franc was little changed versus the euro and gained against the dollar after central bank Vice-Chairman Philipp Hildebrandsaid “patience†was required to evaluate how current measures will help the economy. More
