Freakonomics’ Levitt Says Economists Will ‘Hate’ Nobel Choice

Economists will disapprove of yesterday’s decision to award the Nobel Economics Prize to Elinor Ostrom because it signals a shift toward rewarding social scientists, said Steven Levitt, a University of Chicago professor and co-author of the bestseller “Freakonomics.”
Ostrom, a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington who calls herself a political economist, became the […]

Russia’s Economy May Contract by 7.5% This Year, Medvedev Says

Russia’s economy may contract by 7.5 percent this year after performing worse than anyone had predicted, President Dmitry Medvedev said in a televised speech.
“I must admit that we sunk below our lowest expectations,” Medvedev said in an interview to be broadcast today at 9 p.m. Moscow time on state television. “The real damage […]

Canada Job Gains Exceed Forecasts; Unemployment Falls

Canadian employers added jobs for the second straight month in September, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, adding to evidence the U.S.’s largest trading partner is emerging from its recession and raising the likelihood of a central bank rate increase within the next year.
Employment rose by 30,600, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. […]

U.S. Deficit for 2009 Totals $1.4 Trillion, Budget Office Says

The U.S. government ended its 2009 fiscal year with a deficit of $1.4 trillion, the biggest since 1945, the Congressional Budget Office reported.
The deficit amounted to 9.9 percent of the nation’s economy, triple the size of the shortfall for 2008.
The nonpartisan CBO said yesterday the government was squeezed on both sides of […]

Gold at Record Shows Investors Split With Banks Over Inflation

Gold’s rally this year to a record shows commodity investors remain concerned that the U.S. economic recovery will spur inflation, even as Wall Street forecasts and government bonds suggest stable prices.
Bullion has jumped 18 percent this year, heading for a ninth straight annual gain, after futures touched a record $1,045 an ounce yesterday […]

Treasury Says Three More Money Managers Receive PPIP Funding

The U.S. Treasury Department said AllianceBernstein Holding LP, BlackRock Inc. and Wellington Management Co. have raised a combined $1.94 billion for their funds participating in the U.S. effort to buy toxic assets from banks.
By getting that money from private investors, the three firms qualify for federal funds under the Public Private Investment Program. […]

Dispute over control clouds IMF expansion

Fierce disagreement over how much power rich nations should cede to developing countries clouded talks between global finance chiefs on expanding the role of the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF, which has lent more than $50 billion to countries around the world this year, says it needs more resources to oversee the recovery of the […]

Greenspan Says Inflation May Rise Unless Fed Curtails Stimulus

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the central bank risks higher inflation by 2012 if it waits too long to start curtailing its unprecedented monetary stimulus.
“We cannot afford to get behind the curve on reining in this extraordinary amount of liquidity because that will create a major increase in inflation down the […]

Norman Chan Pledges to Keep Dollar Peg, Oversees Intervention

Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Norman Chan said he will maintain the city’s fixed exchange rate, after the central bank intervened under his watch for the first time to stop the Hong Kong dollar gaining.
Chan, who began work as the head of the HKMA today, said his first task was “to keep […]

European Consumer Prices Decline More Than Forecast

European consumer prices fell more than economists forecast in September as rising unemployment curbed demand and oil prices dropped.
Prices in the 16-nation euro region declined 0.3 percent from a year earlier after falling 0.2 percent in August, the European Union statistics office in Luxembourg said today. The September drop was the fourth straight […]