By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top regulatory official is seeking to force large companies to disclose how much tax they pay in each country where they operate, a measure some politicians say could curb tax avoidance. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of drafting business regulation, said in a speech in Amsterdam that rules which will force banks to report their profits, taxes and subsidies by country from 2015 should be extended to cover other companies. "We will expand these reporting obligations to large companies and groups," he said on Thursday. ...
By Leigh Thomas and Jason Lange PARIS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is looking into expanding its range of policy tools, while the U.S. central bank is mulling scaling back its support measures, highlighting the contrasting fortunes between the world's two biggest economic blocs. ECB Executive Board member Peter Praet said late on Wednesday that the central bank could try new policies if needed to battle deflation risks, adding that the central bank was also weighing measures to encourage more lending in the euro zone. ...
By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese factory activity shrank in May for the first time in seven months, overshadowing signs that the euro zone's downturn tempered slightly in May, business surveys showed on Thursday. World stock markets tumbled after the Chinese data and also in response to U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who hinted on Wednesday the Fed could soon pare back its bond-buying with new money if the economy maintains momentum. China's flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) entrenched fears recovery in the world's No. ...
By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures fell on Thursday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its first daily back-to-back declines in a month, amid investor concerns the U.S. Federal Reserve may begin to taper its stimulus measures and over weak data in China. The S&P 500 posted its biggest decline in three weeks on Wednesday, after minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting showed some officials were open to tapering large-scale asset purchases as early as at the June meeting. ...
By Aileen Wang and Koh Gui Qing BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May as new orders fell, a preliminary manufacturing survey showed, entrenching fears that its economic recovery has stalled and that a sharper cooldown may be imminent. The flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May fell to 49.6, slipping under the 50-point level demarcating expansion from contraction for the first since October and sending Asian financial markets sharply lower. The final HSBC PMI stood at 50.4 in April. ...
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The price of oil fell to near $93 a barrel on Thursday after a survey showed manufacturing activity in China falling to its lowest level in seven months, a sign that the recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is fading.
By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) - China's plan to spend $6.5 trillion on urbanization to bolster the economy is running into snags, sources close to the government said, as top leaders fear another spending binge could push up local debt levels and inflate a property bubble. Premier Li Keqiang has rejected an urbanization proposal drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), seeking changes to put more emphasis on economic reform, according to the sources, who are familiar with the matter. ...
By Leigh Thomas and Jason Lange PARIS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is looking into expanding its range of policy tools, while the U.S. central bank is mulling scaling back its support measures, highlighting the contrasting fortunes between the world's two biggest economic blocs. ECB Executive Board member Peter Praet said late on Wednesday that the central bank could try new policies if needed to battle deflation risks, adding that the central bank was also weighing measures to encourage more lending in the euro zone. ...
TOKYO (AP) ? Japan's financial markets gyrated wildly Thursday, underscoring the vulnerability of its economy to a loss of investor confidence as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attempts shock monetary easing to end two decades of stagnation.
NEW YORK (AP) ? The momentum of a late sell-off on Wall Street is carrying through for a second day, with U.S. futures and global stock markets in retreat.
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