U.S.: U.S. jobless claims fall as labour market tightens further The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to a tightening labour market that likely keeps the Federal Reserve on course to announce plans next month to start reducing its massive bond portfolio. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 5,000

Europe: Euro hits 2-1/2 year highs as warning signs grow The euro climbed to a fresh 2-1/2 year high against the dollar on Wednesday as investors added long bets in the single currency though some analysts advised caution as some signals such as interest rate differentials were flashing a warning sign. While fears of a

Europe: Hot and cold: Euro zone grows but inflation slows Data in the coming week should confirm the euro zone economy is running hot, after the IMF upgraded growth forecasts and Greece returned to the debt market, although inflation figures could throw cold water on ECB plans to start tightening policy. Growth in the single

Asia: China willing to sacrifice growth to manage systemic risks: senior official A senior Chinese economic official on Thursday indicated that policymakers would be willing to sacrifice some short-term economic growth in order to deal with systemic risks. Beijing is trying to contain rising debt and defuse property bubbles amid fears such risks could derail

Europe: Euro zone yields near one-week highs ahead of Fed meeting Euro zone government bond yields edged lower but were near one-week highs on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, with rate setters expected to hint towards tighter monetary policy in the future. The Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged but

Europe: German Business Climate Hits Record as Economy Proves Robust German companies are gearing up for a bumper season after the summer lull. The business climate in Europe’s largest economy improved for a sixth month in July, according to Munich-based Ifo institute. The index, based on a survey of 7,000 German companies from manufacturing, trade

U.S.: IMF Sees U.S. Fading as Global Growth Engine The world is leaning less on its biggest economy to sustain the global recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund. The fund left its forecast for global growth unchanged in the latest quarterly update to its World Economic Outlook, released Monday in Kuala Lumpur. The world

Europe: ECB survey sees lower inflation, higher GDP growth Euro zone inflation may slow more than earlier expected in the coming years but economic growth and the drop in unemployment could exceed past projections, the European Central Bank's Survey of Professional Forecasters showed on Friday. The ECB, which uses the survey in policy decisions, kept

Europe: ECB Leaves Guidance Unchanged as Anticipation for Autumn Builds The European Central Bank deferred the delicate decision of how and when to venture the next step toward policy normalization until later this year. The Governing Council repeated that it expects borrowing costs to stay at present levels for an extended period of time and

U.S.: U.S. housing starts jump to four-month high U.S. homebuilding rebounded more than expected in June after declining for three straight months, but construction activity remains constrained by rising lumber prices and labor and land shortages. Housing starts jumped 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million units, the highest level since